Special Events & Art Shows in Geauga County

Special Event Winter Solstice Celebration

Thursday, December 21 • 7:30 to 9:30 PM
The West Woods, Nature Center

Celebrate the longest night of the year as we explore the roots of our modern holiday celebrations indoors and out!

Guests will enjoy treats, hot beverages and music; create a solstice-themed craft; stroll the self-guided Solstice Traditions Trail, a magical, candlelit route through the forest, complete with a bonfire; and watch interactive skits highlighting solstice traditions of various civilizations with costumed interpreters.

Registration is not required this year — just show up! Please dress for the weather, as much of the program is outside. Only indoor portions will be fully wheelchair/stroller accessible. No dogs permitted. We look forward to celebrating the Winter Solstice with you.

Special Event Art Shows

This season at The West Woods Nature Center
(Free and available to visit daily 10 AM to 4 PM)

For any building closures scheduled during art exhibitions, please refer to this post.

Simone Majetich & Jim Trombo

Open October 13, 2023, through January 14, 2024

Oil finger-painting artist Simone Majetich and fine art photographer Jim Trombo are thrilled to present this collaborative show, “The Colors of Nature,” celebrating the brilliance found in Nature captured in details great and small. Through color, texture and composition, a glimpse into the intricacies of the world around us is harnessed in a still moment. Scenes of striking landscapes and animals invite you to gaze upon Nature’s beauty.

The exhibit opened with a special Meet the Artists event Friday, October 13, from 7 to 9 p.m., which was attended by the presenting artists.

Call for Entries Tree-Inspired Community Art Show

John Muir’s profound words about Nature calling “and I must go” have spoken to artists’ creativity for more than a century. To celebrate the inspiration of our trees and forests in particular, and demonstrate the creative talents of regional artisans, Geauga Park District invites you to participate in a community art exhibition of tree-inspired artwork in all media, including wood.

“The Forest is Calling and I Must Create” Tree-Inspired Community Art Show will be on display from Saturday, February 3, to Sunday, April 21, 2024, from 10 AM to 4:30 PM at The West Woods Nature Center. Entries will be accepted January 22 and 23, but notice must be provided in advance for large pieces.

Artist Application

Special Event The Great Geauga Total Solar Eclipse

Monday, April 8, 2024 • 11 AM to 4:30 PM
at the Geauga County Fairgrounds
Free admission for all
#greatgeaugaeclipse

Facebook Event

Video: One Year Away! What to Know

Available Sponsorships

We are so excited to be in the path of totality! If you’re excited, too, please mark your calendars for the large-scale viewing experience to be hosted by Geauga Park District at the county fairgrounds, then check back to this page for details as they become available. Currently our schedule consists of pre-eclipse activities from 11 AM to 2 PM, followed by viewing of the eclipse with provided eclipse glasses for safety (while supplies last — then we share), noting that the most exciting viewing will arrive at 3:15 PM when we’ll achieve three minutes 27 seconds of total darkness in the middle of the day!

Within a mile walk of the fairgrounds, visitors can also find:

Burton Public Library & restrooms
Burton Log Cabin & restrooms
Century Village & restrooms
Burton Square restaurants & shops

It should be an awesome day in Northeast Ohio…now we’ll just be hoping for nice clear weather on April 8 for maximum effect!

Please note that no dogs will be permitted at the fairgrounds during this event. Thanks for understanding!

Special Opportunity Greens for Giving

Saturday, December 2
at The West Woods

UPDATE: Seats are all filled up for this year’s Greens for Giving sessions! Thanks for another year of great support, and we can’t wait to see you.

Gather your friends and family around a great cause this holiday season – creating more than 300 evergreen decorations for Geauga County Department on Aging’s home-delivered meals for seniors!

Now in its 10th festive year, Greens for Giving guarantees a way to brighten a senior’s holiday season by building a thoughtful and completely unique handmade creation from scratch.

All supplies – fresh evergreens, decorations and containers – will be provided, but feel free to bring your own hand pruners and additional decorative add-ins if you’d like.

Registration is required to participate by selecting Programs & Events from the above dropdown. To allow as many people as possible to have a hand in this wintertime tradition, please register for only one hour-long session: either 11 AM to noon, noon to 1 PM, 1 to 2 PM or 2 to 3 PM, and thanks for understanding!

Special Initiative 1,000 Trees

Geauga Park District is planting 1,000 beneficial native trees and shrubs at Veterans Legacy Woods between Earth Days 2023 and 2024!

Video: 1,000 Trees Initiative – Spring 2023

COUNTDOWN TO EARTH DAY 2024

On April 20, 21 and 22, in celebration of Earth Day 2023, 274 volunteers assembled at Veterans Legacy Woods to plant 350 trees (spring planting photos). Then on October 12 and 13, another 64 volunteers headed back into the park’s former fairways (fall planting photos). Shout-out to each and every one of these volunteers, our NRM staff, 18 financial sponsors and three in-kind sponsors who made it all possible! We are proud to announce that our 2023 branch of this initiative yielded 660 new plantings in this park.

To restore this former golf course to a more natural state (“reforesting the fairways”), our goal is to engage the community in putting 1,000 trees in the ground —and at this point, only 340 trees more will do the job! Would YOU like to celebrate Earth Day 2024 with us planting trees, raising protective fencing, or funding part of the project? Please scroll down to learn more.

HOW TO HELP: TEAM UP TO PLANT & PROTECT

Volunteer packages offer recognition and take-home gifts for groups or assembled teams who help plant trees on dates to be determined this coming spring. Recommended group sizes this fall are five, 10 or 20 people. Volunteers work together to plant young trees, fuel them for success by cultivating less impacted soil from nearby woods, and build fencing to protect them from White-tailed Deer.

Volunteer Application – COMING SOON!

HOW TO HELP: BACK THE MISSION WITH FUNDING

Sponsorship packages offer a variety of opportunities to promote your business or organization while we all work together to help our environment. Levels of support afford us between 11 and 133 new trees for this park!

Sponsorship Application – COMING SOON!

Links to Contribute Online: $250 • $500 • $1,500 • $3,000 – COMING SOON!

Special thanks to the following volunteers as well as our major and new 1,000 Trees sponsors!

FALL VOLUNTEERS (groups of 5+)

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School (environmental science students and Conservation Club members), Philips, Solid Rock on Which We Stand, Nestle, Geauga Park District volunteers and the Murzynski family

RED OAK ($3,000) LEVEL

Also, Sage’s Apples donated 100 apples and Sunrise Springs donated water for all our 2023 planting dates. We appreciate these reliable partnerships immensely.