Plans for Warren County’s second year of participation in the Global Day of Unplugging are well under way, with businesses and organizations around the community jumping on board to help individuals disconnect from their phones for a while and reconnect with themselves, each other, the community at large, and nature!
On average, people check their phones 205 times per day—nearly once every five minutes. Led by Warren Coalition, “Warren County Unplugged” is a local event held in observance of the Global Day of Unplugging, from 6:00 pm Friday, March 7th, to 6:00 pm Saturday, March 8th. This event encourages people to establish some protected time to disconnect—whether that is for a few hours or the full 24 hours.
Warren County Unplugged will provide in-person activities throughout the area to make it easy to meet up with friends and enjoy time without a smartphone or other device. The fun begins on Friday evening, March 7th, at 5:45 pm, with a Youth Unplugged Party being held at the Health & Human Services Complex. Youth of all ages will have the opportunity to meet up at the gym for free pizza provided by Warren County Parks & Recreation (while supplies last). The first 225 people will receive a free “smartphone nap-sack,” with wiki stix for elementary school-aged children. There will be a countdown to 6:00 pm, when people will turn off their phones (or at least drop them into the nap-sack and put them away).
Beginning at 6 pm, the activities will be split by ages. Warren County Parks and Recreation and Young Life will host middle school and high school students at the gym, with volleyball and cornhole tournaments, arts and crafts, and backyard games such as spike ball and can jam. Elementary school students and their parents will head over to Diversified Minds, where they will enjoy Resilience Bingo (with PRIZES!), Affirmations Jenga, archery, inflatable bowling, and more. (There are unconfirmed rumors of Uno games….) Warren Coalition, Warren County Sheriff’s Office, and Scouting America are hosting this section. There will also be a parent information session to provide education about the impact smartphones have on our children and how parents can set healthy boundaries. Door prizes will be awarded!
Later Friday evening, Royal Family Bowling (which is also an Event Sponsor!) will host a Hyper Bowl Party.
On Saturday, downtown Front Royal will be hopping with a Backyard Games party hosted by Habitat for Humanity at the gazebo. Explore Art & Clay is offering 20% off Paint Your Own Pottery and wood kits. Main Street Geek customers will receive a free comic book and 10% off throughout their store. C &C Frozen Treats, which always provides a variety of free fun activities for kids, will also host some special story times.
Off Main Street, Play Favorites is bringing back the free-all-day unplugged arcade (video games are disconnected, but everything else is free to play all day!), sidewalk chalk, board games, and will offer 10% off everything in the store. The Northern Virginia 4-H Educational and Conference Center is encouraging people to hike the Appalachian Trail, which is accessible from their property, and complete a nature scavenger hunt.
For those who want a little more unplugged time on Saturday evening, Shenandoah River State Park will offer “Nighttime Vernal Pool Expedition” 6pm to 8 pm.
In addition to all of this, Phoenix Project will host a community art exhibit. Submissions from grades K-12 will be accepted prior to the Global Day of Unplugging, and placed on display at a surprise location that will be announced later in February.
An online schedule is available on our website and posted to the Facebook event. Events and activities may be added through February 21st. Businesses and organizations that would like to join in should email Celeste Brooks at celeste@warrencoalition.org or call 540-660-3367.
Warren Coalition is grateful to the many sponsors who have stepped up to make this event possible, including the Title Sponsors: Mountain Laurel Montessori School, Angel’s Korner Daycare and Learning Center, Mom’s Country Kitchen, and Melting Pot. Event sponsors include Dusty’s Country Store, Edward Jones (Bret Hrbek), L’Dee’s Pancake House, and Royal Cinemas.
Warren Coalition is a nonprofit agency established in 1994 to help fill the gaps in health care and substance abuse awareness to the community. The Coalition began under the guidance of Warren Memorial Hospital as an outreach project, but it has since grown and was incorporated in 2001. The office is currently located in the Warren County Community Center. Their mission is to make Warren County a safe, healthy, and drug free community through many programs and in collaboration with 15+ member agencies.
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