Our popular Nights Out series returns this summer with more live music and movies under the stars — now no registration required!

Bring your own blankets, lawn chairs and refreshments. All shows head indoors in the case of inclement weather; please check our website for updates before coming out.

2023 Schedule

The Swamp Rattlers
Saturday, June 17, 7 p.m. at Big Creek Park‘s amphitheater
A high energy, classic blues-rock band blending rock, blues and country…”blues with a bite!”

Movie Night: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (PG-13)
Saturday, June 24, at Observatory Park, arrive around 8:30 p.m., movie shown at dusk
Costumes welcome! Also featuring information from Geauga Public Health about their Safe Communities program. If inclement weather, movie shown indoors starting one hour earlier (8:30 p.m.).

Afternoon in the Park: Foster Brown
Sunday, July 16, 4 p.m. at Veterans Legacy Woods
Our traditional “Nights Out” becomes a Sunday “Afternoon Out” with this special concert of original Nature sounds by Foster Brown! Join Foster with the family and a picnic, or just on your own, to enjoy his repertoire of original Nature songs! He accompanies himself with guitar, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer and various percussion instruments.

Movie Night: “Disney’s Encanto” (PG)
Saturday, July 22, at Observatory Park, arrive around 8:30 p.m., movie shown at dusk

Movie Night: “Singin’ in the Rain” (G)
Saturday, August 12, at Observatory Park, arrive around 8:30 p.m., movie shown at dusk

Jim & Beth, Acoustic
Saturday, August 19, 7 p.m. at Big Creek Park‘s amphitheater
An acoustic duo covering songs of the 60’s & 70’s folk & blues, including The Grateful Dead, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and more

Need more information? Click the button below.

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

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

Melissa Harris (“Lay of the Land”) & Daria Nosova

Open May 12 through July 28, 2023

This spring or summer, The West Woods Nature Center welcomes you to come view some incredible Nature-inspired plein air watercolors, large studio landscapes and oil-on-canvas paintings on display beginning May 12.

The exhibit opens with a special Meet the Artists event Friday, May 12, from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring attendance by presenting artists Melissa Harris and Daria Nosova. It will remain free and open to the public through July 28.

Artwork of Daria Nosova will be on display in the Gallery hallway as you approach the large Oak Room. Nosova hails from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and began painting in 2018 following her move to the U.S. utilizing free YouTube lessons followed by paid classes she found online.

She enjoys painting, preferably with oils, gardening, and spending time at her home in Gates Mills tending to her family. She said her work primarily consists of oil on canvas “of subjects that consume her passion,” including animals, flowers and sea landscapes.

“My style is close to hyperrealism; I do paint from the picture,” Nosova wrote of her style.

Then, in the Oak Room, “Lay of the Land” by Melissa Harris portrays land and water scapes through plein air watercolor and large studio pieces. “As you will see,” she wrote, “one form of painting informs the other.”

“My plein air watercolors are my purest and most direct spiritual connection to the way of land and water – not just an observation, but a meditative immersion that transcends time and human bonds. They are ‘of the moment,’ and each represents a one-of-a-kind experience. They serve to remind me of the need to humble myself in the presence of natural creation that is at once ageless, life-affirming and forgiving.

“My large, representational pieces are extensions of the plein air pieces, one step removed. Painting large provides visual impact and, if done right, gives the viewer pause. With bigger brush strokes, I can explore how land grows, how water moves or stills. It is the painting process itself that educates and gives me clarity.”

Harris will also show a few expressive paintings that evolved from her representational work.

“Some would point out that expressive or abstract painting is actually a more intimate depiction of my interaction with my surroundings,” she wrote. “Yet I find with each step I take away from plein air, I move farther away from a direct spiritual connection to the lay of the land and closer to interpreting how distanced my/our relationship has become with it.”

The subjects of Harris’ plein air work range from parks in Northeast Ohio (including Cuyahoga Valley National Park, South Chagrin Reservation and Towner’s Park in Kent) south to Hocking Hills, and as far west as Death Valley and the coastal inlands of central California. Her larger representational paintings portray places that range from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park on Lake Michigan to South Chagrin Reservation, Middlefield and Hocking Hills.

“Ultimately, describing Nature is indefinable,” she said. “My paintings share my immediate gratitude and reverence as I seek my place in Nature’s own immutable creation.”

Wednesday, June 21 • 6 AM to 10 PM

Facebook Event

Our Naturalist Department decided to make a special splash this year in honor of 2023’s longest day, hosting six different programs throughout the county. Attend one or many by registering using the button below!

Sunrise Walk
6 to 7:30 AM at Observatory Park – ONE SPOT LEFT (as of 5/30)

Horseback Trail Ride Connecting the Parks
10 AM to 2 PM at Holbrook Hollows – WAIT LIST

Solar Noon Watch
1 to 2 PM at Observatory Park – ONE SPOT LEFT (as of 5/30)

Solar Crafts
1 to 2:30 PM at The West Woods – WAIT LIST

Discovery Hike
4 to 5:30 PM at Sunnybrook Preserve – WAIT LIST

Firefly Frolic
8:30 to 10 PM at Observatory Park – WAIT LIST