Big Splash on the Eno May 11

What could be better than a relaxing picnic by a bubbling river while the kids learn how to fly fish and canoe from some of Durham's experts?

Join the Eno River Association for Big Splash on the Eno Saturday, May 11 from noon until 3:00 at West Point on the Eno Durham City Park. 

Two of Durham’s fabulous food trucks will be there (Captain Pancho’s  Tacos and LIV’s ), but attendees can bring their own food to enjoy a picnic lunch while they listen to live music on the banks of the river. At 1:00 there will be a hike to explore the new Mountains-to-Sea Trail as it runs through the park, stopping at Sennet’s Hole. 

Those more adventurous can wade in the river to discover the aquatic life found there and learn about how the Eno River Association monitors water quality. Fly-fishing demonstrations will demonstrate some of the secrets of the best fishing along the river, what to catch, and how to do it. Wildlife tracking, watersheds, native plants vs. invasive species, and more will be discussed, too. 

Frog Hollow Outdoors will have canoes and kayaks to take out for a paddle on the river – free for Eno River Association members and donors - membership can be acquired at Big Splash, but people don't have to be members to join the fun. The event is open to the public and is a great way to get out and support our local river.

The Eno River Association’s Big Splash has its roots in the Spring Picnic celebrations that have taken place on the river for over forty years. Since 1966, the Eno River Association has worked to protect nature, culture, and history of the Eno river valley. 

Learn more online about Durham, NC.

Durham Celebrates “Creek Week” March 16–23

Durham residents with a love of nature and a desire to help protect it should mark their calendars now to take part in the Fifth Annual Creek Week, scheduled for March 16-23, 2013.

This year’s week-long observance will provide dozens of opportunities for residents to discover and explore local streams and lakes through educational programs and recreational activities, and to do their part to protect waterways through volunteer projects.

According to Tania Dautlick, executive director of Keep Durham Beautiful, this week-long event is an opportunity to take care of Durham’s environment. “Creek Week is a fantastic way for Durham residents to discover local natural areas and make a difference through volunteer projects,” said Dautlick. “These activities illuminate the importance of protecting waterways for recreation and drinking water as well as show how we can all do our part to preserve a healthy natural environment for people, wildlife, and plant life.”

With the range of events offered, there is something sure to entice everyone in the family – even Fido. Residents can get outdoors and explore Durham’s hidden nature gems by canoe or kayak, or on foot via nature walks and hikes in beautiful locations including Duke Forest, Eno River State Park, and Sandy Creek Park. Residents can bring their dogs to a Durham Dog Park and take the Canines for Clean Water Pledge to reduce pet waste.

Creek Week will also provide easy volunteer opportunities for residents and organizations to connect with several scheduled cleanup events at local creeks, marshes, streams, and lakes throughout Durham. Last year, 250 volunteers picked up over 10,000 pounds of trash from Durham waterways. Volunteers can also help by labeling storm drains in their neighborhood.

Creek Week is sponsored by a collaboration of organizations that manage, monitor, and protect area waterways, including the City of Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services Department, Durham Parks and Recreation, Stormwater & GIS Services Division with the Public Works Department, and the Water Management Department along with Durham County Government, Durham County Library, Durham Soil & Water Conservation District, Ellerbe Creek Watershed, Eno River Association, Frog Hollow Outdoors, Keep Durham Beautiful, Haw River Assembly, New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee, and Northeast Creek Stream Watch.

For a detailed schedule of events, visit their website or contact Laura Webb Smith at (919) 560-4326, ext. 30235 or by email.

For more information on all sorts of  recreation activities in Durham, click here.

Eno River Then and Now

The Eno River began pretty simply—probably in the late 1600s—as nothing more than run-off from tobacco and corn fields in Orange County. Now the second largest river in North Carolina, it runs some 40 miles through Orange County and Durham County before merging with the Little and Flat Rivers and flowing into Falls Lake.

Three hundred years later (1966), the Eno River Association was founded as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) conservation organization with a mission to conserve and protect the Eno River basin.

On the site where Durham's old West Point Mill stood since 1778, the story goes that one of the mill buildings along the river collapsed from old age and neglect in 1973. The Association was able to take the remains of an old mill in Virginia and reconstruct the mill on that site and establish a park in time to host 100,000 people at the Festival of North Carolina Folklife in 1976, one of many U.S. Bicentennial celebrations.

A version of that Festival began in 1980 as Festival for the Eno, a fundraiser that has allowed the association to purchase and protect nearly 6,000 acres of land along the river. In addition to the Eno River State Park, which straddles Orange and Durham counties, there is a city park along the river named West Point on the Eno, which is the actual site of Festival.

As the 31st festival gets underway tomorrow, DNS is happy to provide some "then" and "now" blurbs for readers to learn about this lush treasure.
THEN NOW

1752 Michael Synott was granted 100 acres of land on both sides of the River including his mills.

1865 General Sherman stationed a cavalry unit at West Point prior to the surrender at Bennett Place.

1866 The wedding of Rebecca and Robert Russell took place exhibiting early hospitality on the site with the entire county invited to the ceremony and wedding feast, with music and dancing.

1887 Durham tapped the Eno for its first water system and built a pumping station.

1942 Mill shut down after 160 years of continuous operation due to a flood.

1972 The state of North Carolina granted a request to establish a state park at the Eno river.

1980 Margaret Nygard, founder of the Eno River Association stationed 100 volunteers at various posts for the first Eno River Festival which drew 12,000. Internationally-known performers Shirley Caesar, Doc Watson, and the Red Clay Ramblers are tapped to headline the Festival.

1995 A flood almost shut down the Festival, but was saved with hundreds of volunteer hours spent moving stages and crafters.

1998 The festival (longest running and largest ticketed Independence Day Festival in North Carolina) draws more than 40,000 people for music, dancing and feasting.