Discover Statesville
Welcome to "Discover Statesville," the show that takes you on a captivating journey through the heart of one of North Carolina's most charming towns. Co-hosted by community advocates, Richard Griggs and Cindy Sutton, this weekly show brings you the pulse of Statesville, recording live at various spots throughout Statesville in partnership with Sow Media studios.
Join Richard and Cindy as they uncover the hidden gems and local treasures that make Statesville truly special. From the top-notch attractions and exciting events to the remarkable individuals who shape the community, "Discover Statesville" promises to leave no stone unturned.
Hungry for a culinary adventure? Tune in for their delightful restaurant reviews, where they'll guide you to the best places to eat in town. Whether you're a resident or a visitor, this podcast is your ultimate guide to all the things that make Statesville great.
You're invited to come along on this immersive journey, as "Discover Statesville" brings you closer to the heart of our vibrant town. Be prepared to be entertained, inspired, and enlightened each week, as Richard and Cindy share their passion for all things Statesville!
Discover Statesville
Nature's Classroom: Discovering Lake Norman State Park
Curious about life within a sprawling 2,000-acre state park? Join us as we explore Lake Norman State Park through the eyes of Frances Cassarino, the lead education ranger who brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for nature. After transitioning from Myrtle Beach State Park, Frances has found a new home in North Carolina’s diverse landscapes, where she channels her love for the outdoors into environmental education and stewardship.
In this episode, Frances takes us on a journey beyond the typical park visit. She shares the dynamic roles of park rangers, from educational outreach and law enforcement to emergency response and wildland firefighting. Discover how Frances engages thousands of students through tailored educational programs and the collaborative efforts that make these enriching experiences possible. Whether you're an adventurer or a nature enthusiast, Lake Norman State Park offers a range of activities, including swimming, hiking, and picnicking, making it a must-visit destination for all.
We also delve into the park's vibrant calendar of events, perfect for both community members and visitors. From the slightly spooky Halloween hike to the creative gingerbread house competition, and the impactful Catawba River Sweep to National Public Lands Day, there's something for everyone. Frances highlights the park’s amenities, such as rentable picnic shelters, camping cabins, and versatile event spaces, ideal for weddings or gatherings. Tune in to discover the exciting experiences that await you at Lake Norman State Park!
Want to learn more about the 2,000-acre park right here in our backyard and one of the rangers that makes sure that it's a nice place to go play. Tune in now.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Discover Statesville, the show that takes you on a captivating journey through the heart of one of North Carolina's most charming towns.
Speaker 3:Welcome back everyone. We are so excited to have our next episode of Discover Statesville right here in so Media Studios in the heart of downtown Statesville, and today I am super excited to have with us Francis Casarino, who is a park ranger the lead education ranger right, I read recently at Lake Norman State Park, which is an amazing destination asset we have in our community. So welcome, we're so excited to have you.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me. Yeah, so we happen to have the benefit. Thanks for having me, yeah. Yeah, so we happen to have the benefit of knowing a little bit more about you, because we interviewed you for an article recently which will be included when we put this podcast up, but it's also out on our website. But I found it interesting to learn, talking about you a little bit first, that you actually get to live on the park, in the park right With your family.
Speaker 4:Yes, ma'am, yeah, tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, so one of the perks? Well, I think it's a perk of being a park ranger in North Carolina is some of us do get park housing, so we live on the park, so my backyard is the woods.
Speaker 1:Quite literally your backyard 2,000 acre backyard that's pretty amazing.
Speaker 4:Well, it makes me care about it even more. Yeah, so I definitely think that's one of the perks, because you're living where you're working, so the commute's not too bad. It's not too bad of a house either. Yeah, so I can't complain. There's four rangers get housing at Lake Norman State Park when we're fully staffed.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I did not know that and I found that very interesting. I wanted to share that with everybody.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, and it helps easy. If there's ever an emergency that happens, we're all right there. So if it's all hands on deck, we're all at the park, so it's no reason to be late for work or anything like that. Yes, I get it.
