First Posted: 7/20/2013

ORRUM — For Selena Locklear and her family, Lumber River Day is a must-attend event.

Locklear, her husband Dwayne and their two daughters were able to enjoy the event on a sun-splashed day on Saturday for the fourth year in a row.

“We come every year,” Locklear said. “I just love the scenery, the events and the prizes.”

Last year, Locklear’s oldest daughter Arlena, won a new bicycle.

“I was so surprised and excited,” Arlena said.

And the year before last, Arlena and her sister Ariel won gift cards.

“They always give something to the kids,” Locklear said. “A kid will not leave here without something.”

Along with prizes, the celebration featured free activities like a casting contest, a wet T-shirt race for children, a bounce house, train rides and live entertainment from Jim Caulder and the Bluegrass Misfits.

Although the weather was sunny and a reasonable 85 degrees, the event did suffer from a hangover from all the recent rain as the swollen Lumber River forced the cancellation of canoe and kayak rides and the fishing contest.

The festivities were all part of the fourth annual event, which celebrates the park’s being recognized as one of North Carolina’s top 10 natural wonders by Land For Tomorrow, an alliance of environmental advocacy groups. The festival is held the third Saturday in July each year at the Lumber River State Park at 2819 Princess Ann Road.

During the opening ceremony, Miss Fairmont Ivy Page sang the national anthem, Boy Scout Troop 33 lead the “Pledge of Allegiance” and the Miss Lumbee Pageant winners spoke.

Mickey Gregory, the executive director of the Lumberton Visitors Bureau, said the festival gives Robeson County something to be proud while bringing them in touch with a natural resource.

“An event like Lumber River Day brings visitors to our river,” Gregory said. “Our goal is to make it even broader … . We want to get travelers to stop as well.”

Gregory, who helped start Lumber River Day after the park was recognized by Land For Tomorrow, said the celebration has evolved during the years.

“Initially, we had no money,” she said. “Golden Corral stepped up and provided free food for the first two years.”

This year, there were numerous vendors that sold food to the hundreds of people who attended the event.

Everett Davis, the c0-chairman of the Lumber River Day Festival, celebrated the birthday of his 90-year-old mother a week earlier just to attend the celebration. He believes the community should understand the value of the park.

“Many people in the community have known for years how important the river is,” Davis said, “but there are so many people who don’t even know the park is here. The Lumber River Day is an effort to educate and inform people about the park.”

Lumber River Day is a joint effort among the Lumber River State Park, the Lumberton Visitors Bureau and the Robeson Tourism Development Association, Davis said.

Davis suggested a five-minute canoe ride on the river as a stress reliever.

“It’s so peaceful and so calm,” he said.

Neill Lee, the superintendent of the park, said the celebration was a success despite the flood river canceling some of the events.