King’s Grant 4th of July Parade and Picnic!

The King’s Grant 4th of July parade and picnic is back this year. We missed the last two years because of COVID gathering restrictions imposed on public events, but not this year. We have a limited number of small give-aways for the kids (patriotic pinwheels, beads, and kazoos). Prizes will be awarded for the best decorated vehicles (bicycles, golf carts, strollers, wagons, etc.) with judging handled by our roving judges just before the start of the parade. Local stores have plenty of patriotic bling on the shelves to dress up bicycles, golf carts, lawn mowers, strollers, vintage cars, motorcycles, and whatever else walks, rides or rolls. Don’t wait too long!

The parade starts at Witt Park at 11:00AM and loops around the lake. It is a leisurely walk or ride of about 1 1/4 miles, ending back where we started. Participants will assemble in the Blue Ridge Court cul-de-sac beginning at 10:45. Vintage automobiles, decorated automobiles and motorcycles, and riding lawn mowers are welcome. We expect to be led by the fire truck from Station 20 of the VBFD. Come … make some noise … celebrate our nation’s Independence Day. Participating vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles) should line up northbound along the curb of King’s Grant Rd just short of Witt Park and NOT go into Blue Ridge Ct. Golf carts are OK in Blue Ridge Ct.

The parade will be followed with some food and children’s games in the park. The KGCL will provide hot dogs, watermelon, chips, and water. Marco’s pizza is donating 20 pizzas (if prior events are a good predictor, the pizza will go fast). Although it is not necessary, adults are asked to bring something simple to share – cookies, chips and dip, etc. The participants will appreciate your generosity. Included in the picnic agenda is raising the Star Spangled Banner at the park while the national anthem is played. Persons with kazoos are welcome to help belt out the national anthem.

Prizes will be awarded to champions of the children’s competitions. These include a bubblegum blowing contest and a watermelon seed spitting contest.

We need several “traffic monitors” to guard the intersections as our parade passes. If you live along our route and can just pull a traffic cone (that we supply) into the road as the parade approaches and remove it when it has passed, then you are the perfect candidate. Seriously, though, we do need a few helping hands and the work will not distract from your viewing of the parade as it passes. We can also use more judges for the contests. It’s a great way to interact with the kids. If you can help, please call Steve Nimitz (757-348-7920).

KGCL May Meeting

The KGCL is meeting this Thursday, May 19th, at 7PM. We will meet at King’s Grant Baptist Church. Why not come to the Farmers Market and then slide right inside for our meeting?

We have two guests who will fill you in with all sorts of useful information. First up is Captain Wilkerson, Commanding Officer of the Third Precinct of the VBPD. There is some information floating around on social media about reduced police patrols in our area. Captain Wilkerson will give you the real story, and I am sure he will take other questions and comments that you have been itching to make. We don’t often get an opportunity for the Precinct Captain to come to our meeting.

Our second guest is Mr. Vince Bowhers. He is the Landscape & Living Shoreline Coordinator for Lynnhaven River Now. LRNow occasionally offers free rain barrels, landscaping assistance, and other programs to homeowners in the Lynnhaven River watershed. He will tell you how to get in on the action and how/why LRNow is investing in our community. There are some good deals here but, when offered, they don’t last long. You do not need to live on the waterfront to take advantage of these programs.

We hope our members received their spring KGCL newsletter in the mail two weeks ago. I offer my special thanks to those who cannot attend the meeting who returned a signed proxy. I still need a dozen more to reach the quorum requirement to conduct our routine business. So ….. if you cannot attend, please return your proxy before Thursday. The simplest way is to complete the form, scan it, and email it back (board@kgcl.org). Or you can take a photo of the completed proxy and text it to me at 757-348-7920.

On last thing: Because the Farmers Market will be winding down as guests for the meeting arrive, the church asked us to use the entrance closest to the fire station. Park on that side, too. There will be some small signs directing you to the correct entrance.

