Geauga Park District
The park district’s 34th annual Sap’s-a-Risin’ celebration takes place March 1, 8 and 15 from 12-4 p.m. at Swine Creek Reservation, 16004 Hayes Road in Middlefield.
For more information on these programs, contact the park district at 440-286-9516 or visit them online at www.geaugaparkdistrict.org. No registration required unless otherwise noted.
Sweet Maple Sugaring Fun
The park district’s 34th annual Sap’s-a-Risin’ celebration takes place March 1, 8 and 15 from 12-4 p.m. at Swine Creek Reservation, 16004 Hayes Road in Middlefield.
The free festivities include sap-gathering in the sugarbush with a horse-drawn sap sled, sugar house tours with sample tastes of fresh syrup, and historical stations with costumed interpreters displaying and demonstrating maple sugaring methods from prehistoric to modern day. In the toasty lodge with its large crackling fireplace, also find free maple treats and live music by The Real Deal String Band on March 1, The Mr. Haney String Band on March 8 and The Woodpeckers on March 15.
Swine Creek Reservation is also a featured stop on two drive-it-yourself tours on March 8 and 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: the Ohio Maple Producers’ Maple Madness Tour and the Maple Producers of Northeast Ohio’s “How Sweet It Is” Drive-It-Yourself. Tour maps with complete lists of participating sugar houses are available at ohiomaple.org and mpneoh.com.
Family Fun Giveaway
Sign up for personalized email updates and enter to win a pizza party in the park.
Sign up at bit.ly/gpdgiveaway2020 now through June 3 to be entered to win one of 12 parties, which include a free lodge or shelter reservation of one’s choice, dependent on current availability.
Those already signed up for emails can still sign up for the new giveaway using the same form and not receive duplicate emails.
Paper sign-up forms and official rules are also available at the front desks of The West Woods Nature Center and Big Creek Park’s Meyer Center.
Nature’s Not To Be Missed
Register to be placed on the park district’s Amphibian Awakening Call List to witness the natural phenomenon of spring breeding behavior of wood frogs, spring peepers and possibly large salamanders as they move into woodland pools on a warm, rainy night.
In late March or early April, naturalists will make the call to hold the program and then start making calls to everyone registered for the call list.
Expect a call in the late afternoon on the day of the program, and set out appropriate clothing and flashlights. The always popular, all-ages call list will fill up quickly.
