On Saturday, April 20, the C&O Canal Trust, in partnership with the C&O Canal National Historical Park, kicked off the 6th annual C&O Canal Pride Days, the single largest volunteer event to take place in the park. Approximately 85 volunteers from the local communities in Montgomery County invested their time and effort to help restore and revitalize the C&O Canal National Historical Park at Great Falls.
Saturday’s event at Great Falls, which is among the most popular and heavily-visited sites in the 184.5-mile-long Park, coincided with Earth Day, National Park Week, and National Volunteer Week.
This year’s projects at Great Falls included painting historic buildings and park landmarks, raking leaves, and removing trash and debris from the parking lot and surrounding areas. Immediately following the projects, there was a Volunteerism Fair set up for those who were interested in learning about or participating in future volunteer and service opportunities, ranging from long-term volunteer positions such as Bike Patrol and Billy Goat Trail Stewards to one-time projects available for corporate and civic groups.
C&O Canal Pride Days will continue Saturday, April 27, with projects taking place at Williamsport, Md., in Washington County, followed by the revitalization of Spring Gap Campground in Allegany County, Md., on Saturday, May 18. Canal Pride Days will culminate with a return to Great Falls for even more fun volunteer projects on June 1 for National Trails Day.
C&O Canal Pride Days 2013 is sponsored by Guest Services, Inc., Minkoff Development Corporation, Friends of Historic Great Falls Tavern, Rust-Oleum, and Chesapeake WildlifeHeritage.