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Author: Jacob

  • A River Clean-Up Float and Potluck Bring Neighbors Together at Niobrara

    A River Clean-Up Float and Potluck Bring Neighbors Together at Niobrara

    Editorial illustration

    Editorial illustration of volunteers in canoes and kayaks collecting litter along a calm river in early autumn.
    Editorial illustration

    There is a particularly cheerful kind of teamwork that starts with a paddle, a pair of gloves, and a river worth caring for. On September 26, volunteers are invited to bring that energy to Nebraska’s Niobrara National Scenic River for a Fall Clean-Up Day that pairs a river float with a community potluck.

    The National Park Service says the group will meet at 9 a.m. at Smith Falls State Park, then paddle the stretch from Smith Falls to Rocky Ford while collecting litter. The plan also includes an orientation, a shuttle back to the meeting point, and time to share food together afterward.

    Editorial illustration of volunteers gathering beside a river with gloves and litter bags before a community clean-up.
    Editorial illustration

    That combination makes the day feel usefully local: participants can help keep a scenic river corridor welcoming for the people who enjoy it, then connect with fellow volunteers over a meal. The river route follows a landscape where much of the adjoining land is privately owned, and the park asks participants to respect property boundaries and landowners along the way.

    Volunteers must register in advance through the National Park Service and University of Nebraska–Lincoln registration form. The park recommends preparing for changing weather, and its event notice lists a valid park permit for vehicle entry.

    The date falls on National Public Lands Day, an annual volunteer-focused occasion whose 2026 theme is “Caring for Our Shared America.” The National Park Service describes the day as a chance for people to join volunteer projects at parks and public lands around the country.

    Editorial illustration of volunteers sharing a community potluck beside a river after a day of service.
    Editorial illustration

    For anyone near Valentine, the invitation is straightforward: spend a September morning on the water, lend a hand, and celebrate the people who make room for one another and for the landscapes they share.

    Sources

  • Columbia’s Airport Filled With a Welcome Home for Veterans

    Columbia’s Airport Filled With a Welcome Home for Veterans

    The arrivals hall at Columbia Metropolitan Airport became a place of welcome on September 12. Families, volunteers, neighbors and Soldiers from the 81st Readiness Division gathered as Korean War and Vietnam War veterans returned from the Central Savannah River Area’s first Honor Flight.

    The journey began before sunrise. At about 5 a.m., Soldiers and volunteers helped stage wheelchairs and supported check-in for the veterans. The flight left Columbia around 7:30 a.m. for Washington, D.C., where the group visited memorials dedicated to their service and that of fellow service members.

    A welcome shaped by a whole community

    When the veterans returned to Columbia at about 8 p.m., the airport was ready to greet them. Soldiers stood at attention and saluted as families, Honor Flight volunteers and community members welcomed the travelers home. Some veterans returned the salute, creating a memorable exchange between those who had served and the neighbors who came to honor them.

    Editorial illustration of volunteers helping older travelers prepare for an airport departure
    Editorial illustration: volunteers lend a hand as travelers prepare for a shared journey.

    For 1st Sgt. Travis Blackwelder of the 81st Readiness Division, seeing Soldiers render honors to the returning veterans was one of the trip’s highlights, according to the division’s report. The report said the homecoming reminded Vietnam veteran Senior Master Sgt. Joseph A. Rampino that his service was remembered; Rampino described the moment as overwhelming.

    A day built around recognition

    The Honor Flight program brings veterans to Washington to visit memorials connected to their service. The Central Savannah River Area chapter’s first flight gave Korean War and Vietnam War veterans a day of travel, reflection and recognition, with volunteers helping at both ends of the trip.

    Editorial illustration of an older veteran and family member sharing a quiet moment in a memorial garden
    Editorial illustration: a veteran and family member pause together in a peaceful memorial garden.

    The 81st Readiness Division reported that the chapter had a second Honor Flight scheduled for May 2027. The Sept. 12 homecoming showed the community care threaded through the first trip: practical help before departure, a journey to the nation’s capital, and a gathering at the airport to say welcome home.

    Editorial illustration of veterans meeting family and neighbors in an airport arrivals hall
    Editorial illustration: family and neighbors welcome veterans at an airport arrivals hall.

    Read the 81st Readiness Division’s account of the Honor Flight homecoming for the full event details. The story was reported by Master Sgt. Jessica Littlejohn.