Speaker 2:Or that might no, I think that's a win.
Speaker 1:I think that's a win. So, Frances, how long have you been with Lake Norman State Park?
Speaker 4:So I've been in Lake Norman State Park for just over three years. I've been with the division for four years.
Speaker 1:Okay, so where were you before Lake Norman?
Speaker 4:I was at Hammocks Beach State Park oh that's not a bad place to be.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, out on the coast, yeah.
Speaker 3:Bear Island. You been in the park system Four years Okay. So we've had the blessing of having you the longest.
Speaker 4:Yes, moved here and I love the area, so it's hard to beat. You're close to the mountains. You can go to the city if you want to.
Speaker 1:Access, access that's great yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah so Meredith on our team had the opportunity to interview you and really interview you before this podcast and what really stood out to her is just your pure passion that I guess you had mentioned, that it's definitely not a job, it's definitely your passion for the outdoors and that as you were coming through education and stuff, you knew that you didn't want to work inside at a desk.
Speaker 4:Tell us a little bit about that, yeah so in college I got a part-time job at Myrtle Beach State Park down in South Carolina and there I was full-time educator during the summer. So we would do up to 20 programs a week for the public and I loved it being outside. And the more I got into my degree, the more I realized I did not want to be in a lab all day. So I was going for marine science and biology and a lot of those jobs are cool, but a lot of them spend a lot of time indoors and that is not where I like to be. So with that job I realized I wanted to do more for the parks other than just education.
Speaker 4:So I moved over to be an arranger down in South Carolina, worked there for about three years at three different state parks down there and then realized I still wanted more. I wanted more In North Carolina. The cool thing about our park system is we're educators, we're law enforcement, we're wildland firefighters, we're emergency medical responders, we're search and rescue certified. So we get all these different umbrellas or hats that we have to wear that are part of our job. So it's never boring and everything you're doing is helping our natural resources and helping the public to create the place where they can come to the parks.
Speaker 3:So yeah, that sounds amazing.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's a lot of responsibility. It is a lot of responsibility.
Speaker 4:But if you're passionate about it, it's definitely a great career, especially if you're creating those outdoor spaces. My passion is for kids and having kids come to the park and creating that spark in that moment where they're like, well, I don't want to look at my phone anymore. I don't want to be inside all day. I want to come outside. I want to go on the trails, go on a paddleboard, see nature, see a cool animal or a tree.
Speaker 3:Yeah, outstanding. Definitely love that. Speaking of the kids, you had 10 field trips over this past year. I think you said you reached over 2,000 local students. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 4:So we are expanding our school groups quite a lot, and a good thing. We do have a school and parks program with the whole division. So with that we get certain teachers from schools in the area and they get assigned to our park and then we work with them throughout the year to get them to come to field trips to the state park. And then for other schools that may not have enough funding, our friends group, which is the volunteer group for the park.
Speaker 3:Oh, talk about them.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah so they actually can help reimburse schools that can't afford to come out for a field trip. So if cost is an issue, there's a lot of different programs in place to get those school field trips out, as well, as we do a lot of outreach programs, so going to schools for career days or like bringing a program in a bucket, whether it be skins and skulls or some water quality programs. So if schools can't come to us, we try to go to them.
Speaker 1:And so the schools have the ability to obviously you have some built-in programming that you guys facilitate Can schools also contact? And to obviously you have some built-in programming that you guys facilitate Can schools also contact and you know reach out to you and say, hey, we're studying this. Is there a field trip or a program that you could design to help facilitate education on this particular topic? That may not be in your regular menu. Yes, okay.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so one of the cool things is, well, our NC state standards for schools are all online.
Speaker 2:So if I get a school group say kindergartners, well that's a bad example, they don't have really good standards, sorry.
