(440) 286-9516

Events & Art Shows

Special Opportunity Horse-drawn Wagon Rides

Saturdays & Sundays, October 20, 21, 27 & 28 • 1 to 5 PM
Swine Creek Reservation

Facebook Event

Enjoy the sights, sounds and scents of fall with a horse-drawn wagon ride through these healthy woods!

Free passes will ensure first-come, first-served boarding. When you arrive, get a pass from the board indicating the time of your ride, which will last about a half hour. Each day’s last ride goes out at 4:30 p.m.

Pets are not permitted; thank you for understanding. Bad weather cancels the day’s rides. Feel free to call 440-286-9516 to check their status if the day is rainy.

Special Event Art Shows

Scheduled this season at The West Woods Nature Center:

  • Margaret Khairallah & John Tillotson
    Opening Friday, October 19 (7-9 PM reception); show runs through January 22
    Paintings, prints and black & white fine art photography
  • discARTed Recycled Art Exhibition
    Opening Sunday, February 17; show runs through April 15
    Please scroll down for details and our community call for entries!

Special Event Holly Days Artisan Boutique

Saturday, November 10 • 10 AM to 4 PM
The West Woods, Nature Center

Facebook Event

Exhibitor Application

Shoppers at Geauga Park District’s reinstated, ever-popular Holly Days Artisan Boutique will revel in a premier selection of juried Nature-themed gifts by more than 25 regional artists. It’s the perfect place to find quality handmade items for everyone on your list!

The additional Mistletoe Market, meanwhile, features youth artisans ages 18 and under selling items that they themselves have made at various price points.

Within a festive nature setting, Holly Days shoppers have come to expect heirloom-quality ornaments and holiday décor, all-natural bath and beauty products, gourmet food and snack items, unique jewelry and accessories, beautiful and functional pottery and glass items, gifts hand-turned from wood, indoor planters and terrariums, and much more.

All are welcome free of charge. The West Woods is wheelchair/stroller accessible. With questions, please contact Teresa Runion, special events coordinator, at trunion@geaugaparkdistrict.org or 440-279-0882.

Special Opportunity Greens for Giving

Saturday, December 1 • Noon to 3 PM
The West Woods, Nature Center

Facebook Event

Gather your friends and family around a great cause this holiday season – creating more than 250 evergreen decorations for Geauga County Department on Aging’s home-delivered meals for seniors!

Now in its fourth 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.

“This is a great way to start your holiday season, sharing a little of your time to share holiday joy with our senior neighbors,” said Holly Sauder, outreach coordinator for the parks.

Registration is not required to participate. Please call 440-286-9516 with questions.

Special Event Winter Solstice Celebration

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

Facebook Event

Make the most out of the longest night of your year during this annual celebration, which introduced an all-new format in 2017!

Indoors, take in cookies and hot cider while listening to festive music of the season performed by the Pilgrim Brass Choir. Also, children are invited to try a free solstice-themed craft.

Then, outdoors, stroll the self-guided Solstice Traditions Trail, a magical, candlelit route through the forest; warm up by a bonfire; and stop by the stage area to watch costumed interpreters perform interactive skits highlighting solstice traditions of past civilizations, i.e. the Druids and the origins of mistletoe.

Please dress for time spent indoors and out. Only indoor portions will be fully wheelchair/stroller accessible. Registration is not required for this free event. Please call 440-286-9516 with questions.

Community Art Show discARTed Recycled Art Exhibition

Sunday, February 17 – Monday, April 15
Open 10 AM to 4:30 PM Daily
The West Woods, Nature Center

(Meet the Artists Reception: Sunday, February 17)

Facebook Event

Exhibitor Application

CALL FOR ENTRIES! Geauga Park District invites community members and regional artisans to participate in a 2-month exhibition featuring creative works of art transformed from discarded/found materials. Entries will be accepted January 29 and 30 at The West Woods Nature Center.

Goals for this project are:
٠ To increase environmental awareness and encourage recycling.
٠ To demonstrate sustainability through the use/reuse of discarded or recycled materials.
٠ To showcase the creative talents of community members and regional artisans in a unique way.
٠ To delight visitors with the unexpected connection of discarded materials to finished artwork, as well as the cleverness of the transformation.

Artwork created from recycled materials is a carrier of memory, containing a vestige of these materials’ former function into the new art piece. Possibilities for raw materials are endless…what will you create?

For more information, please contact Teresa Runion at 440-279-0882 or trunion@geaugaparkdistrict.org.