Rick Mikula of Hole-in-the-Hand Butterfly Farm will present the first Family Fun Day program of the 2008 season at 10 am on Saturday, May 10, in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The event is sponsored by the Friends of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

The whole family will enjoy Rick Mikula's entertaining and family-friendly presentation on butterflies. This educator, author and butterfly farmer even dresses the part of his subject, to the delight of children and adults. Those who can stay until noon will join National Park Service rangers and volunteers for craft activities and refreshments.

The Family Fun Day will be held at the Bushkill Visitor Center on US Route 209, located just south of the blinking light at Bushkill Falls Road.

Pre-registration is required in order to have enough craft materials. Call the voice mailbox, 570-426-2490, leaving your name and the number of children and adults in your group.

This program launches the 2008 Lecture Series arranged by the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area interpretive staff and sponsored by the Friends, a non-profit park conservancy. The first evening lecture program will be June 14 at 7 pm at the same location and will feature Tim Herd, Monroe County author and educator, speaking about the Kaleidoscope Sky.

In addition to funding the Lecture Series each year, the Friends again are supporting the opening of the Bushkill Visitor Center this summer season. Donors to the Friends for 2008 for this year's project to date are: the Fernwood Resort, Lehman Township, the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau and Shawnee Institute.  Last year this Visitor Center was re-opened for summer weekends after several years of being closed.  Some 2600 visitors to the recreation area traveling north and south on Route 209 stopped in and the majority said they will return to enjoy the beauty of the area.

For more information on the lecture series, call 570-426-2452. The Friends of the Delaware Water Gap NRA are dedicated to supporting historic, scientific, educational, recreational, and natural resource management activities in the park and to raising funds for special park projects. Visit their website: www.FriendsofDEWA.org for more information or to join. To learn more about the Delaware Water Gap NRA, visit the park website at:  www.nps.gov/dewa 

Delaware Water Gap NRA, the eighth most visited area in the National Park System, encompasses 70,000 acres of ridges, forests, lakes and rivers on both sides of the Delaware River in the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The NRA offers a myriad of outdoor recreational opportunities, a rich and diverse sampling of regional flora and fauna, historic structures, craft centers, as well as environmental and outdoor education facilities. The Delaware River, the longest undammed river in the eastern United States, is part of the National Wild and Scenic River System; its exceptional quality waters provide both recreation and drinking water for millions of residents in neighboring metropolitan areas. For further information, visit the park's web site at www.nps.gov/dewa.