Accessible Picnic Shelter for People with Disabilities and Their Families Opens at Hanging Rock State Park

A new accessible picnic shelter will welcome families with and without disabilities to enjoy a day at Hanging Rock State Park to further the mission of accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities.

Picnic in the Park! will be held at Hanging Rock State Park on July 24, 2016 from Noon – 3 PM to celebrate the opening of the shelter with an ADA training, lunch and also commemorate the 26th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Who: Hanging Rock State Park, The Adaptables, Inc. Center for Independent Living and North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD)

What: New accessible picnic shelter providing accessibility and inclusion for people with mobility disabilities, their families, and their travel companions

When: Sunday, July 24, 2016
Noon – 3 PM

Where: Hanging Rock State Park
1790 Hanging Rock Park Rd
Danbury, NC 27016

Why: Hanging Rock State Park will celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) at its new accessible picnic shelter. Activities will include an ADA training provided by the staff of The Adaptables Center for Independent Living and painting the Accessible Icon in accessible parking spaces led by Brendon Hildreth of New Bern, NC. Lunch will be provided at the accessible picnic shelter that the ACCESS North Carolina program built to increase accessible picnic opportunities in the park.

Photo opportunities: People with disabilities and their families enjoying a day at the park along with an ADA training to educate everyone on the history and the future of the ADA.

Interview opportunities:
• Robin Riddlebarger, Superintendent of Hanging Rock State Park
• Mark Steele, Executive Director of The Adaptables, Inc. Center for Independent Living in Winston-Salem
• Philip Woodward, Systems Change Manager, North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities
• Brendon Hildreth, member of the community

Media Contact: Devika Rao, 404-374-5231

About Hanging Rock State Park:
Since its creation as a 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps project, Hanging Rock State Park has offered the best of a traditional outdoor experience with 73-site campground, picnic grounds, stocked lake for swimming and canoe rentals and more than 20 miles of hiking trails that climb onto spectacular views and weave alongside clear streams and waterfalls. There is also access on the Dan River for paddling, 8.4 miles of mountain biking trails and rock-climbing opportunities with permit. A complex of vacation cabins is available for longer visits. Free interpretive programs complement the education offerings of a park museum that explores the natural and cultural history of the Sauratown Mountains.

About The Adaptables, Inc. Center for Independent Living:
The Adaptables, Inc. CIL is one of over 300 federal and state supported Centers for Independent Living (CIL). All centers are consumer-controlled, community-based, cross-disability, private, non-profit organizations. The Adaptables, Inc. along with all other centers respect consumer choices, goals, and expertise. The center provides advocacy, IL skills training, peer support, information, and referral services that combine to guarantee that people with disabilities have the opportunity to exercise control over their own lives. The Adaptables, Inc. CIL serves: Davidson County, Davie County, Forsyth County, Stokes County, Surry County, and Yadkin County.

About the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities:
The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities (NCCDD) works to assure that people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families participate in the design of and have access to needed community services, individualized supports and other forms of assistance that promote self-determination, integration, independence, productivity and inclusion in all areas of community life. Through its Five Year Plan, the Council identifies and funds innovative projects and initiatives that promote the goals of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act) for all North Carolinians.

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