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Special Events in April

The Magical Egg-Stravaganza Wednesday, April 3

7:30-8:30pm

Cornelius Town Hall

Join us indoors for a special performance from Celebrations Magic, followed by a flashlight egg hunt outdoors on the Town Hall lawn! For children ages 3-8 and their parents. Pre-registration for children only is required, as spaces are limited. $9/$5 RD. Thank you to our Egg-tastic Presenting Sponsor Leafguard.

Earth Jam 2024

Saturday, April 13

4-7pm

Robbins Park

This free event is a great way to come together as a community to celebrate Earth Day, eat delicious food, listen to live folk and country music, enjoy local brews, and most importantly, learn how we can create change in our community to be a little kinder to our planet! Over 25 local organizations will be on hand to provide interactive demonstrations on sustainability, conservation, and living an eco-friendly life. Thank you to Mother Earth Presenting Sponsor Highway Equipment & Tractor for supporting this great event.

Hooked on Cornelius

Saturday, April 27

10am or 11am

Robbins Park Upper Pond

Register now for a fishing event in our stocked pond for children ages 7-12 led by Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists! Fishing gear supplied. We encourage parents or guardians to participate with their children. Choose either the 10am OR the 11am session. $5/$0 RD, pre-registration required.

‘Tawba Walk Arts & Music Festival

Saturday, April 27

2-8pm

Downtown Cornelius

'Tawba Walk is a free, outdoor event featuring local vendors, live performances, amazing food, and more! Presented and organized by Bella Creative and sponsored by the Town of Cornelius.

Registration for our 2024 Summer Camps opened last month, and it is off to an awesome start, with many camps already sold out. There are plenty of opportunities remaining, from STEM camps like Rocket Olympics, to dozens of sports camps, and even some weeks of our full day camps - get your kids in on the fun today!

We are seeking enthusiastic people to join our summer camp team! This year's openings include Summer Sports Camps Site Supervisors, Summer Day Camp Counselors, STEM Camp Counselors, and a STEM Camp Instructor. Minimum age for counselors and site supervisors: 16. Minimum age for STEM instructor: 20

Apply today to join our team!

Fitness Opportunities

NOTE: Late registrations are accepted for any session and may be offered at a pro-rated fee. Just call us!

2024 Mayor's Fitness Challenge: Help Cornelius take back the title of Fittest Community! Starting April 7, the challenge will last six weeks, and you can register anytime through May 12. Each week, participants will work to have the highest total of active minutes. Joining is free; registration is required.

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Tai Chi: Register now for our six-week classes on Thursday mornings at Town Hall. New sessions just started on March 28, but it's not too late to join! Beginner class at 9am, intermediate class at 10:05am. $55/$45 RD. Next sessions start May 9.

Yoga for Youth: Did you know that yoga can help kids improve self-confidence and concentration, while decreasing anxiety and stress? We offer separate six-week classes for ages 5-10 and 10-14 on Monday evenings at Bailey Road Recreation Center. Sessions start April 8. Pre-registration required. $95/$80 RD

Cardio Funk: Enjoy this high-energy class at Bailey Road Recreation Center on Saturday mornings, 9-10am, and Monday nights, 6:30-7:30pm weekly. $10/class - just pay at the door!

Athletics

All Ages Pickleball: Outdoors at Robbins Park and Torrence Chapel Park, with designated times seven days each week. Please note winter hours for Robbins Park will change to spring hours later this month!

Open Gym Senior Pickleball is held on Wednesday nights, 6-8pm, indoors at JV Washam Recreation Center. Ages 50 & up. Free.

Adult Open Gym Basketball: Join us on Tuesdays, 6:30-9pm, at Bailey Road Recreation Center. For ages 18 and up. Free

Tennis: Youth and adult lessons are available year-round with Lake Norman Tennis Academy. Pay by the month.

Attention adult beginner players with a USTA rating of 2.5 or lower, or with no rating! Register now for the next step in your tennis journey: Rally Rookies. This program is intended to get you out on the tennis courts with a fun experience, getting comfortable moving around the court and hitting lots of balls.

90-minute sessions are held on Monday evenings or Tuesday mornings at Bailey Road Park tennis courts in April and May. Each session is $20 and you can register for as many as you’d like!

Lacrosse: Registration is open for summer rec teams and clinics for girl's lacrosse. Email Andrea for details or visit TEAM Lacrosse Academy to register.

Recreation

Bridge

Join the Lake Norman Bridge Center at Town Hall on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. All ages and skill levels are welcome. $5 per day; pay at the door. For more information, email Ella, Club Manager, or call her at 980-254-1884. A new session of intermediate lessons will begin on April 15 - read more!

If your teen is looking to meet new friends, engage in service projects, and beef up their college application, check out the Lake Norman Teen Council. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, April 9!

After months of gathering public input from hundreds of Cornelius residents on their recreation needs, we have an approved 2024-2034 Comprehensive Parks & Greenways Master Plan that charts a course to meet those needs over the next decade. Cornelians were loud and clear that they are an active community that seeks various recreation opportunities and desires to preserve open space, and the newly adopted Master Plan provides a blend of both. The Plan is intended to guide decision-making as we continue to improve, maintain, and manage our parks, open space, paths and trails, and facilities.

While community engagement was the cornerstone of the master planning process, we also assessed existing Town plans and national benchmarks. The Town’s Master Plan, Navigate Cornelius, states, “Cornelius is…dedicated to promoting the highest quality of life for all residents”. How do we know if Cornelius is truly striving for the highest quality of life? I’m glad you asked! Annually, the Town completes a National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) agency performance survey, where we provide numerous metrics such as parkland acres, trail miles, number of athletic fields and courts, and number of playgrounds, to name a few. NRPA then compares Cornelius to hundreds of other like-sized communities across the country. Our new Plan establishes an ambitious goal to put the Town in the highest quartile of these national metrics; for example, the new Plan sets a standard of 18 acres of parkland and 0.9 miles of greenways and multi-use paths per 1,000 population. Those are just two examples from our bold vision of providing Cornelius with a balanced system of active and passive recreation facilities as well as conservation of open space.

If you would like to learn more, I encourage you to view the Plan to see more of what we hope to accomplish in the coming decade!