By Heather Wood

The Town of Kernersville invites residents to attend this year’s Earth Day celebration on April 20th! Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden will host the event from 11 am – 5 pm. Kernersville’s Earth Day celebration is free and focuses on environmental, conservation, and sustainability topics. It will feature many exciting eco-friendly products and services, local environmental organizations, food trucks, t-shirt and tree seedling giveaways, and much more. We are especially excited this year to have a hands-on stream simulator to demonstrate stream processes and ways to improve water quality. Activities for children include arts and crafts with reused material provided by the Scrap Exchange, Earth Day paint mural, science fun, and games!

Check out all the wonderful ways our students are showing what they love about the Earth. Students K-12th grade submit environmentally-themed art for the Art for Earth Contest, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Kernersville. The contest is a great educational and creative outlet for Kernersville students! Winners will be recognized at the May Board of Aldermen meeting by Mayor Dawn Morgan.

Come out and enjoy all the festivities with your families and students! For more information, contact Public Services at 336-996-6916 or whartup@toknc.com.

Four times a year, our community comes together to watch movies under the stars. The Harmon Park Summer Movie Nights are a great time and place to bring the whole family for a fun movie night in the park. Hundreds of families gather for summer screenings of family-friendly feature films on a huge inflatable screen. Bring lawn chairs and blankets to relax and arrive early to enjoy popcorn, food trucks, Chick-fil-A, and children’s activities before the show. All movies begin at sunset. This event is free and open to the public. This event is not rain or shine. In the case of inclement weather, please check www.KVParks.com for cancellations. The dates and movies have been set for this summer’s viewings. Do not forget to mark your calendars to join us this summer under the stars! Showings: Friday, May 19 – The Secret Life of Pets (PG); Friday, June 16: SING (PG); Friday, July 21: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Christmas in July) (PG); Friday, September 15: MOANA (PG).

Get out and play with Kernersville Parks and Recreation! Our programs and special events cater to all Kernersville citizens – from the youngest to the oldest. We invite you to explore our offerings and try out the programs and activities that most appeal to you. For adults and seniors, we offer several opportunities to stay fit and make new friends. For youth – our variety of sports programs make us the perfect fit for your tough competitor or beginning learner. Whether competitive or instructional in nature, our youth programs stress the importance of a positive attitude and strong sportsmanlike conduct. Off the field, youngsters can enjoy the outdoors through our many special events held annually and on a regular basis, stay safe in our half day and full day summer camp programs.

Have you been considering joining a golf league? Have you been hesitant because you are a beginner or high handicap golfer? Actually playing in a golf league is a great way to improve your game. The Kernersville Parks and Recreation offers a 4-man Captain’s Choice Format Golf League for men and women this summer. Here are five reasons why you should join a golf league. 1) A golf league is fun! 2) You are able to compete on an even playing field. 3) Friendly competition drives you to improve your game. 4) You have a weekly scheduled time to golf. 5) Learn from golfing with better players. For more information on registering a team, contact Adam Carpenter at 336-996-3039.

Is a sport that is a little more fast paced more your speed? Spend one evening per week enjoying a little friendly competitive basketball. This adult men’s basketball league will include at least 6 regular season games and a single elimination tournament. All players must meet minimum age requirement. Season begins Friday, May 12 at our Recreation Center gym.

To register and see a full list of all we have to offer including Tennis Leagues, Spring Break Basketball Camp, Beginners Acrylic Painting Classes and more, visit our website at www.KVParks.com.

Spring is definitely upon us and many people are getting out into our local parks and enjoying the warmer weather. We are now accepting shelter reservations for your family reunions, birthday parties, or any other special occasion. We have five shelters at various parks that are available for rental.

The proposed renovation of Shelter one is still underway at Fourth of July Park but there is no time table as to when that is to be complete. The restroom renovations at Harmon Park are expected to be completed before Spring Folly in May, but if everything continues on schedule they may open ahead of schedule for the citizens and park visitors to enjoy.

We are excited to announce that Kernersville now has two Dog Parks that visitors can enjoy while spending quality time with man’s best friend. The new dog park at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex is now completed, featuring 1 acre of land for your dog to get some much needed exercise and play time. The new dog park is located off Beeson Road on the left hand side as you enter the main entrance of the park. We are still working with the city on the installation of a water meter. In the meantime, please come prepared with bottled water for your four-legged friend. Spring has sprung…breathe in the fresh air with us!