Smokey Bear attends the Wall Celebration parade and looks forward to Celebrating his 80th Birthday
Wed, 07/17/2024 - 10:34am
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Smokey Bear participated in the Wall Celebration parade on Saturday, July 13, 2024. The parade was an opportunity for Smokey to greet community members and for the public to take photos with Smokey.
This year, we celebrate Smokey’s 80th Birthday on Friday, Aug. 9. The US Forest Service and the National Grasslands Visitor Center have several events planned throughout the summer to celebrate this milestone and present programs for Junior Rangers and visitors.
Friday, July 19, Smokey Bear and Wall District Ranger, Carl Frey, will be at the Wall Community Library from 9:00 to10:00 for StoryTime. Smokey and National Grasslands Visitor Center staff will introduce Smokey’s Reading Challenge. This national program is available for all ages until Nov. 28. More information on the reading challenge and a reading list are available at the Library and the Visitor Center.
Each Friday until Sept. 6, US Forest Service rangers present an atlatl program to visitors at the Pinnacles Dispersed Camping Area. Everyone is invited to attend. The program begins at 7:00 p.m.
Junior Ranger Days are scheduled on each Saturday from July 27 through Aug. 24. Programs will be presented at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The topics include archeology, botany, Smokey’s 80th Birthday and Junior Wildland Firefighters, Wildlife biology, and paleontology. Activities are planned and a special guest expert will be at each of these events.
For more information, stop by the National Grasslands Visitor Center, 708 Main Street, Wall SD. Summer hours are 8:00 to 6:00 p.m. daily.