    Images: Editorial illustrations created for Smile.news.

  • A Minnesota Prairie Invites Neighbors to Help Its Next Season Begin

    A Minnesota Prairie Invites Neighbors to Help Its Next Season Begin

    By Smile News Staff

    One September morning in southwestern Minnesota, an invitation is turning a patch of tallgrass prairie into a shared workday. Pipestone National Monument has asked volunteers to join park rangers on Saturday, September 26, for National Public Lands Day.

    Editorial illustration of volunteers gathering native prairie seed in tall grass on a clear autumn day.
    Editorial illustration: a community volunteer day in tallgrass prairie.

    The three-hour event runs from 9 a.m. to noon. According to the monument’s September 16 announcement, participants may collect native seeds for next year’s planting or help remove invasive plants that compete with native species. The park says tools, training and gloves will be available, making the morning welcoming to people who are new to this kind of stewardship.

    There is something wonderfully concrete about the work: a seed head gathered now can return to the prairie next season, while a few hours of careful tending can make room for the plants already rooted there. The monument is a cultural site as well as a prairie landscape, and the volunteer project offers neighbors a direct way to care for that place together.

    Editorial illustration of native prairie seed heads, paper seed envelopes, gloves and a field notebook in autumn grass.
    Editorial illustration: seed collection tools among native prairie grasses.

    Pipestone’s gathering is one local stop in a wider season of public-land care. The National Park Service says National Public Lands Day falls on September 26 this year, with volunteer events scheduled from September 12 through October 10. The annual effort, led with the National Environmental Education Foundation, brings people together around parks and other shared outdoor places.

    At Pipestone, volunteers are encouraged to RSVP so the park can prepare lunch, which will be served at 11:30 a.m. Sturdy shoes and layers for the weather are recommended. The details and contact information are available on the monument’s official event announcement.

    Editorial illustration of a simple volunteer lunch table beside a sunny autumn prairie.
    Editorial illustration: a shared lunch after prairie stewardship.

    For people looking for a hopeful way to spend a Saturday, the invitation is refreshingly simple: show up, learn a little, lend a hand and leave a familiar landscape ready for another growing season.

    Sources

  • Smile Across America: Ocmulgee’s Indigenous Celebration Shares Living Traditions

    Smile Across America: Ocmulgee’s Indigenous Celebration Shares Living Traditions

    Smile Across America follows the real places where communities make room for learning, tradition and shared joy. This week, the road leads to Macon, Georgia, and Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park.

    Editorial illustration of families and cultural presenters gathering outdoors near the Ocmulgee mounds in Georgia.
    Editorial illustration

    On September 12 and 13, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and the Ocmulgee Mounds Association presented the 34th Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration, a weekend focused on Southeastern Native American cultures and heritage. The National Park Service described the gathering as an opportunity for visitors to learn directly through cultural crafts, storytelling, live demonstrations, music and dance.

    The setting carries its own sense of welcome. Ocmulgee is in Macon, a place with a long Indigenous history, and the celebration centers the living knowledge of people whose connections to the region reach far beyond a single weekend. The park’s event information identified Muscogee (Creek), Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole and other communities among those represented.

    A day shaped for learning together

    The program made room for families as well as seasoned visitors. Organizers listed hands-on activities for children, including pottery making, alongside artisan tables, demonstrations, music, dance and storytelling. That mix gives every generation a natural way into the day: a child can try a new craft, a family can listen together, and visitors can meet artists and culture-bearers on their own terms.

    Editorial illustration of an adult guiding a child’s hands as they shape a small clay pot at an outdoor cultural learning table.
    Editorial illustration

    The Ocmulgee Mounds Association calls the annual event one of the Southeast’s premier Native American cultural gatherings. Its event page described arts, music, dance, storytelling, demonstrations and living traditions as the heart of the experience. Free, ADA-accessible shuttle service from the Macon-Bibb Health Department helped connect visitors with the park entrance.

    Joy travels through attention

    For Smile Across America, that is the bright takeaway from Macon: community joy often begins with attention. A story heard closely, a skill practiced with care, and a conversation with a local artist can turn a visit into a fuller understanding of place.

    Editorial illustration of families listening together during a public storytelling and music gathering on a lawn near the Ocmulgee mounds.
    Editorial illustration

    The 2026 celebration has passed, while the invitation it offered remains useful: seek out public programs that let communities share their living cultures in their own voices. Ocmulgee’s gathering gave Macon residents and travelers a September weekend for exactly that kind of connection.

