July 4 Events and William Penn Mott Jr. Awards Coming Soon
Can you see the sun in the sky and feel the warmth on your skin? It’s finally spring with our much needed wet winter behind us. And we all know what that means. Orinda’s 4th of July celebration will soon be here.
The Orinda Association is busy planning for another great parade and concert in the park. The theme is Earth Kindness and our grand marshal is the Friends of Orinda Nature Center (formerly the Wagner Ranch Nature Center).
Located at the north end of Wagner Ranch Elementary School, this valuable resource sustained major damage during the past winter. Currently closed, the Friends are working to remove damaged and downed trees and to rebuild paths and other infrastructure to ensure the safety of visitors. When open, the Orinda Nature Area will continue its mission of conserving this historical site while educating visitors on environmental conservation. Oh yes, and having fun with hikes, Native American football, searching for turtles in the pond and much more.
Remember the young man who rode his gas-powered lounge chair last July 4? The group who cut fine dance routines with their push mowers? Or the energetic families with dogs in tow? Join the fun and enter your club, group of family or friends to march in the 2023 parade. Registrations are free at https://orindaassociation.org/participate-parade and we look forward to a wide variety of entrants.
We need your volunteer help, prior to and especially the day of the parade, to make our events even better. Sign-up now at https://orindaassociation.org/volunteer.
Our wonderful seniors are out and about, going to appointments and shopping. Can you spare a few hours a month? Apply to volunteer for this free transportation service at the link above or call Seniors Around Town at 925.402.4506.
And, finally, we honor the William Penn Mott, Jr. Environmental award winners for this year, and the recent past years, at a ceremony June 4 at 1 p.m. at the Wilder Art and Garden Center, 20 Orinda Fields Center.
This annual tribute recognizes the citizen or group who displayed outstanding contributions in education or preservation of the environment in celebration of its namesake who lived in Orinda, was director of the National Park Service as well as the first president of The Orinda Association.
Honorees are:
2019 – Barbara Lightner/Friends of Orinda Creeks
2020-21 – No award due to COVID-19
2022 – Orinda Eagle and Gold Scouts
2023 – Friends of the Orinda Nature Area
This free event welcomes everyone. For more information, email oa@orindaassociation.org or visit http://www.orindaassociation.org.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sally@orindaassociation.org.
