July OBX Park News: A Summer of Celebrations

A Summer of Celebrations

July is already off to an exciting start in your OBX national parks!

Down at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the newly renovated park store is open for business including our new Outer Banks Forever merchandise (see left!). Special thanks to our friends at your America's National Park store and Jason Cole Photography for making this possible - that's Jason's beautiful lighthouse photo in our display!

To kick off a summer of celebrations the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society, park staff, and Outer Banks Forever came together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse move.

We heard from the engineers who made this impossible task possible, locals who were skeptical about the move but changed their tune, and the official photographer of the move who captured a truly unique view and a few fun stories from behind the scenes.

In case you missed it, you can check out our live stream of the event on Facebook here . I'd especially like to thank John and Aida Havel, Bett Padget, and the members of the Lighthouse Society for putting in months of hard work to make this event a huge success!

The fun is not over yet though, we are now gearing up to celebrate another milestone anniversary - the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. We're excited to announce that the keynote speaker for the event is NASA Astronaut, Eric Boe. Read on to learn more about why this anniversary has a connection to OBX and how you can join in the celebration.

In the spirit of celebrating the past, I'd love to hear your favorite memories from your OBX national parks! Reply to this email with your favorite memory, and get bonus points if you can dig up a photo ;) I'll be sharing your memories in upcoming newsletters and on our social media!

See you in your parks,

Jessica Green

Director, Outer Banks Forever

Donate Now

Meet Your Park Ranger: Ashley Dickerson

We're excited to bring you a new series called Meet Your Park Ranger where we'll introduce you to the men and women who are protecting and connecting you to your OBX national parks.

First up: meet Ashley Dickerson!

Ashley is your Lead Ranger at Wright Brothers National Memorial. She is passionate about history and helping visitors connect the innovation and dedication of the Wright Brothers to their own lives.

Click here to read how Ashley found her way to the park service, her favorite thing about being a park ranger, and a few of her most memorable interactions with people like you who love our parks.

Learn More

Weekend Celebration:

50th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing

We are excited to help the park and several local partners celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing!

The Outer Banks has a special connection to this great achievement. Not only is OBX one of the birthplaces of powered flight, 50 years ago at Wright Brothers National Memorial hundreds gathered at your park to watch man’s first steps on the moon.

This month you will have several chances to go back in time and explore how the Wright Brothers’ innovation led to this historic moment, and how far we’ve come since then.

Mark your calendars for these great events: All events are free and open to the public. Visit our website for more details.

Apollo 11 Movie Night

Thursday, July 18th starting at 6:30pm

Dowdy Park, Nags Head

Hosted by: First Flight Foundation

Homemade Rocket Launch

Friday, July 19th starting at 7:00pm

Jockey's Ridge State Park

Hosted by: Jockey's Ridge State Park and Friends of Jockey's Ridge

One Giant Leap: 50th Anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing

Saturday, July 20th starting at 5:00pm

Keynote Speaker: Eric Boe, NASA Astronaut

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Hosted by: National Park Service, Outer Banks Forever, and First Flight Foundation

RSVP here

Learn More

Show Your Love for Your Ocracoke Ponies

Legend has it the Ocracoke ponies arrived here with shipwrecked explorers in the 16th or 17th century, and they’ve called the island home ever since. The National Park Service took over their care and maintenance in the 1960s to keep them safe as the island’s human population continued to grow.

Now you can help these beautiful and unique ponies by symbolically adopting an Ocracoke pony! Your support of the ponies – individually or the herd – will help to with their ongoing care and feeding.

Meet Your Ponies

Photo Credits: National Park Service, NASA

Outer Banks Forever is an official partner of the National Park Service and the three national parks of the Outer Banks.

Learn more at www.obxforever.org