    Sources

  • At Camp Zama, Volunteers Celebrate the Programs That Bring Neighbors Together

    At Camp Zama, Volunteers Celebrate the Programs That Bring Neighbors Together

    Editorial illustration: Community volunteers gather for a recognition event and children’s activities.

    At Camp Zama in Japan, a room full of neighbors recently paused to celebrate the people who make everyday community life run a little more smoothly.

    U.S. Army Garrison Japan’s Volunteer Recognition Ceremony, held September 14 at the Camp Zama Community Club, honored more than 200 volunteers for service across the year. The gathering recognized a wide range of contributions, from recurring programs to practical help that keeps community spaces welcoming and connected.

    Editorial illustration of volunteers preparing books and art supplies for children at a community activity table.
    Editorial illustration: A volunteer-led children’s activity brings neighbors together.

    One of the volunteers highlighted in the garrison’s report was Lindsey Wine. With her husband, Staff Sgt. Derek Wine of the 765th Transportation (Terminal) Battalion, she established and led a weekly children’s program after identifying a community need. Their work offers a clear example of the quiet, repeatable care that helps families find activities, friendships, and familiar faces close to home.

    The ceremony’s message centered on the value of every contribution. Programs thrive through the people who set out supplies, welcome newcomers, organize a weekly gathering, share local knowledge, or return each week to help an idea become part of the neighborhood’s rhythm.

    Editorial illustration of neighbors and volunteers sharing information at a welcoming community-club table.
    Editorial illustration: Community connections grow through practical, friendly help.

    Recognition events can make that work visible. They give a community a chance to name the effort behind familiar programs and to celebrate the volunteers whose time creates room for other people to participate.

    Camp Zama’s gathering is a warm reminder that local life is shaped by many small acts of service. A weekly children’s activity, a conversation at a community table, and an evening spent helping neighbors all add up to a place where people can feel included.

    Source: U.S. Army Garrison Japan, via DVIDS: “USAG Japan Volunteer Recognition Ceremony: ‘All of it matters’”.

  • Smile Across America: At Big South Fork, a field of stories opens to the community

    Smile Across America: At Big South Fork, a field of stories opens to the community

    Editorial illustration: A community gathering for stories, music and hands-on making in a Tennessee woodland setting.

    On Saturday, September 19, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area will make room for a full day of stories, music, crafts and neighborly conversation. The park’s Haunting in the Hills Storytelling Festival returns to Bandy Creek Field with free programs designed to welcome listeners of every age.

    The festival’s heart is its storytellers. Visitors can hear live performances from artists whose work carries the rhythms, humor and memory of Appalachian storytelling. Music joins the program, and hands-on craft classes give people a chance to make something alongside the listening.

    Editorial illustration of a storyteller sharing a story with children in a warm school library.
    Editorial illustration: Storytelling outreach brings live performance into local schools.

    A tradition that reaches beyond the field

    The gathering begins before festival day. In the days leading up to it, professional storytellers visit local schools, giving students a chance to experience a live story and connect with the tradition in person. That small circle of listeners becomes part of a wider regional celebration when families, friends and visitors meet at Bandy Creek.

    For Smile Across America, that is the lovely part of this stop in Tennessee: a public place becomes a shared room for imagination. A voice, a song, a craft table and an attentive audience can all help a local tradition travel forward.

    Editorial illustration of multiple generations sharing a simple handmade craft at an outdoor table.
    Editorial illustration: A craft table invites generations to make and learn together.

    Planning a day of listening

    The National Park Service lists the festival at Bandy Creek Field on September 19 and describes it as free and open to the public. The program includes storytellers, live music and craft activities in the outdoor setting of Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. Visitors can check the park’s festival page for featured storytellers and current event details before heading out.

    Big South Fork’s festival offers a warm reminder that a good story gains energy when people hear it together. This September, Bandy Creek Field is set to be one more American gathering place where voices, music and shared attention make a day feel memorable.

    Source: National Park Service — Haunting in the Hills Storytelling Festival.

  • Smile Across America: Congaree’s 50th Birthday Invites Neighbors Into the Forest

    Smile Across America: Congaree’s 50th Birthday Invites Neighbors Into the Forest

    Smile Across America: This fall, a South Carolina forest will turn 50 and invite its neighbors to help mark the moment. Congaree National Park is planning two free anniversary days on October 17 and 18, with walks, talks, speakers and hands-on activities centered at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center in Hopkins.

