As hurricane season begins, so does the need for preparations. To raise hurricane awareness, the fifth annual Stormfest, a severe weather preparedness event, will be held June 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cape Fear Museum.
The event has changed considerably since 2013 to include a larger science program. Throughout the day, there will be 10 hands-on activities, developed by the museum’s education unit to encourage attendants to explore the science behind precipitation, air pressure, thunder, lightning and rain. One of the activities includes a 5-foot cyclone simulator.
“We want people to increase their preparedness, know what to do in any kind of emergency,” Pepper Hill, Cape Fear Museum Educator and Event Coordinator, said. “It’s mostly hurricanes here, but also thunderstorms and tornados. It’s always cool to understand the science of what’s happening.”
Local celebrities from WECT News Channel 6 and WWAY News Channel 3 will also attend, including meteorologists Eric Davis and Jerry Jackson. Green screens will allow kids to present their own weather forecasts and see themselves on a television.
From 4-5:30 p.m. the museum will host an advanced screening of the documentary “This Time Next Year,” about a New Jersey community recovering from Hurricane Sandy. The documentary originally premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
“I wanted to show it because it’s a pretty profound and informative documentary, and for the grace of nature, it could be our community at any time,” Hill said.
Stormfest is a free event for all ages, and just one of two weather-related events happening within a week.
The following Thursday, June 26, there will be an event for elementary school-aged children about hurricane preparedness. The Wrightsville Beach Museum of History will host the event as part of its children’s programs from 10-10:45 a.m.
The program will be led by Drew Hoge, a long-time Red Cross Disaster Team Volunteer. During that event, there will be activities, including a book reading about hurricane preparedness, an activity that helps kids pack a to-go bag in case of an emergency evacuation, and more, along with some light refreshments.
“We get so much dramatic information in the media regarding hurricanes,” Madeline Flagler, Wrightsville Beach Museum of History Director, said about the event. “We are hoping that if children are armed with information, it won’t be as frightening for them. … It’s interesting, with adults we try to scare them so they evacuate, but with kids that’s the opposite, we want to inform them so they won’t be upset.”
The event is free. If attendees pre-register by June 24, they will be entered into a raffle to win a special gift. Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged.
