Once a year, Great Falls Park on the C&O Canal National Historical Park is open late for a special event: Park After Dark.
This year, the Gala, sponsored by the C&O Canal Trust, will be celebrated from 6-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14 on the grounds of the Historic Great Falls Tavern, in Potomac.
Tickets are still available for the evening, which includes dinner, drinks, music, a bonfire, live auction and lots of friendly people sharing their love for the park.
Bluegrass music for the evening will be provided by Troy Engle and Southern Skies and Corcoran Catering is providing the food.
Special this year will be a night hike to Great Falls Overlook.
The event is a fundraiser for the C&O Canal Trust, the nonprofit partner of the C&O National Historical Park.
“This year the funds raised will be used for infrastructure improvements including towpath restoration in areas impacted by last spring's floods,” said Heidi Glatfelter Schlag, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Trust.
The park has a multiyear plan to sustainably rehabilitate the surface of 80 miles of the 154.5-mile towpath, according to information in Canal Quarterly, the C&O Canal Trust’s summer 2019 newsletter.
The Trust partners with the National Parks to fund special projects and seek grants to help with the costs.
The Canal Quarterly reported, “two funding packages, totaling $4.05 million are supporting the 2019 and 2020 towpath work, a joint commitment from the Federal Government and the State of Maryland’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP),” were obtained by the Cooperation of the Park, the Trust and public support of the proposals.
“Park After Dark is also coincides with the C&O Canal National Historical Park Superintendent Kevin Brandt's last day of service before he retires from the Park Service,” Glatfelter Schlag said.
Tickets for park After Dark are $250 per person or “$2,000 for a table of eight.
“We typically sell out, so don’t delay,” according the Canal Quarterly.
For tickets, email Patricia Barber, director of development, at barber@canaltrust.org or call 301-745-8880.