8th Annual Independence Weekend Picnic: 2014

It's never too late to decide to come,
Review picnic information at below for driving instructions, itinerary, etc.
RSVP, make changes, contact me etc. by text or voice-mail to 709-5820 menu items you can bring. I will have the phone with me all day (be forewarned I'm notorious for not hearing it so keep trying. Remember $5 gate fee per car to get in the park. get a map & hang on to your receipt.

We will be setting up as early as 8am and hopefully cooking full blast NLT 10:30am. Food should be ready to serve between 11 and noon. Arrive at your leisure, but don’t miss any of the fun. Scroll down this page to get an idea of what will be going on and a look at video and slideshows from previous picnics. You can RSVP on FaceBook or E-mail me at: me@glennlittrell.org (new address) This is a ‘pitch-in’. We ask that everyone eventually sign-up for a side dish or items to bring. We furnish the meats [If you want you can bring additional or your own.] If you decide to bring extra guest at the last minute, and don’t have time to prepare additional food then just grab a bucket of chicken on your way to the park. This is open to friends, relatives, co-workers, their friends and family etc., etc., etc.  You can invite friends and family too, just be sure to keep us posted on who and how many.	Our Independence WEEK Welcome Mat We've invited Democrats, Republicans, Liberals and at least one Socialist... We're sure that there will be religious and non-religious people, multiple denominations of Christian, an agnostic, a deist and possible someone of a non-Christian faith... We have combat and non-combat veterans, public servants, community organizers and volunteers present... We don't care about your immigration status, just the content of your character... We won't ask but you can tell if you want.... or not... We have unionist and entrepreneurs... We gather this day to celebrate, among other things, a document that says "...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights..." Welcome
	You can follow IWP Activities either here or on the Facebook Event page, or both.
Our Shelter is for up to 50 people and is located with wind protection and potential shade on three sides. We are located within feet of the parking lot were we have a clear view of our vehicles. The bathrooms are not portalets. They are a permanent well structured building in the center of the parking lot and within a clear view. Someone amongst the 'early bird' crew will hit them with a broom in the morning. The grill area contains a permanent, standard outdoor grill, but we will not be using it to cook on. We will fire it up with charcoal and use chaffing dishes and water to create a warming table. We will be bringing a large and medium grill to do our cooking on. If any of your 'pitch-in' dishes are to be cooked on site you can use these grills. But let us know so we can schedule you on the grill. We will fire them up at about 10am and already have them scheduled for brats, dogs and burgers. Of course you can bring your own grill if you prefer. We will have a medium sized butane 2 burner camping stove available. We will set up an area under a tarp and use chafing dishes, ice and water for keeping some dishes cold.	All the games are set up right at the shelter. The playgrounds, lake, bathroom and hiking trails (the start & end) are all close to the shelter. The horseback & pony, Nature Walk, Military Museum & Visitor (Nature) Center are all located in the same area within the park about a mile & a half from our shelter. Sometimes we do things as a group, but if your schedule doesn’t workout you can always do those activities on your own. Their is always someone at the shelter all day so everyone can feel free to take advantage of the park at their leisure. RSVP Guest List: Me Kelly & Sean De Ele, the boys & friends Tracy & the girls Jo & friends Darlene Morales & ?? Embry + Granddaughter Angelique Averett & family Marcella Baker & family Carl, Terry & Mark Valerie April Beach                 Craig & Joanne Deborah Manley Debbie Tanner-Jemison & family RSVP-ed as Maybe: Felicia Williams-Thompson Tina Tatum Angela Watkins Tracy Strader-Cornett Leeann Rushin  (Joyce??) No response: 49 others Where are YOU!

The Menu:

*E-Mail me ( me@glennlittrell.org )  or use the FaceBook page ( https://www.facebook.com/events/1409578252615745/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming ) to indicate your choice of items to bring, make suggestions or ask questions.

YOU aren’t limited to what’s on this list, if you want to bring something else just let us know. We are currently expecting about 30+ people. Your pitch in dish does not have to be enough food to feed the whole bunch in attendance as there will be plenty of food. A good rule of thumb is make at least enough to provide portions for a little more  than the size of your party, approximately 1.5 times (ie if 10 in your party bring enough for 15).  If for any reason [schedule, coming by yourself, last minute decision etc.] you may not be able to prepare a dish then you can make a donation to the cause to help cover expenses. This is strictly optional and we will not be passing the hat at the picnic. As we get closer we will fine tune the list and make adjustments as necessary. Updated info will be in red for a few days. Click this “MADE IN AMERICA” icon to look for MIA products.

