Join the Town of Front Royal and Warren County, Virginia for a full day of activities celebrating designation as the nation’s 15th official Appalachian Trail Community™. The day will begin with a 9:00am 5.5-mile guided hike along the Appalachian Trail with Tom Johnson, trail historian and former president of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, which maintains 240 miles of the Trail. “All but a half-mile or so is downhill,” he says. “We’ll visit a shelter, speak with a maintainer working on-site that day, and enjoy some snacks from the Apple House at the end of our walk. Space is limited, first come first served.”
From 9:00 to 2:00, a variety of outdoor games and crafts will take place on the Town Square. “Most of these are designed to teach a skill,” says steering committee member and thru-hiker Sonja Carlborg. “For example, PRO Physical Therapy will be teaching people exercises to strengthen knees and hips for injury-free hiking. The Venture Crew will set up a model campsite with demonstrations on bear-proofing your food and other camping skills. They’ll also set up an orienteering course and teach people how to use a compass. Front Royal Canoe Company will have a variety of boats on hand, showing people how to paddle a canoe or kayak – and there are lots of other activities. We’ve been fortunate in attracting dozens of great partners for this event.”
The Girl Scouts of Troop 40333 will be teaching visitors about Questing, five community-developed treasure hunts scheduled to launch that day. “The girls have been working toward their Silver Award, the highest award in Girl Scouts,” says Troop co-leader Amanda Shenk. “At their booth, they’ll be helping people make their own personalized rubber stamps. Questers use these to stamp a log book when they reach the treasure box, proving they’ve completed the Quest.” Completing all five inaugural Quests by October 15 will qualify Questers for one of 200 limited-edition commemorative patches.
“We’ll also be kicking off a Questing competition on April 21,” says Gail Criger of the Visitor Center. “At that point, anyone who wants to can develop a Quest of their own in Warren County – anyone who wants to share a special place with others. Each competitor will be responsible for developing clues and a map for their Quest by July 15. Then everyone will be invited to test the Quests and vote on a winner, to be announced on September 29, Appalachian Trail Family Hiking Day.”
“In addition to our Trees Are Cool craft booth, we’ll be leading an 11:00 guided Quest through the Happy Creek Arboretum,” says Peg Thursland of the Front Royal/Warren County Tree Stewards. “And at the end, they can celebrate with a piece of cake for our mascot, Stewart the Squirrel’s birthday.” Virginia state trainers for Leave No Trace and the Boy Scouts round out the game leaders.
Guests can picnic on the grass and enjoy the harp and washtub bass “trekking” music of John Kovac and Jennifer Buff, the Appalachian Duo. Many local merchants have developed special picnic offerings for the day. At 2:00, a Girl Scout color guard will escort Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts to her campsite on the Town Square for “Daisy’s Girls,” a one-hour performance about this charismatic woman. Low will be played by Betsey Means, a Chicago-based actress with her own company, WomanLore, dedicated to portraying women who should be better known in history. Following her performance, the Boy Scouts and Venture Crew will present colors and lead speakers to the Gazebo for the designation ceremony at 3:30.
Speakers will include Front Royal Mayor Timothy Darr, Archie Fox, Chairman of the Warren County Supervisors, National Park Service Superintendents Pam Underhill (Appalachian National Scenic Trail) and Martha Bogle (Shenandoah National Park), and Appalachian Trail Conservancy Executive Director Mark Wenger. Local resident Jamie Sullivan hopes to finish the last few miles of her thru-hike in time to receive her 2000-miler certificate during the ceremony.
Says George McIntyre of The Apple House in Linden, “From the economic side the designation is a HUGE business and tourism stimulus. From the ‘beauty of nature side’ it makes us all aware of the very simple things around us and how grateful we are to have this wonderful resource in our home. From the personal side it makes me SMILE each time we have a visiting hiker/camper and friend from the forest come for a visit in our shop. We're lucky!”
More information about designation day can be found at www.discoverfrontroyal.com or www.frontroyalatcommunity.blogspot.com/.