Speaker 4:I don't know why I said kindergartners, so third grade, say third grade science and they're learning about something specific and they don't see it as a program we've done before. I can work with the teacher and, based off those standards, to develop a program for them that they can take back to the classroom and talk about what we learned at the park, so that it's relevant to the students, sure, and it's something that they can see, that they're learning in the classroom, outdoors as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, yeah.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so it's really tailored to that group, to what the teacher wants.
Speaker 1:That's a great service to be able to offer, as opposed to just you can come, we've got these five programs. Doesn't fit your mold. You know there's other opportunities out there.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, and I think it means a lot more to the students when it's something that they can relate to and that they've learned about in the classroom. Sure, especially that like aha moment, like oh yeah, I know what this is.
Speaker 3:So yeah, it's a really cool thing we do. And, staying on topic, with people coming out to the park, you mentioned a million visitors to the park in 2023?.
Speaker 4:Yeah, just under a million visitors. So we are a highly visited park. Yeah, lake Normandy, if you come out on a holiday weekend. This past year we have had to close our swim beach and have one in, one out and people will wait in a line down State Park Road for hours to get into our swim beach. Which is like you wouldn't think about. But then the locals who come all the time, they're like what big event's going on?
Speaker 2:It Like you wouldn't think about it.
Speaker 3:But, then the locals who come all the time. They're like what big event's going on?
Speaker 4:It's like people just want to go to the park.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's not a big event. People love it. I will say that when we're looking for user-generated content to build excitement about coming to the greater Statesville area as a market for visitors to travel here, we can always count on someone checking in and putting amazing content at the state park. Whether it's the beach or hiking trail or biking, someone's always doing something cool out there and we love it. So what is it for? I know Richard knows with his life in recreation and parks and I know because of now leaning into tourism. But for our listeners, why would I come to Lake Norman State?
Speaker 1:Park? Tell us about it and what can I do there? Yeah, all the great things. Why would I come to Lake Norman State Park, like, tell us about it and what can I do there?
Speaker 3:Yeah, all the great things that we can do at Lake Norman State Park.
Speaker 4:So many things. So one of the I think on the weekends one of the biggest draws is we have picnic tables and grills set up down by our swim beach and so you can come swim with your family from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We do provide lifeguards, so your family from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We do provide lifeguards. So there is a small fee to swim but you're paying for the lifeguards there.
Speaker 1:Can't put a price on safety.
Speaker 4:Yes, exactly, especially in a lake, you never know what's going to Right. Yeah, so having those picnic areas available for families we get a lot of huge family gatherings that'll come out. We have picnic shelters that you can rent if you have bigger groups. We have just over 30 miles of mountain biking trails, so if you're into mountain biking and those are helped, maintained by the Tar Heel Trailblazers, which is another volunteer group in the community that's helping to keep those trails up and running as well as we have a six mile lakeshore loop which is just hiking, and then a few smaller other trails. So if you have tiny kids, we have a .25 dragonfly trail loop which is ADA accessible, stroller accessible and there's interactive educational signs on the side. And then we do offer canoe, kayak, paddleboard and pedal boat rentals on the weekends. So it's $10 per hour per boat. So that's another fun draw as well as camping. We got a boat ramp. So whatever you have an interest in, you can definitely find it at the park.
Speaker 3:I'm always learning something new. Did you know about the Dragonfly Loop I?
Speaker 4:did.
Speaker 1:I did not. I didn't know.
Speaker 3:So we're kicking off a partnership with Outdoor NC and really featuring the outdoors in this area and they're really leaning into featuring accessible trails, and so we're going to have to talk offline about getting that, and you know guides that are enjoying taking people around and doing things out there at the park. So you have a pretty I'm going to say it wrong. Say the name of the bike trail Etusi, etusi.
Speaker 4:Yes, yeah, so originally the park was home to the Catawba Native American people. Okay, and Etusi is their word for hawk, so we do have a lot of hawks in the park, so that's how it got the name. Yeah, a little background history for you Things.