    Editorial illustration of visitors walking a boardwalk through Congaree National Park
    Editorial illustration.

    A birthday built around shared stories

    The National Park Service says the weekend will commemorate five decades of Congaree National Park while making space for the people and local efforts that helped protect the landscape. A commemorative ceremony is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. on Sunday, October 18.

    That framing gives the celebration an especially generous feeling: the park’s milestone becomes a reason to gather, learn a little history and spend time outdoors together. The program is free, and the visitor center will be the starting point for the weekend’s activities.

    Walks, talks and people to meet

    Saturday’s schedule includes ranger talks on the park’s history and ecology, a session on Congaree Action Now! and its role in the park’s story, and a “Voices of Congaree” speaker series. Visitors can also join the 50 for 50 BioBlitz activity or hear from the Carolina Wildlife Center.

    On Sunday, the program continues with more talks, speakers and family-friendly presentations, including appearances from Riverbanks Zoo. The details invite visitors to choose their own pace: settle in for a story, follow a guide into the woods or share the day with someone who has been meaning to see the park.

    Editorial illustration of a community speaker sharing a story with visitors at Congaree National Park
    Editorial illustration.

    A big-tree invitation

    One of Sunday’s early events is the 50th Anniversary Big Tree Hike with John Cely, scheduled for 9 a.m. The park asks participants to sign up in advance for that hike, a small planning step for anyone hoping to make the most of the anniversary weekend.

    Congaree’s celebration is a useful reminder that public lands can hold many kinds of community time. A trail can become a meeting place. A ranger talk can carry a local memory forward. A birthday for a park can become a reason for neighbors, visitors and longtime supporters to look around together and appreciate what has endured.

    Editorial illustration of hikers looking up at a giant tree in Congaree National Park
    Editorial illustration.

    Planning a joyful fall visit

    The National Park Service has published the full schedule and notes that events begin at the Harry Hampton Visitor Center. For travelers nearby, it is an easy invitation to add a hopeful, people-centered stop to an October weekend.

    Sources: National Park Service announcement; National Park Service event schedule.

  • Smile Across America: Valles Caldera’s Fall Fiesta Invites a Weekend of Art, Music and Stargazing

    Smile Across America: Valles Caldera’s Fall Fiesta Invites a Weekend of Art, Music and Stargazing

    Smile Across America heads to northern New Mexico this month, where Valles Caldera National Preserve is preparing a three-day Fall Fiesta built around the people, stories and wide-open views of the Jemez Mountains.

    The 2026 celebration is scheduled for Friday, September 25, through Sunday, September 27, in the preserve’s Cabin District. The National Park Service says the program will bring together live music, an artisan and education village, cultural demonstrations, guest speakers, ranger programs and hourly eruption simulations at the Volcano Discovery Center.

    Editorial illustration of visitors meeting artisans at an autumn festival in a high New Mexico valley.
    Editorial illustration: a community gathering amid autumn color in a high New Mexico valley.

    A weekend with room to learn and make

    Friday’s program is focused on scientific discovery, with talks on New Mexico volcanism, the geology of Valles Caldera, the area’s past wildlife and long-term ecological change in the Jemez Mountains. The artisan and education village is scheduled to open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

    Saturday blends recreation and stewardship. The schedule includes a National Public Lands Day volunteer activity, a ranger-guided mindfulness yoga program, an Excellence in Volunteerism award ceremony and an afternoon of Music in the Valle. On Sunday, the Fiesta turns toward cultural continuity with art, music, a guest talk, a traditional Pueblo dance and a hoop-dancing workshop.

    Editorial illustration of golden aspens, an open valley, distant elk and people walking along a trail.
    Editorial illustration: autumn light and a respectful trail view across a mountain valley.

    After-hours valley time

    Each Fiesta evening, the front-country section between the main entrance and the Cabin District is set to remain open until 8 p.m. for self-guided wildlife viewing, sunset hikes and night-sky appreciation. The park asks visitors to plan for cool evening conditions, bring water and lights, stay on the established route, give wildlife ample space and head out by the posted closing time.

    The Festival’s outdoor silent-disco music sessions on September 26 and 27 are designed to keep the park’s soundscape gentle while offering an accessible way for people to enjoy music together. The event page lists New Mexico artists across both afternoons.