Carp Permit Announcement

In 2016, the KGCL agreed to coordinate the introduction of triploid (grass) carp into the five fresh water lakes in King’s Grant. This work tied together efforts of homeowners whose property borders and incorporates these five lakes. Since then, carp were introduced three times beginning in 2018. The KGCL is now working the process to obtain the necessary permit from the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR), which was formerly the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), to deliver more carp to each of the lakes in the next 2-3 months. This will be the final delivery with the money raised in 2016/7 for the project. Notwithstanding the recent algae bloom in the eastern portion of Timber Lake and the continuing aquatic weed problem in the western side of that lake, the project is a success. Portions of the other lakes are not choked with weeds – primarily Alligator Weed – as they were. The west side of Timber Lake (adjacent to the baseball fields) has several very shallow areas that inhibit the carp from eating the stems and roots of the plants, and introduction of carp to that lake was delayed by one year. The KGCL continues to talk with city officials about the need to restore the water depth in that lake by removing sediment that has gathered over many years. The carp do not control algae. 

Information about Triploid carp use to control aquatic weeds in freshwater lakes and ponds can be found on the DWR website.  (https://dwr.virginia.gov/fishing/private-pond-management/triploid-grass-carp-stocking-for-aquatic-vegetation-control/)

The KGCL requests that questions or objections from lakefront property owners be sent to board@kgcl.org no later than Friday, May 13, 2022 so they can be addressed. The plan for this year’s delivery will also be presented at the KGCL membership meeting on May 19, 2022. 

Community Yard Sale

The weather forecast for Friday and Saturday is not looking very promising! The King’s Grant Community Yard Sale is being delayed one week. We hope that this does not inconvenience people planning to attend. We do not want to subject our vendors to rain and our buyers to wet/soggy turf. The new date is SATURDAY MAY 14TH. Everything else remains the same. Feel free to reach out if you have any question by either sending us a message on Facebook or an email to info@kgcl.org

KGCL yard sale is returning to its regular springtime date! 

The KGCL will host a neighborhood yard sale at our Triangle property (in front of the 7-Eleven and Exxon) on Saturday, May 7th.  The sale begins at 8:00AM with vendor set up beginning at dawn.  The cost of a 12 ft by 12 ft space on the lawn is $5.00 for KGCL members and $15.00 for non-members.  We will take advance orders for 8 ft tables for those who need to rent them.  Tables will be delivered to your space when you arrive to set up.  The cost of each table is $10.00.  The KGCL will advertise the sale in the Virginian Pilot.  A portable toilet will be placed at the Triangle for everyone’s convenience.  A snack booth will be operated by the KGCL for vendors and patrons who need nourishment. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to off-load your unwanted or surplus items.  Since we do the advertising, provide a highly visible location, and get a lot of foot traffic, this is a great way to downsize your collection of stuff.  As an added convenience, we always have a local charity donation truck come to the Triangle near the end of the sale to collect any unsold items that vendors do not want to haul back home.  If you do not plan to be a seller, come on out on May 7th and browse the sale.  You may meet some of your neighbors.  To reserve a space (and tables, if desired), contact Rachel at 757-348-9189.  We have about 50 spaces to allocate and we sold all of them in the fall, so do not wait until the last minute to call.  Our rain date is May14th.

Santa Claus is Coming!

Santa Claus is Coming – December 12th!!! Our “Santa in the Park” event is back! The KGCL will host Santa Claus on Sunday afternoon December 12th at Witt Park. Santa will arrive at 4:30pm and will begin seeing children immediately. All neighborhood children are welcome! He will stay until all children in line are seen. Santa’s tent will be decorated and lit so parents can take photos. To make this an even better community social event, we will serve hot cocoa and have cookies available as treats. There will be firepits at the park for those who want to warm their hands and toes. Please bring a dozen of your favorite cookies or brownies (individually wrapped, please) to add to our table. If you want to toast marshmallows or make S’mores at the firepits, please bring the supplies that you need.

SANTA HAS A MAILBOX AT WITT PARK!!

Next KGCL Meeting – 10/21/2021

KGCL Meeting on Thursday Evening, October 21, @7:00PM

KGCL members and other neighborhood residents interested in learning more about your community league are invited to attend our fall meeting this Thursday evening!

We will meet at King’s Grant Baptist Church (874 Little Neck Rd) at 7:00PM. 

Rather than hosting a guest speaker for the meeting, we would like to hear suggestions for KGCL community projects and activities.  The Board of Directors will outline what we already have planned for the year.  The League’s budget for the 2021-2022 year will also be presented for member approval. 

Last but not least, per usual, a $20 Wawa gift card will be awarded by random drawing to one lucky attendee!