Speaker 1:I did not know, that's right, just add it to the list, yeah.
Speaker 3:So let's talk a little bit about the Friends of Lake Norman, because there's a wide variety of events that you guys have really been. It seems like it's getting more and more and it's really cool. We try to highlight them in our event rundown. I know we talked about Project Wetsum and the Star Party you have coming up in August, but tell us about what's. You know where we are at the end of August. Yeah, Tell us about what you have coming up the rest of the year and then some of the other events, Just like I know you guys did the solar eclipse viewing. That was cool yeah, yeah.
Speaker 4:so about some of that, um, some of the events we have coming up, so we have professional development events for informal and non-formal teachers.
Speaker 4:So that would be project, what it actually got pushed out until october, I want to say, okay, uh, just because the storm that came through, we pushed it out. And then we have project food, land and people. So both of those are they're designed for either teachers that are in the storm that came through we pushed it out and then we have Project Foodland and People. So both of those are designed for either teachers that are in the classroom that want to have more education on how they can teach about water, how they can teach about where our food comes to students, or they're for non-formal educators. So if you're a librarian and you want to know more about how you can talk about these subjects to students, so that's a really cool one for professional development for people. We did just have our end of summer celebration and s'mores, so that was sponsored by our friends group. That is a yearly event, so International S'mores Day is August 10th, if you did not know.
Speaker 2:I didn't know, that.
Speaker 3:So every August 10th we need to celebrate that next year.
Speaker 4:We do s'mores and then we'll do free boat rentals, sponsored by our friends group. So our friends group will provide free boat rentals for the whole day for the public to come out and use our boats. So it's a good time, if you've never used the boats before, to come out and try and test them out. We also have a few volunteer events, such as in September we have National Public Lands Day and then in October our Catawba River Sweep. So those are two events where, if you want to come back and give back to your state parks or just your public land that's around you, those are great events for you to come out to.
Speaker 3:Are those like a pickup?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so National Public Lands Day, we'll actually be doing something with our trails to help people. I'm not too sure about the details just yet, but if you look on our website, when we know them we'll post them up there. And then the River Sweep is. We go out either by paddling If you have a motorized boat you can bring that or you can walk the shorelines and help just pick up trash from the summer season that has been on our waterways. And then we do a haunted hike for—well, slightly haunted hike for Halloween. It's very kid-friendly. Well, slightly haunted hike for Halloween. It's very kid-friendly. But we encourage people to dress up. And then our gingerbread house competition at the end of the year to round it out.
Speaker 4:And then, in addition to all these big events that we have throughout the year, monthly we try to host at least two to three free programs for the public that are ranger-led. So these are just first-come, first-served. You call and register for them. Some of the ones that we do are small hikes for groups, fishing with a ranger. So we provide all the bait and tackle. You just have to show up and you can come fishing with us. We'll take people kayaking or canoeing and try and see what's in the water. So a wide variety of programs like that. And then we have our storybook walk on our Alder Trail, and that changes every two months. So it's a short under-a-mile trail and we'll have a story walk on there so you can hike along the trail and then read a picture book to your Cool yeah.
Speaker 1:Now, things like the Gingerbread House competition stuff. Do those take place at the Visitor Center there? Yes, Okay.
Speaker 4:Yep, and if it's anywhere else other than the visitor center, we have a whiteboard outside the visitor center as well, as our website will say the location of the event.
Speaker 1:And speaking of the visitor center, you guys will you rent some of that space for meetings and stuff?
Speaker 4:Yes, so we have a. We have a few rental facilities, so our biggest would be our community building and that's for rent. How large is that? It can hold seating. It's just under 100 people standing. I want to say it's 120, but it is listed on our website and it's an indoor outdoor space, has a wraparound porch and it is in a section of the park that's closed off unless you reserve it. So we get a lot of weddings, baby showers, birthday party celebrations down there, and it's really cool because it's like your own little section of the park for the day and the building's off. You have a view of the water all around you, especially in the fall and winter when you don't have as many leaves on the trees. You just get beautiful views of Lake Norman. So yeah, it's a good rental facility.