    Editorial illustration of several visitors taking a sunset walk through a mountain valley beneath early stars.
    Editorial illustration: a calm self-guided walk beneath an evening sky.

    Planning a visit

    The Cabin District sits about four miles down the preserve’s gravel entrance road from NM-4. Festival activities begin at 11 a.m.; entrance fees apply at the preserve. Leashed pets are welcome on the Cabin District Trail, in picnic areas and at the artisan village. The National Park Service has the current daily schedule and visitor details on its Fall Fiesta page.

    For a family looking for a warm September weekend on public land, this is a generous invitation: listen, learn, make something and leave a little more connected to the landscape and its many caretakers.

    Sources

  • At Indiana Dunes, an art class makes room for a speedy little lizard

    At Indiana Dunes, an art class makes room for a speedy little lizard

    GARY, Indiana — A small, speedy resident of Indiana Dunes National Park is getting an unlikely turn in the spotlight: an afternoon art class built around the six-lined racerunner, a native lizard that can be easy to miss unless a visitor is looking closely.

    Editorial illustration of families painting small striped lizards together beside dunes and Lake Michigan
    Editorial illustration of an art-and-nature class at the dunes.

    Indiana Dunes National Park’s Art in the Park session is scheduled for September 12 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education in Gary. The program, hosted with the Art Barn School of Art in Valparaiso, welcomes every skill level and is designed to be accessible to people with physical limitations, according to the National Park Service.

    The day’s painting theme is the racerunner. The park describes the six-lined racerunner as a native lizard with a lightning-fast reputation — the kind of neighbor that rewards a slow walk, a patient eye and perhaps a sketchbook.

    Editorial illustration of a child and grandparent painting a striped racerunner lizard with watercolors
    Editorial illustration of a shared watercolor project inspired by the dunes.

    Instructor Dori Huber is slated to guide participants through painting a scene inspired by the park. The appeal is wonderfully straightforward: a family can spend an afternoon making something together while paying closer attention to the living details of a familiar landscape.

    That connection between art and observation is the point. A painting session does not need to turn anyone into a naturalist or a professional artist. It can simply create space to notice the colors in dune grass, the texture of sand and the remarkable small creatures that share the shoreline.

    Editorial illustration of a striped racerunner lizard resting among dune grass near Lake Michigan
    Editorial illustration of a racerunner in a dune landscape.

    The class costs $25 per person and is open to all ages. The Paul H. Douglas Center itself is free to enter, and the park notes that a park pass is not required for this indoor program. Registration details are available through the event listing.

    It is a modest invitation with a generous payoff: bring a willingness to look closely, leave with a painting, and let a small native lizard make the dunes feel a little more personal.

    Source

  • Macon Prepares to Welcome the 34th Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration

    Macon Prepares to Welcome the 34th Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration

    Smile Across America

    Macon has a community invitation on the calendar this weekend: the 34th annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. The National Park Service says the free gathering is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

    Editorial illustration of families walking beside a grassy earthwork in warm afternoon light
    Editorial illustration

    The celebration is one of the larger events focused on Southeastern Native American culture, according to the park. Its program is designed to give visitors a chance to learn from people whose ancestors lived at the site long before Macon was founded.

    Park organizers list traditional cultural crafts, storytelling, live demonstrations, music, dance, and Native American artisans and vendors among the weekend’s offerings. There will also be children’s activities, including pottery making. That makes the event a practical family outing as well as a chance to spend time with history that remains living and local.

    Editorial illustration of an elder and child shaping clay together at an outdoor arts table
    Editorial illustration

    A welcome built around learning

    The park notes that Ocmulgee lies within a landscape of deep cultural significance, with the event offering a setting for visitors to listen, learn, make something with their hands, and support participating artists. It is a cheerful kind of shared public space: people arriving with curiosity and leaving with a little more connection to the place around them.

    For families planning to attend, the National Park Service lists event parking at the Macon-Bibb County Health Plaza, 171 Emery Highway. Visitors should check the park’s event page before heading out for the latest logistics.

    Editorial illustration of a community listening to an outdoor acoustic music performance at dusk
    Editorial illustration

    Smile Across America follows real moments of welcome, care, and celebration in communities around the country. This weekend, Macon offers a lovely reminder that learning together can be a celebration in itself.

    Source: National Park Service: Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration

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