We will update information to this list (and FaceBook) as it comes in.

MENU ITEM	THINGS TO CONSIDER	ITEMS Recent updates will be in red	WHO’S BRINGING IT:	SIZE OF PARTY
		MEATS
Hot Dogs (All beef), Brats, Hamburgers We’re pretty much set on meats, but if anyone is looking for a last minute dish maybe a bucket of chicken [KFC], or drummetts from Kroger or Safeway??	Will try to get non-pork Brats also		GlennDL	Me, Myself and I.
Meat balls Bbq chicken.			Dee Lightful Williams	7
	YOU aren’t limited to what’s on this list, if you want to bring something else just let us know.		ICE!!  ICE!! ICE!!
		SIDE DISHES
home made salsa, tater-tot casserole,	(I will have the recipe posted at the picnic.)		GlennDL
Grilled corn on cobb			Jodi
Grilled Watermelon			Jodi
Mac & Cheese			??
Cole Slaw			??
Pineapple Kabobs			Jodi
Potato Salad			Dee Lightful Williams
Cold Pasta Salad Salad			APRIL
Cucumber Tomato Salad	Diabetic Recipe		GlennDL
Green Beans			??
Baked Beans			??
Cheese Ball			??
Vegi tray & dip			Angelique Averett
	It’s OK if more than one person brings the same dish.		Two people, both bringing potato salad for example, just gives us variety.
		DRINKS
kick-a-poo joy juice.	This is a soda juice mix (I will have the recipe posted at the picnic.)		GlennDL
Soda	Include diet drinks, both clear and dark (Sprite-Pepsi)		Angelique Averett
Punch, Capri San, juice boxes	for the kids
bottled water
Iced Tea	Sweetened and un-sweetened. also bring sweeteners		Debbie Tanner-Jemison
Lemonade & Kool-aide			Debbie Tanner-Jemison
If for any reason [schedule, coming by yourself, last minute decision etc.] you may not be able to prepare a dish then you can make a donation to the cause to help cover expenses. This is strictly optional and we will not be passing the hat at the picnic.		Keep in mind that as well as having sugar craving kids we will also have an older crowd that will include those that are watching their sugar intake so consider diet drinks (both clear and cola) and even caffeine free.
		CONDIMENTS
I will bring my homemade "Sassy Bourbon BBQ sauce", Sassy burger fixins’ (pepper jack cheese, onions, jalapenos), deviled eggs			Kelly	2
Ketchup, mayo or salad dressing, mustard, hot sauce, onions, lettuce, bell pepper, pickles and relish			Angelique Averett
Buns: hot dog and burgers
Click this “MADE IN AMERICA” icon to look for MIA products.		ICE!!  ICE!! ICE!!
		DESSERTS AND SNACKS
a dessert	bring the appropriate utensils for serving		Kelly
Ice Cream	bring the appropriate utensils for serving		Dee Lightful Williams
watermelon, cantaloupe
Chips, potato and tortilla type , cheese puffs and dip	bring the appropriate utensils for serving we will already have salsa for chips and dogs.		Angelique Averett	7
cake	bring the appropriate utensils for serving
pie	bring the appropriate utensils for serving
			Darlene
Everyone…EVERYONE should bring some ICE. Both chopped and block. We will have a cold bath set-up for keeping cold dishes cold so frozen blocks of ice will help there.			ICE!!  ICE!! ICE!!
		SUPPLIES
Plastic ware, paper plates, cups, napkins
		GAMES
Croquet, ring toss, frisbee			GlennDL
Pit, Catch Phrase & Apple to Apple.
ICE!!  ICE!! ICE!!			ICE!!  ICE!! ICE!!

Here’s what everyone should consider bringing:
ICE: we need ice for drinks and ice for keeping dishes and drinks cool. Even if you aren’t bringing drinks are cold food consider bringing any ice chest you have full of ice. Also consider freezing milk jugs or disposable containers so that we have block ice. Ice is cheap and we can’t have too much.

Chairs: We will have plenty of seating at the picnic tables but they can get pretty hard over the course of the day so cushions or lawn chairs might make your day more comfortable.

Personal items: sunscreen, bug repellant, change of clothes, hat, hand fan, etc.

More than one person can sign-up to bring a dish. Two people, both bringing potato salad for example, just gives us variety.

Hot Table=We will be using the park’s grill to set up a table for keeping food warm [not to cook on]. We will be using large chaffing pans with water over coals to keep food warm. If you are bringing dishes that you want kept warm then we suggest smaller chafing style dishes or bowls and pan at least 3 inches deep. The Hot Table should be ready no later than 11:30.

