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Events & Art Shows

Special Initiative 1,000 Trees Earth Day Celebration

Geauga Park District is planting 1,000 trees at Veterans Legacy Woods!

COUNTDOWN TO APRIL 22!

 

Join us as we “reforest the fairways” — restoring this former golf course to a more natural state in celebration of Earth Day 2023.

 

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 Thursday, April 20, Friday, April 21, or a fall date TBD. Volunteers will work together to plant young trees and build fencing for their protection.

Volunteer Application

 

THANKS to these teams of 25+ people already on board!

Sycamore (50+) Team – Cardinal High School & Nestle

Birch (25+) Team – Boy Scouts of America Pack 3104 (Chesterland) & nVent

 

HOW TO HELP: PUBLIC TREE PLANTING

Join Natural Resource Management to plant trees and build fencing on Saturday, April 22.

Registration is open now for Geauga residents at this link, and opens March 27 at 10 a.m. for out-of-county residents.

 

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

Links to Contribute Online: $250 • $500 • $1,500 • $3,000

 

THANKS to these sponsors who have already given!


RED OAK ($3,000) LEVEL

 

SUGAR MAPLE ($1,500) LEVEL

 

TULIP POPLAR ($500) LEVEL
   

Chardon   

The Rotary Clubs of Geauga County:
Chagrin, Chardon, Burton-Middlefield, Geauga West

 

DOGWOOD ($250) LEVEL

Middlefield

 

Also, THANKS to the National Wild Turkey Federation for donating trees, Sage’s Apples for donating 100 apples for the day, and Sunrise Springs for donating enough water to keep all our worker bees hydrated. We appreciate your partnership!

   

Special Event Art Shows

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.

 

“Earth in Three Bands: R, G, B”

Open January 20 through April 30, 2023

View artist Deb Berkebile’s collection of art quilts, the “Earth in Three Bands: R, G, B” series, which explores satellite imagery and a “false-color” artist depiction of remote-sensed satellite images from GIS (Geographical Information Systems).

This exhibition opened with a special Meet the Artist event with refreshments on Friday, January 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. Deb Berkebile met guests and presented on her artistic process to create the quilts at 7:30 p.m.

Berkebile is an artist with an extensive background in textiles and quilt-making. Recently, she has been exploring surface design and multimedia in her artwork. She creates all of the fabrics used in her design process: surface design techniques, hand-dying and painted fabric, ice-dying, plus digital manipulation of images printed on fabric.

“I am a naturalist and environmentalist at heart,” she said, “(and) I enjoy the challenges of creating original artwork that combines by passions and interest.”

The vivid colors and their outstanding variations are what first drew Berkebile to the representations captured by “Earth in Three Bands: R, G, B.” She is also interested in activism and has been juried into the “OurStory” traveling exhibit about civil rights. Her quilts have celebrated the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rose Parks and Sitting Bull “Lakota Warrior.

 

Melissa Harris & Daria Nosova

Open May 12 through July 28, 2023

Come view the works of artists Melissa Harris and Daria Nosova. Melissa’s collection, “The Lay of the Land,” includes plein air and studio landscapes, while Daria’s collection includes a range of Nature-inspired work.

This exhibition opens with a special Meet the Artist event on Friday, May 12, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Special Event Touch-a-Truck

Saturday, May 20 • 10 AM to 2 PM
at The West Woods

Facebook Event COMING SOON!

Get an up-close look at the vehicles and equipment of Geauga Park District!

Tractors, trucks of all sorts, and construction equipment used to keep the parks in tip-top shape will be parked together for kids of all ages (and kids at heart) to enjoy hands-on discovery. Plus, check out materials from the Geauga County Public Library Fun Bus and grab a free ice cream treat from the truck while supplies last!

Shuttles will run from overflow parking at ASM International, 0.6 mile east of The West Woods on Route 87.

Special Events Nights Out in the Parks

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

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.

2023 Nights Out

Special Events Summer Solstice Day

Wednesday, June 21 • 6 AM to 10 PM

Facebook Event COMING SOON!

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

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

Solar Noon Watch
1 to 2 PM at Observatory Park

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

Discovery Hike
4 to 5:30 PM at Sunnybrook Preserve

Firefly Frolic
8:30 to 10 PM at Observatory Park

Solstice Day Programs

Special Event Nature & Arts Fest

Sunday, August 6 • 10 AM to 4 PM
at The West Woods

Facebook Event COMING SOON!

Return to the part for this awesome art show for the whole family featuring Nature-themed/inspired art sales inside, plus Nature exhibits and activities outdoors. Think interactive booths, hikes, pond dipping and live animals. It’s gonna be great!

Make it an awesome day of art in Geauga County when you also visit the Chardon Arts Festival on Chardon Square (10 AM to 5 PM).

 

2023 VENDOR RESOURCES
Regional exhibitors are welcome to apply to show and sell their wildlife/Nature-inspired artwork at this juried show.
Artist Application