GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT For more information, contact the park district…

May 9, 2013

GEAUGA PARK DISTRICT

For more information, contact the park district at 440-286-9516 or visit www.geaugaparkdistrict.org.

Rock In The Park

Enjoy five great musical acts this spring in the charming amphitheater outside Big Creek Parks Meyer Center: Rebecca Wohlever on May 18 from 7-8:30 p.m.; Chardon Polka Band on June 1, from 7-8:30 p.m.; The Rust Buckets and Drake Hollow on June 15, from 7-9 p.m.; and Humble G & the Afripeans on June 29 from 7-8:30 p.m.

Rebecca Wohlever is a Geauga singer-songwriter whose songs were inspired by her own life, as well as emotional, social and environmental issues that people face together.

Having started their act as students at Chardon High School in 2003, Chardon Polka Band has made a name for itself regionally by adding a colorful twist to the traditional genre of the polka, performing polka and modern hits in a trademark style.

The second show in June, two Chardon-based bands, The Rust Buckets and Drake Hollow, will provide an evening of original Americana music: a blend of folk, rock, country, blues and other American music traditions.

Then, count on Humble G & the Afripeans to wind up June with the violin’s European flavor fused with African drums to create a hybrid “Afripean” sound.

Refreshments will be served at each of these free shows at Big Creek Park, 9160 Robinson Road, Chardon Township. All will move indoors in inclement weather.

EZ Go Cart Rides

In keeping with its mission to connect all Geauga County residents with nature, Geauga Park District continues to offer its new trail vehicle for park patrons with limited mobility.

Reservations are required at 440-279-0880 to join a trained volunteer for interpretive half-hour rides on the five-person EZ Go Cart. This season’s rides are available: May 15, 10 a.m. to noon, Headwaters Park; May 30, 10 a.m. to noon, Frohring Meadows; June 12, 10 a.m. to noon, Orchard Hills Park; June 23, 1-4 p.m., Observatory Park.

Nature 101

Geauga Park District is offering a free crash course in the plants and animals of the spring season.

Nature 101: Spring Happenings takes place May 14 from 7-8:30 p.m. at The West Woods Nature Center, 9465 Kinsman Road in Russell Township.

Registration not required; just show up to enjoy a short indoor introduction, followed by an outdoor hike to experience frogs calling, birds flying and all that nature in the spring has to offer.

Lifetime Achievement

Geauga Park District presented the 2013 Robert McCullough Lifetime Achievement Award to volunteer Rita Combs of Chardon during its volunteer appreciation breakfast April 20 in Chesterland.

Rita has accumulated 1,495 hours since she began volunteering in 1995. Her volunteer resume includes the Nature Arts Festival, the former Holly Day Happenings Craft Show, The Great Geauga County Fair, trailgating, office assistance, canoe programs and the earliest days of the Park District nature store. Visitors to The West Woods Nature Center also likely know her as a regular front desk volunteer, always bringing along a cheerful smile and can-do attitude.

Outdoors, Rita feels passionately about Citizen Science projects. She has been a Bluebird Box Doc, assisting with bluebird surveillance at several parks, each of these past 18 years, and is extremely dedicated to her birds.

Rita was also a member of the Citizen Science Monarch Tag Team for many years, tagging hundreds of Monarchs during their southern fall migration. Keeping a net in her car, she could often be seen running around the front field of the Geauga YMCA in an effort to tag Monarchs nectaring on the clover. Several of these butterflies were recovered at overwintering sites in Mexico.

Finally, one of Ritas greatest contributions is the passion she has instilled in her children by having them volunteer alongside her. Doing so ensures that the next generation will also appreciate the natural world. A favorite example: Once, upon approaching one of her bluebird boxes, Rita and her children noticed the long body of a Black Rat Snake hanging out of the hole in the box. Instead of turning to run, they marched right up to the box, where they found the snake making a meal of the nestlings. Unbelievably, her son was able to grab one from the snake’s mouth and wrestle it away, saving its life.

Rita’s continued support of Geauga Park Districts mission to preserve, conserve and protect is a gift to all.

To learn more about volunteering at Geauga Park District, contact volunteer coordinator Holly Sauder at 440-279-0802.

Women in the Outdoors

Grand Valley Chapter of National Wild Turkey Federation will host its annual Women in the Outdoors (WITO) event on May 11, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Crooked Creek Conservation Club, 4323 State Route 534 in Hartsgrove.

Female participants may select four activities for the day from among: archery, basic firearm safety, body sculpting, fly fishing, alpaca farming, handgun, herb gardening, K-9 search and rescue, rife basics, self-defense, shotgun, skeet shooting, shotgun shell lights, waterfowl hunting, yoga or an all morning turkey hunt with a guide.

Lunch is included. For more details, call Terri Herbert at 440-298-1636.

Chardon Recreation Summer Program Registration, Payment

All registration and payments for summer programs will only be received in the finance department on the second floor at the Chardon Municipal Center Building located at 111 Water St. in Chardon.

They may also be mailed to the above address or placed in the Water & Sewer drop off box located in the parking lot of the Chardon Municipal Center.

Registration forms and payments will no longer be accepted at Chardon pool. Only daily admissions for open swim will be accepted.

Hours of operation for the Chardon Municipal Center are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Visit www.chardon.cc/recreation for program information.