Cold Table=Similar to the Hot Table except we will bring those tables ourselves. We want to keep the park’s picnic tables free for setting and eating. We will fill large chaffing dishes with water and ice. If you are bringing dishes that you want kept cool then we suggest smaller chafing style dishes or bowls and pan at least 3 inches deep. The Cold Table should be ready between no later than 11:30.

Sanitation=We are required to ‘take out’ our own trash and there will be plenty of it. I [Glenn] will take care of hauling out our trash and ashes but we need someone [or ‘someones’] to take responsibility for setting up, labeling and monitoring our trash and recycling area, cleaning it up and taking out the recycles at the end of the day. Of course large heavy-duty trash bags but also containers for holding the bags [Tall trash cans, laundry baskets, boxes, etc, whatever]. This area should be ready to go about noon.

Tips: What everyone should consider bringing=Ice will be a premium, if everyone will bring at least one bag of ice and block ice for community use that will be great. By block ice* we are suggesting everyone take a disposable plastic jug and freeze it solid. We will use it to maintain the Cold Table baths by breaking it up and putting chunks in the water.
Only bag ice will be used for drinking.

The picnic tables can be hard and in case our group grows they may become crowded so you might want to bring extra chairs [lawn or foldable]. If you have coolers or canopies please bring them. You can leave them in your vehicle until it becomes apparent they are needed if you want to.

If you think you might want to go on the trails, hayride, horseback riding, etc. you may want to bring extra shoes [closed toe].

Sunscreen.

If your dish is going into the hot or cold baths it should be at least 3 inches deep. We suggest medium or small aluminum chafing style pans. GFS has various size inexpensive disposable Chaffin dishes/pans with fitted lids. We recommend you visit GFS for these items, disposable serving spoons, paper plates, etc.

Remember there is an admission fee to the park [5 dollars], it is per car, get a map at the gate and be sure to keep your receipt. You can use it for re-entry.

Please provide some cover for your dish, something that won’t blow away.

Ice and more Ice.

Hayride scheduled for 12:30PM To make sure everyone has time between the Hayride and the Nature Walk the start time for the free Hayride is 12:30 VISITOR CENTER, Nature Center and Military Museum will be open After years of discovering the Center was incomplete and closed on weekends it is now complete and will be open this year. Free -- “Experience the natural and cultural history of the park through park and interpretative programs.” The center has displays similar to the Museum of 20th Century Warfare located nearby, but in addition they have a viewing area where you can observe bird feeders through the viewing window. In the few minutes I was there last last year I observed several species, including a humming bird, which is a beautiful and amazing little bird.

 

• A croquet, court will be set up.
• We'll set up a table for board, card or dominoes games. More than one if necessary.
• There's room for throwing a football, Frisbee, pitch and catch, or something else if desired.
• There is a pier on Delaware Lake. You can fish, but if your an adult you need a license. 
• The park has many paved and unpaved walking and hiking trails that go along the river and around both lakes. [Delaware Lake & The Duck Pond]  Several of the trails pass within a short walk of our shelter. For pictures from the trails and information click here.
• There are three playgrounds within 75 yards of our shelter.
• We will be reserving a “Hayride” for 12:30pm sharp. The tractor pulled ‘Hey Wagon’ will pick us up at our shelter and take a trip along the ‘Harrison Trace’ [see park map] around Lake Delaware and the Duck Pond.
• Horseback rides along the saddle trail will be available. We won’t be reserving a session but that morning we will notify the saddle barn of the time and number of people who will be participating. $16.00 for 1.25 mile trail [apx. 35 minutes]. We will try to have someone there to take pictures. $1 discount for cash. Must be older than six and less than 18 must have consent form [contact me]. When you arrive be sure to let me [Glenn} know if you want to do the saddle ride. These are last years prices, we will update them.
• Adult assisted pony rides. For kids under 6. $3.00 We will schedule this in the same manner as the horse back rides. Not a turnstile. This will occur in a corral about 200 yards long and you will be allowed up to three out and back trips. When you arrive be sure to let me [Glenn} know if you want to do the saddle ride. These are last years prices, we will update them. 

-from the conservation and naturalist walk [2009-

-a late dinner guest showed up as we were cleaning up last year-

 

 

Remember, there is a $5 per VEHICLE entrance fee to the park. Keep your receipt and get a map.

This is open to friends, relatives, co-workers, their friends and family etc., etc., etc.  Be sure to keep us posted on who and how many are coming with you.

For driving instructions and a map of our picnic site click the “Driving Instructions” icons above.

• 2010 slide show and video

• 2009 slide show

• aerial view of the area