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Kids at Bays Day
May 16
Bays Mountain Park hosts annual “Kids at Bays Day”
Bays Mountain Park is hosting its annual Kids at Bays Day next month where children of all ages will enjoy the great outdoors while participating in a variety of fun and engaging activities at the park.
Kids at Bays Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 16. All of the animal habitats, hiking and biking trails and the Nature Center will be open for discovery and exploration. Folks looking for a tasty snack or meal can visit the La Abejita food truck, which will be on site for the duration of the event.
The park will also be celebrating its 55th anniversary that day and unveil its new Astronomy Exhibit in the Nature Center beginning at 10 a.m.
All of the following events are free with a $7 paid entrance fee:
- Animal Encounters: 10 – 11 a.m. and 1:30 – 3 p.m. at the animal habitats
- Astronomy: 10:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. in the Lily Pad Pavilion
- Fishing: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. and 1 – 3 p.m. at the dam
- Gardening: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Farmstead Museum
- Lake Exploring: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. near the dam
- Make a Mountain Toy: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Farmstead Museum
- Rock Painting: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at the Farmstead Museum
- Solar Viewing: 3 – 3:30 p.m. by the dam
- StarWatch: The observatory will offer a night view of the sky from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m.
(This schedule is tentative and subject to change.)
“Kids at Bays Day is one of our most popular events all year and is a great kickoff for the summer outdoor season,” said Miranda Wanninger, chief ranger of visitor engagement. “We’ll have a variety of programs happening all across the park that day, so no matter your interests we should have something for you to be excited about.”
In addition to the free programs, the park will also have its usual paid programs on May 16. Barge rides and planetarium shows are $6 per person. Tickets can be purchased online or in the gift shop. Barge rides will take place at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. Planetarium shows will be at 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
For more information contact Chief Ranger of Visitor Engagement Miranda Wanninger at 423-224-2861. Kids at Bays Day is organized and sponsored by the Bays Mountain Park Association.
About Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium
Annually, more than 200,000 visitors pass through Bays Mountain Park making it one of the State of Tennessee’s Top 50 Most Visited Attractions, according to the State of Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. One of the nation’s largest city-owned parks with 3,788 acres, Bays Mountain Park features roughly 44 miles of hiking trails, a state-of-the-art planetarium, wildlife habitats, fun exhibits, a 44-acre lake, trails for mountain biking and much, much more. For more information, please visit www.baysmountain.com.
About the City of Kingsport
Founded in 1917, the City of Kingsport (pop. 57,500) is located on the Tennessee-Virginia border at the crossroads of I-81 and I-26 near the geographic center of the eastern United States. The city is widely known as a planned community, designed by renowned city planner John Nolen and wrapping around the foot of Bays Mountain – a 3,788-acre park, nature preserve, planetarium and observatory. Kingsport is recognized as an International Safe Community by the National Safety Council, a Healthier Tennessee community, and won the 2009 Harvard Innovations in American Government Award for its higher education initiatives. While many city names are duplicated throughout the U.S., there’s only one Kingsport – a fact that invokes community pride, known locally as the “Kingsport Spirit.” For more information, please visit www.kingsporttn.gov.