Speaker 4:Then we have four rentable picnic shelters that people can rent. Two of them do have electricity, if you need that, the other two do not, and all those come with their picnic tables. There's a water source nearby and then a grill for people to grill at. You can bring your own grills, but there's one there if you need it. And then inside the visitor center we have a classroom and an auditorium. The classroom has a sink, so it's more, for we get a lot of little birthday parties Like one and two-year-olds have a lot of birthday parties in there and the sink's a big help, especially when you get messy hands, and then the auditorium has all your AV equipment.
Speaker 4:So if you have a PowerPoint or presentation you want to do for a meeting, that is available.
Speaker 1:That may be what we used. We had a department head staff retreat down there several years ago and it was great. It was just a great environment because even when you're taking a break you're walking out. You're just outside in the park.
Speaker 3:Any view out there is a nice view. And then you have some camping rentals too, right? I mean not just like tent camping, you have some cabins.
Speaker 4:Yes, we do have six camper cabins. One is ADA accessible and those they are your bare-bone camper cabins. So there is two bunk beds in one room and then in the other room is a full-size bed. So you have electricity, air conditioning or heat if it's the winter, and then there's a communal water source. But you bring everything for the cabin. So you have a fire ring outside with a little grill on top if you want to cook over your fire, a picnic table, but you bring your sheets and all that. But it is an affordable place to go near the lake. Yeah, that's cool. Yeah, and they're very popular. So you can run up to six months in advance and, especially in the summer, they'll be booked out every weekend.
Speaker 1:They're a hot ticket item. I assume that's pretty similar to the regular campsites as well. I mean most of your state parks, at least in North Carolina. You know it's not much of an option sometimes to be like, hey, let's go camping this week. You know, if you decide on a Wednesday that you want to go camp at Lake Norman State Park, the likelihood of finding a campsite is probably pretty slim.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's pretty rare, especially if you want a full hookup for an RV site. Those sites go fast. We do only have 11 available for rent 11 full hookup sites. In total, we have 44 sites, but the rest of them are just your standard tent site. Primitive sites yeah, With a fire ring picnic table and then a tent pad.
Speaker 1:And how far in advance can you make campsite reservations? Six months, six months, okay, so plan ahead.
Speaker 4:Yes, plan ahead, especially in the summer. The winter you'll get lucky, You'll probably find a spot. But, the summer months.
Speaker 3:people love it With some of these events coming up, you plan to come camp and do an event too.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it'd be cool to camp and do a star party or something like that.
Speaker 3:That'd being such good partners. You really have been good partners in letting us know what's going on and getting all your events put on the community calendar.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, and y'all have helped to advertise for us, because that's what it's amazing how many people don't know we're right there, right here in Statesville. Right yeah, this is great to help people Right here in Statesville.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, we do know lots of visitors know about you, but we want to help locals really discover Statesville and be a tourist in their own town, like see what assets we really have just right here, but also as we continue to spread the word about what an amazing destination Statesville is as a destination, especially with the interstates being done and the lights being turned back on. I'm very excited about that. Our interstate lights are on and so and we're working on some things for people to really know that they've reached Taitsville and you know these four exits, they need to be taking them all the way down to the Troutman exit and spend the day enjoying the state park and come enjoy our amazing revitalized main street, and there's just so much to do. So, um, what, what else do you want us to know about lake norman state park? Do you have like a fun, like what's the craziest thing you've ever found out there, or do you have a fun story you like to tell people about the park, or I?
Speaker 4:have a fun story. I like to tell about the park. Well, yes, well, because I live in the park. So one of the best things or the craziest things I thought that has happened to me is I was standing out in my front yard and an osprey flew into one of the poplar trees in my front yard and this huge crash hit the ground and then it started flopping and it was a bass Really.
