New Know Before You Go! Timing, parking, shirt pickup, and everything happening on the day. Read it →

☔ We’ll see you Rain or Shine! We’ve got tarps and tents — you bring the raincoat and All-Weather-Player mentality!

✅ If you’re still considering coming, we hope you will! It’s never too late to RSVP! 💙 Volunteer anytime — the sooner the better!
📅 Saturday, October 3, 2026
⏰ 4:00 pm
📍 Children First Playground · 1211 Carroll St, Durham, NC 27707
“To celebrate together what we have made together!”
— Donna King, Founder, Children First

We hope this celebration will mark this moment in time and acknowledge the passing of time — reminding us that two things are equally true: Children First happened and it was important, and Children First is ending because nothing lasts forever.

We hope it will hold space for both gratitude and grief, invite reflection and remembering, help old friends reconnect, and allow us all to savor the pleasure of laying eyes on each other and being together in real life. And be SO MUCH FUN!

What will it be like?

We are structuring Spiralpalooza to contain all the essential ingredients of a Children First experience…

  • Lots of open time for play, with just one “Must-Do”
  • Beautiful materials at the ready. Draw! Paint! Collage!
  • Lots of sensory and building play. Blocks! Sand River! Creation Station!
  • A big space for active play (we’re closing the street for trikes, balls, chase, water play, and other wild happy action!)
  • Music and dancing
  • A cozy Loft Room slideshow
  • A “Here We Are Together” Magic Circle moment
  • Lots of simple and yummy snacks (before the Magic Circle)
  • Pizza dinner and dessert (after the Magic Circle)
🎵 Special Musical Guest!
Children First dads Pierce Freelon and Stephen Coffman are bringing their band, and their Paperhand Puppet Theatre friend Falcon X! They’ll play a set on the bike deck starting at 4:30.
✎ Must-Do: Make a Children First Portfolio Page or write a Children First Memory Card
Come to the Studio to make a page for the Children First Spiralpalooza Portfolio — share a reflection, a memory, a gratitude, a lingering question, or a wish for the future. Or if you’d rather, just jot a memory down on a reading word card and drop it in one of the Memory Boxes — we’ll add it to the Children First Portfolio later.
★ One All-Together Moment
Join us for the Magic Circle, where every Children Firster can give a shout or make a move when we sing their name — and where we will join our voices to sing “Friends of the Family.”
Starting now, we’d love for you to…
  • RSVP as soon as you can so we have time to make your special lanyard!
  • Update your contact information so we can make sure you receive your snail mail and digital invitations
  • Spread the word — forward this site to anyone in the Children First community we may have missed
  • Sign up to volunteer — there are many possibilities!
  • Revisit your portfolios — looking back before you arrive will make being there more meaningful

RSVP

Tell us you’re coming! Register your whole family or group.

T-Shirts

Designed by Durham illustrator Iris Gottlieb — featuring every Children First sign!

Volunteer

Many roles available — from setup crews to street play to the Magic Circle sound system.

Questions? Reach Donna at 919-943-0127 or childrenfirstmail@gmail.com
RSVP
Let us know you’re coming to Spiralpalooza on October 3, 2026! It’s never too late to RSVP — if you’re still considering coming, we hope you will!
👥 See who’s coming so far →
Will You Attend?
Your Information
Your Children First Connection
Who’s Coming With You?

Add everyone in your group — children, family, friends. Their names will also appear on the “who’s coming” list if you grant permission below.

Name
Relationship
Email (optional)
Pizza Dinner

We’re planning to order pizza for the party! Most of it will be regular pizza, but let us know how many people in your party need special-order pies so we can get the counts right. Leave these at 0 if none apply.

Anything Else?
One More Thing

We’d love to share a running list of who’s coming on this website so the community can see who will be at Spiralpalooza. May we list your name, any additional party members’ names, and your years affiliated with Children First on the site?

✓ Your response will be saved to our records. It’s never too late to RSVP!

T-Shirt Orders
Our official Spiralpalooza commemorative shirt — designed by Durham illustrator and author Iris Gottlieb!
⏳ Pre-order is closed. We ordered some extras, though — shirts will be available for sale on-site during the event while supplies last.

