July is National Parks and Recreation Month and Guilford County Parks is holding a number of events to mark the occasion.
Guilford County Parks staff is inviting the public to take part in activities that include a fireworks display, guided hiking tours, paddling tours, a “Bike Rodeo” and more.
Guilford County’s Parks Department has something else to celebrate starting July 1 – being its own department. In the past, park operations have fallen under the county’s facilities department. However, in the new 2021-2022 county budget, “parks” is finally a department on its own.
Commissioners and other county officials have been talking about that possibility for years, and, this year, the commissioners made the move quietly in the new budget that goes into effect on July 1.
Dwight Godwin, Guilford County’s interim parks director, said this week that this is an opportunity “to enhance the way we provide services to citizens.”
“This month-long celebration is the first of many chances for the community to show their support and participate,” Godwin added.
On Monday, June 28, Guilford County parks staff sent out a list of the planned events and also invited members of the community “to share their experiences, memories and stories” on the department’s Facebook page about “what parks and recreation mean to them.”
For those people seeking some brand new parks-based memories, here are some of the events taking place at the parks in July.
- Saturday, July 3 – “Fireworks Extravaganza” at Northeast Park. The pre-fireworks fun starts at 4 p.m.
- Friday, July 9 – Guided hike at Company Mill Preserve.
- Saturday, July 17 – Tour of the Guilford County Farm, which until about seven years ago was a prison farm.
- Friday, July 23 – Bike Rodeo at Hagan-Stone Park, starting at 10 a.m. The first 100 participants will receive a free bike helmet.
- Saturday, July 24 – Northeast Dog Park Preview & Rabies Clinic. Start time is 9 a.m.
- Saturday, July 31 – Guided paddle boat tour at Southwest Park
Registration is required for the tours and hikes. For more information about the events, visit www.guilfordparks.com or follow the department on Facebook.