Speaker 4:This bird had taken a bass from the lake and dropped it and my dog was going crazy because now there's this fish and I swear. I know everyone says fish are bigger than they actually were, but I swear it's from my fingertips to like my elbow this thing was huge and it's flopping in my yard and we're not like right on the water like that. Yeah, yeah, and it didn't come down and get it because then my dog was on it because it was flopping around, but that bird was upset oh yeah, it lost its dinner and it was a good dinner.
Speaker 4:But I was like this is so cool. I was like I live in the park and there's a bird in my front yard, or a bird and a fish in my front yard.
Speaker 3:Do you know? It was a good dinner because you kept it. Oh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just rinse that thing off. You're good to go.
Speaker 3:My dog got in and it kind of oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that is a so I thought that was so cool.
Speaker 4:You never know what you're going to see out at the park. We do have a lot of wildlife out there. Yeah, yeah, well, definitely recommend coming out, be prepared, yeah.
Speaker 3:I'd like to catch bass that big Me too. Yeah, you come to one of these free ranger fishing programs.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah Fishing. Be well on your way.
Speaker 4:You should see people pulling four at Lake Normand State Park. So if you're a fisherman, definitely come out to the park. We get a lot of them out there.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that sounds great. So lifeguard through Labor Day, but then you were saying that the beaches open year-round.
Speaker 4:Yep, so the beaches open year-round. It's just swim at your own risk when we don't have the lifeguards on, but it is open as long as the park is open.
Speaker 1:Same with boat rentals the year.
Speaker 4:Yes, as long as staffing allows it. So in the off season or when it gets colder, we will close it when the temperatures start to drop too low, just for safety, but as long as we have the visitor center staff available, boat rentals are available, and you guys play host to some pretty cool events out there too, right, like, I think, every year there's I want to call it an Ironman.
Speaker 3:I don't know what the exact event is called, but you guys play host to a pretty big yes.
Speaker 4:So we do have a few triathlons and road races that come out throughout the years. Yeah, I think we have. I can't tell you how many come out a year, but you'll know. We put up our big signs and if you see a bunch of runners on the roads, that's, we're having another race. So, yeah, lots of big events for races. We also do the um. Iredell soil and water conservation brings out all the fifth graders to the park to do a little station. Um, it's in cooperation with duke, I know comes out as well. Uh, just to help educate about water too yeah, so lots of um we're.
Speaker 3:We're focusing a lot as of late or over the past year on um this area in ireell County being destination for cycling. And like Norman State Park plays a huge part of that. But we literally have mountain road, gravel, dirt, we have it all. So we're going to be reaching out to you because we really wanted to lean into that and even have people do bike rentals.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and you'll see, we don't do bike rentals at the park, but we do get a lot of bikers through there just because we got the hills and there's not as much road traffic. And the speed limit is 25.
Speaker 3:Just a reminder from the park ranger.
Speaker 1:That's another aspect of Frances' position there.
Speaker 3:So, Frances, you mentioned your website, but go ahead and tell our listeners what the website is.
Speaker 4:So ncparksgov is where you can find all of our events listed. There you can find our park as well as all the other parks and any news or alerts that's going on in the parks. They'll be posted at the top of the website in a banner style, so you're always in the loop if you're checking up with our website.
Speaker 3:All right, and then all their events are out there too, but they're also on states1ccom. Like I said, they've been a great partner, so all their events are out there on the community calendar.
Speaker 1:So thank you, we appreciate you coming out today.
Speaker 4:It's free. Go play it's free. That's the best part An amazing asset right here in our backyard.
Speaker 3:So thanks everyone, Appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Thank you for joining Discover Statesville. You can email us at discover at statesvillenccom. Check us out on Facebook at Discover Statesville, nc hashtag Discover Statesville and our website, statesvillenccom. Catch us next week as we continue on our journey to uncover the hidden gems, culinary adventures, entertainment, and to be inspired and enlightened as we Discover Statesville.
