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365 Mile Challenge

Challenge yourself in 2023 to get out on a Valdese Trail!! #FVR365 (Registration Closed) Walk. Run. Hike. 365 Miles in 365 Days. $10 Registration Long Sleeve t-shirt at beginning Prizes for completing 365 miles Everyone will be able to see…

Valdese becoming a Trail Town!

Friends of the Valdese Rec President Beth Heile presented to the Valdese Planning Board on Monday, November 21 to share information about the State and Regional Trails coming through Valdese, the importance of embracing the trails and branding Valdese as…

McGalliard Falls 40th Anniversary

Reception Held at McGalliard Falls Park on Wednesday, October 5 at 1:15 with cake, punch and great stories to honor those responsible for saving the Falls. In 1979, after a semester of studying McGalliard Falls, science teacher Don Brittain’s sixth…

Paint the Park 2022

Plein air event for oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pastel painters held at Valdese Lakeside Park Up to 35 painters may register for this event – but no later than August 15th. Artists will create artwork from September 10th through September…

The Gap is Bridged

On a humid July morning, trail supporters gathered to celebrate the connection of Valdese Lakeside Park and McGalliard Falls Park with a new 160-foot bridge creating a 2 mile greenway trail.

Dog Park Grand Opening

Dogs can now run free in Valdese – at least in the new quarter acre Dog Park. At the park’s grand opening, sixty dogs frolicked freely in the grass as more than 100 people watched. The opening was the culmination…

Mural Dedication

Children’s Park in Valdese has a new interactive mural thanks to a local donor. Friends of the Valdese Rec (FVR) had been looking for a way to liven up Children’s Park in Valdese and thought a painted mural was the…

Furniture from Community Foundation of Burke County

Our furniture is here! Thanks to a $7,051.89 grant from the Community Foundation of Burke County, we have nine benches along the greenway at Valdese Lakeside Park.  People of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds visit the park to walk and…

Art at Children’s Park

Friends of the Valdese Rec has been thinking about a mural at Children’s Park for some time – something that would be a “selfie photo op.” After meeting with artists and trying to find the “right” painted scene, FVR President…