PENINSULA: Tucked back on a stage through a clearing of trees in Howe Meadow, a hundred kids from the Cleveland youth chorus Singing Angels led a crowd of onlookers in singing Happy Birthday for a centennial celebration.
The celebration was not for someone, however, but rather for something.
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park celebrated the National Park Service’s centennial Sunday with a day of free musical acts and park-related activities in Howe Meadow on Riverview Road.
“We are so pleased,” said Pam Barnes, the community engagement supervisor for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, noting the steady stream of arrivals matched with sunny skies. “This is exactly what we dreamed of.”
Thousands of people filed into the meadow with their kids, families and dogs to check out tents set up by some of the park’s partners, including the Conservancy and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad, and learn about what the park has to offer.
The park’s celebration is one of many occurring this week as parks around the country that are part of the park service host their own centennial celebrations, highlighting unique things to do in each area.
The Singing Angels will remain part of the celebration as they head to other national parks across the country to provide musical entertainment.
Charles Eversole, the group’s artistic director, composed the Children’s Earth Anthem specifically for the centennial, a song written not only for the Singing Angels, but also for singing groups across the country performing in national park festivities.
“It worked out wonderfully,” Eversole said. “It’s been a really exciting thing.”
Other musical acts of the day included Dala, a Canadian acoustic pop duo, and Mississippi Heat, a blues band from Chicago.
While music intermingled with sounds of birds chirping, people roamed the grounds for other entertainment. Some went kayaking and paddle boarding at Indigo Lake, and others tried out activities and listened to stories told by roving historians who simulated the canal era of the 1800s.
“[The park] just speaks for itself, the unique natural space between two metropolitan areas,” said Eric Semple of Strongsville.
Semple is head of maintenance for the park, but on Sunday he was there with his wife, Cassandra, and their kids Philip, 8, and Stephen, 10, to enjoy the “beautiful weather.”
The kids had engaged in much of what the day had to offer, including operating a small excavating truck the maintenance tent had on display, completing a scavenger hunt from the Conservancy tent and running in the one-mile “Fun Run” for kids.
“I just liked all of it,” Stephen said.
The National Park Service was created by Congress on Aug. 25, 1916, to conserve and protect land laid out for parks.
For its centennial, it began a campaign called Find Your Park, encouraging people to discover and learn about their park system.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park has been a part of the park service since 1974.
“I hope people walk away knowing this is their park,” Barnes said. “It’s not about us, it’s about the American people. [The parks] belong to all people.”
Theresa Cotton can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom.