Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News
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LITTLE ORLEANS — A weekend that started out to be something special, then wasn’t, is turning into something else altogether.
Green Ridge State Forest staff are hard at work in the final stages of the first GREENFEST, a celebration Friday and Saturday that encourages locals and visitors alike to “come relax and enjoy nature.” Music, arts and crafts, T-shirt tye-dying and a 3-mile canoe float from Bond’s Landing all are an effort to recognize the efforts of forest volunteers and visitors themselves.
The event came as the result of the cancellation of the planned Adventure Race! Mountain Maryland, a multi-purpose event with orienteering, padding, running, mountain biking and building a catapult, among other activities. The first-year event, scheduled for this weekend, was being coordinated by Leadership Allegany! but was canceled last month.
Forest Manger Mark Beals, a member of Leadership Allegany!, learned that many people still planned on coming to eastern Allegany County. So he and staff decided to give them something to do.
Now, up to 200 people, including the general public and representatives of Maryland Conservation Corps, Appalachian Forest Heritage Area and AmeriCorps, among other groups, are expected to enjoy primitive camping, a Friday night campfire with a night hike, S’mores and more.
“We’ve been working pretty hard on it over the last couple of weeks,” said Nicole Sisler, conservation aide at Green Ridge State Forest. “It’s actually turning out to be a bigger thing than we actually expected.”
Beals said the event has largely spread by word of mouth. Some fliers were prepared with tentative schedules and were quickly drafted and distributed. Apparently, word traveled fast. Sisler said she anticipates a full house.
“They’re hearing about it on the street,” Sisler said.
Each of the events begin around Bond’s Landing, accessible off Interstate 68 at Exit 68 (Orleans Road). Visitors are asked to bring their own water and food as concessions are not available for this first-year event.
The Friday night schedule begins at 8:30 p.m. with a night hike and “owl prowl” that’s easy enough — and short enough — for children. At 9:30 p.m., visitors will gather around a campfire and pass around a microphone for singing opportunities, S’mores and a “surprise activity.”
On Saturday, early risers can participate in a “Good Morning Yoga” class at 8 a.m. beginning at the amphitheater near Bond’s Landing. At 9 a.m., a shuttle will take visitors from Bond’s Landing to the starting point of a 3-mile canoe trip back to Bond’s Landing.
At 11 a.m., Half-Time String Band, a bluegrass group from Morgantown, W.Va., will play and at 1 p.m. John Mullican, fisheries biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources, will explain the history and types of fish in the Potomac River. There also will be a leaf print necklace craft at the same time.
At 2 p.m., visitors can purchase a T-shirt for $10 to tie-dye. At 3 p.m., Rocky Gap State Park naturalists will host a “Scales and Tales” critter encounter, followed by music by Chuck Thompson and another float trip.
Activities continue into the late evening.
The Green Ridge State Forest Headquarters is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Staff can be reached by calling 301-478-3124.
Kevin Spradlin can be reached at kspradlin@times-news.com.
