“If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently.”

What is it about camping? Is it the respite it provides from the three pieces of glass — our windshield, television, and smartphone — that separate us? Not just from the natural world but from each other?

Camping is connection. And campfires. And sing-alongs. It carries with it the promise of adventure or, at the very least, a refreshing change of pace. It allows us to once again feel — viscerally — the immense presence of nature and our primal urge to find a place within it.

As we age, the camping we did as a child becomes a keystone memory, serving as a symbol for everything from budding independence to the call of the wild. For city dwellers like us, it’s the bridge that helps us step outside our daily routines. It’s where the pressures and the traffic and the sprawl all melt into quiet.

Bill Watterson, the much-admired creator of Calvin and Hobbes and no stranger to childhood imagination, certainly feels it. "If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night,” he’s said, "I'll bet they'd live a lot differently."

It's never too late to remember what it was like to be young.

Camping Comes to Legacy Park

This fall marks the birth of Camp Out Legacy, a one-of-a-kind experience and rekindling of the adventurous spirit that once permeated the former United Methodist Children’s Home property — the very same spirit that fueled creation of the Home’s first scouting troop in the late 1930s (from which emerged the Atlanta-Decatur area's youngest Eagle Scout ever, 13).

“Legacy Park may have its place among all the parks in Decatur,” says Legacy Decatur executive director, Madeleine Henner, “but it’s also something different. Something special. It has a history that seeps into everything we do.”

It’s that reverence for the park’s legacy that inspired the idea to begin with. Bring together those people most committed to the park’s success, the Friends of Legacy sustaining donors, for something truly unique: an enchanting night of camping out.

The event, which runs from 5pm on Friday, October 5 to Saturday morning, October 6, was conceived as a way to build on the supportive community that helps fund the park's ongoing operations. Become a Friends of Legacy donor with a recurring monthly donation of $20 or more and you too will be invited to pack up your tents, maybe grab the kids, and come experience a beautiful starlit night brimming with community, fun, and family memories.

“We close each day after sunset,” continues Henner, “so people don’t really know the park at night. It’s got an entirely different character. It’s almost like going back in time it’s so quiet.”

The hustle and bustle of urban life can take a pause for the night. The stars are calling.

A Night to Remember

“What’s camping without a campfire?” asks Dymond Fogg, almost rhetorically. “We began there and it all just started coming together.”

As Legacy’s Programs Manager, Dymond’s the one tasked with the nuts and bolts of the Camp Out event. Which, let’s just say, are becoming an adventure in their own right.

“Talk with enough people about their camping memories and you start to see the similarities,” she says. “Escape. Adventure. Time with the important people in your life. Those are the touchstones.”

What she's since discovered is that bringing those experiences to Legacy Park takes a village. Like a Decatur firefighter on hand, helping make the campfire, something typically prohibited, possible. Or the Frank Hamilton School, who'll be breaking out their instruments and leading everyone in song. Even astronomy staff from Agnes Scott College will be dropping by, taking campers on an informal journey through the stars.

And of course s’mores. Plenty of s’mores.

“We’re so grateful for the donors who help support things around here,” says Fogg. "Legacy Park’s a unique place and it just makes sense to show our appreciation with a truly unique, one-of-a-kind experience.”

Stake your claim at Legacy Park, then settle in for a magical night.

Be a Part of It

It’s not too late to start making your own memories. You’re invited and encouraged to become a Friend of Legacy yourself. Once you do, you’ll be invited to join Camp Out Legacy, and to enjoy the other perks throughout the year that also come with being a sustaining donor.

It’s going to be magic. Be a part of it.

CARTOON STRIP: © Bill Watterson

Schedule Your Picture-Perfect Wedding at Decatur's Legacy Park

Legacy Park offers an ideal setting for an enchanting wedding — from the intimate and historic Moore Chapel to a variety of scenic assets spread across the property. Nestled on the east side of Decatur, Georgia, Legacy Park is just a five minute drive from many restaurants, shops, and hotels.  >> Get Started >>

Planning an Event? Legacy Park's Got You Covered for Events of all Types and Sizes

From baby showers to birthday parties, business gatherings to live performances, family reunions to festivals, we've got a wide range of facilities perfectly suited to your vision, all at pricing that can't be beat. Check out Legacy Park for your next event. We can't wait to work with you.  >> Get Started >>