Jennifer Carrigan, Park Day Professional!

If you’ve ever been involved with or attended Daniel Island’s Park Day festival, chances are you’ve caught a glimpse of Jennifer Carrigan, the island’s resident “Park Day Professional.” Jennifer  has been involved in the planning, logistics and overall success of Park Day since its inception. And she still loves it!

“I love how Park Day brings together a diverse group of people for a fun, family-oriented day,” Jennifer recently told My Island Town as we followed her around on a busy day of Park Day preparations. “You’ve got island residents coming over on their bikes, concessionaires from around the region ready to serve up their delicious food, the shrimpers — who’ve literally come right off the boat to sell their seafood — and local talent ready to get folks dancing!”

When she first got involved, Jennifer wasn’t a Daniel Island resident. She lived on James Island, just outside of Charleston, with her husband Mike and their (then) young son, Riley. After spending more and more time on Daniel Island, and getting to know the residents, businesses and organizations that are the heart of this community, Jennifer and Mike decided that Daniel Island might just be the perfect place to put down roots.

“We loved James Island but it just didn’t have the family-friendly attitude we wanted. I love to run and was really tempted by Daniel Island’s trails and paths, and the fact that I could do a 10-mile run and never go past the same spot twice,” said Jennifer. “We already had Riley, who was four at the time, and Ellie, our daughter, was a baby. We wanted a place where they could ride their bikes, meet friends at the neighborhood pool and really have the kind of childhood I remember having in the small town in Indiana where I grew up.”

Now, seven years later, Jennifer and her family are definitely Daniel Islanders. And in her position as Special Projects & Cultural Events Manager at the Daniel Island Property Owners’ Association, she’s worked hard to become involved in all aspects of island life. Recently, she was an integral part of the inaugural season of the Daniel Island Farmers’ Market.

And what’s next? Park Day is Saturday, October 10th in Children’s Park on Daniel Island. Stop by and you might just catch a quick glimpse of Jennifer running around talking on her walkie-talkie or racing around in her golf cart – working hard to make sure that island residents enjoy Park Day as much as she does!