Durham-raised illustrator and author Iris Gottlieb is creating our Spiralpalooza commemorative shirts. Iris will be drawing all 197 Children First signs — a design that will cover the front and back of the shirt. Admire Iris’s work at irisgottlieb.com.

Spiralpalooza shirt design, front and back
Spiralpalooza shirt design, front
Front
Spiralpalooza shirt design, back
Back
Shirt design by Iris Gottlieb
Shirt Details

All shirts are Gildan Cotton T-shirts. Printed in a pleasing color on:

Style Color Price
Adult Unisex Natural $15
Adult Femme Off-white $15
Youth Natural $10

Payment will be collected separately.

Volunteer
Help make Spiralpalooza unforgettable! Pick any roles that interest you — you can sign up for multiple. We’ll be in touch with details.
Select Your Volunteer Roles
Before the Weekend
Friday, October 2nd — Day Before
Saturday, October 3rd — Day of Event
Sunday, October 4th — Day After
Your Information

✓ Your sign-up goes directly to our volunteer coordinator.

Know Before You Go!
Everything you need for Saturday, October 3 — timing, parking, shirt pickup, and all the things to find and do.

What’s Your Why?

We know that each person coming to Spiralpalooza has their own reasons for saying “yes” and their own hopes for our time together. Connection and Reconnection. Reminiscing and Revisiting. Play and Fun. Gratitude and Grief. We’re here for ALL of that.

And we hope that, for each of you, the celebration creates a moment to consider yourself across time. What was true for you when you were here, that is still true today? What was true then that is different for you now — inside and outside? What part of being a Children Firster do you want to claim and keep?

We wonder — if you take a little time to look at your portfolios, maybe especially your Progress Conference, would that deepen and enliven your experience of being here for Spiralpalooza?

⏰ Timing of Events

Allow time for parking and walking — more on parking below.

4:00
Check-in at the driveway — pick up your lanyards and a written program, or scan the QR code for the digital program.
4:30
Pierce, Stephen and their band on the Bike Deck.
5:00
Magic Circle (given our numbers, more like a Magic Blob) on the playground.
6:00
Pizza — dessert to follow.
9:00
Street Play closes for clean-up.

🚗 Parking

  • Our block of Carroll Street is closed for play — plan for drop-offs and/or a walk to get here.
  • There is street parking in all directions. The easiest parking will be on the streets around Morehead Elementary School.
  • Consider carpooling!

👕 Shirts

  • Ordered shirts? Pick them up before or after the Magic Circle. They’re bagged up and ready for you with the invoice tucked inside. You can pay by Venmo (@Children-First), check, or cash.
  • Want to buy shirts? The sales table will be open in the driveway after the Magic Circle.

🎨 Things to Find & Do

  • Slide Show: 36 Years of Children First — in the Loft Room and in the office.
  • Studio — make a “portfolio” page of a Children First memory or gratitude. You can use one of our Instax cameras to capture an image to be part of your page.
  • Memory Boxes — find one in the Water Deck, at the drawing table up at the street, or at the King-McClains’ picnic table, and record a Children First memory on a reading word card.
  • Find Donna wherever she settles with her story notebook — she’ll have one of your old stories ready for a read aloud!
  • Street Side Children First! Water Play! Big Blocks! Balls! Bikes! Face Paint!
  • Children First Archives at the Water Deck — sit awhile with old Welcome Books, “The Book of Old Friends,” and documentation compilations like the Playground Re-Build, many years of Eno Trips, the story of the library being built, and project work from various years.
  • Playground, Creek and Creation Station all open for play.
  • Kid-friendly snacks and drinks at Street-Side Children First and the Playground Snack Tables.
  • Adult-friendly snacks in the Driveway Café and on the Block Shelves on the Playground.
  • Adult drinks at the Driveway Café and in the Water Deck.

🗺 Map

Spiralpalooza party map showing the playground, street play, food, check-in and activity areas

Tap or click the map to open it full size.

Questions? Reach Donna at 919-943-0127 or childrenfirstmail@gmail.com
Who’s Coming
A running list of Spiralpalooza attendees who have given us permission to share their names. We can’t wait to see everyone!
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