The East Bay Regional Park District will mark the 2021 United Nations International Day of Peace with a program from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 18 at the cove picnic site in Castro Valley’s Lake Chabot Regional Park.
Activities will include peace messages; singing; drumming; arts and crafts; and a 30-minute walk along the lake. A 12-foot peace pole will be unveiled, symbolizing the hopes and dreams of the global family for peace on earth. Sponsors are the Regional Parks Foundation and the park district. Community partners include the Eden Area Interfaith Council, Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center, UNA East Bay Chapter and Samuel Merritt University — Ethnic Health Institute.
The event is free of charge, but preregistration is required. Event check-in begins at 9:30 a.m., and everyone should arrive by 9:45 a.m. Inform the kiosk attendant you are attending the World Peace Day event, and you will receive a free parking pass to place on your car’s dashboard. To preregister for the event, visit the park district webpage at ebparks.org/WorldPeaceDay.
A reminder: it may not be too late to register for Coastal Cleanup Day 2021, taking place in various regional parks (and actually venues worldwide) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 18. There are two other options.
You can preregister for an in-person cleanup event during a specific time slot at one of six regional parks: Hayward Shoreline, Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline in Oakland, Robert W. Crown Shoreline in Alameda, Point Isabel in Richmond, Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline or Del Valle Regional Park south of Livermore. Or you can register to organize your own neighborhood coastal or park cleanup any time through Sept. 30. To register for either option, visit ebparks.org/CoastalCleanup.
Alameda: Speaking of the coast, the California Coastal and Ocean Amateur Photography Exhibit is on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through December in the Crab Cove Visitor Center at Crown Beach. The visitor center also has exhibits on Crown Beach’s colorful history and an aquarium containing fish from San Francisco Bay. The center is at 1252 McKay Ave. The exhibit is free, and no registration is required, but wear a mask inside the building.
Ardenwood: Learn how to make multicolored corn kernels into your own mosaic in a free program from 1 to 2 p.m. Sept. 19 at Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont. This is a drop-in activity; no registration is required. On Ardenwood Boulevard just north of Highway 84, Ardenwood recreates life on a 19th-century farming estate. Admission fees apply; parking is free. For information, call 510-544-2797.
Also in Fremont: Coyote Hills Regional Park is hosting a “Discovery on Demand” program from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 18. All ages are welcome at the visitor center to watch a live animal feeding, learn a craft or engage in other hands-on nature education activities.
Masks are required, and social distancing has to be observed. Parent participation is required, and parking fees apply when being charged. This is a free, drop-in program; reservations are not necessary. Coyote Hills is at the end of Patterson Ranch Road off Paseo Padre Parkway, just north of Highway 84. For information, call 510-544-3220.
Ned MacKay writes about East Bay Regional Park District sites and activities. Email him at nedmackay@comcast.net.
