The East Bay Regional Park District is encouraging Bay Area residents and visitors to go to a park instead of a mall on Friday as part of its annual Green Friday celebration.

The day after Thanksgiving is usually known as Black Friday because of the deals offered at stores to bring out holiday shoppers, but for more than a decade, the park district has repurposed the day as Green Friday to encourage people to spend time outdoors instead.

All park entrance and use fees, including parking, boat launches and fishing, will be waived. Fees will still be in effect for state fishing licenses, watercraft inspections and concessionaires like the Tilden Park Merry Go Round.

“Green Friday is a healthy and meaningful way to spend the day after Thanksgiving,” park district volunteer program supervisor Jessica Sloan said in a statement. “It’s a chance to enjoy time with family and friends in the outdoors or give back by participating in one of our volunteer clean-up projects.”

More information about Green Friday in the East Bay Regional Park District and a list of activities at various parks can be found here.

Dan McMenamin is the managing editor at Bay City News, directing daily news coverage of the 12-county greater Bay Area. He has worked for BCN since 2008 and has been managing editor since 2014 after previously serving as BCN’s San Francisco bureau reporter. A UC Davis graduate, he came to BCN after working for a newspaper and nonprofit in the Davis area. He handles staffing, including coaching of our interns, day-to-day coverage decisions and management of the newswire.