Experience community events in every season!

The Wood County Park District hosts community events throughout the year for the public to come together to learn and celebrate together.

Spring: Kayak Demo Day and Community Earth Day Celebration
Summer: Paddle the Pond and Fairs
Autumn: Heritage Farm Fest and Habitat Heroes
Winter: Wild Lights and Basecamp Stories

WILD LIGHTS

Wild Lights is a community event centered around lighted animal displays at the W.W. Knight Nature Preserve in Perrysburg.

Wild Lights Workshop: Groups adopt stations to decorate with lights in a cooperative competition.
Free to enter with cash prizes from our sponsors.
Wild Lights Weekend: Community walk the illuminated woods at night to see the displays and vote for their favorite.

Add your name to the interest list and receive info about participating in Wild Lights 2024. #wildlights

 

 

Wild Lights 2023
Thanks to our volunteers, Friends of the Parks, and the 800+ people (over three days) who made Wild Lights Weekend even more spectacular than the lights themselves! There was dancing, laughing, learning, amazement, smiling faces, and we made lots of great memories together. 2023 was the third year for the Wild Lights imaginative lighted animal displays and saw the addition of an indoor space with a winter photo stop, hot chocolate, cookies, and pretend snowball games.

Congratulations to the winners!
1st $150 “For the Fun of it!” | Black Bear
2nd $100 “Maneo Minnows” | Browsing Buck
3rd $50 “The Downey and Lopez/Meek Families” | Doe and Turkey
Community members adopted 3D foam animal displays and decorated them with lights. The contest is free to enter and is a great team-building activity for offices, organizations, and service groups.

We are thankful for our community partners!
Thank you to the Way Library of Perrysburg for their creative and inspiring display.

Thank you to the Friends of the Wood County Park District for sponsoring the contest prize funds and the hot cocoa & cookies inside the W.W. Knight Nature Preserve Nature Center. Become a Friend today!

   

Wild Lights 2023

Wild Lights Workshop: Wednesday, January 11; 4 – 7 pm

Wild Lights Weekend: Friday, Saturday, & Sunday; 5 – 8 pm

Wild Lights Weekend: stroll the illuminated forest at night. Warm up with hot chocolate and activities inside of the nature center during the event courtesy of the Friends of the Parks.

Wild Lights Workshop: ***Perfect for organizational team-building*** Decorate and light-up 1 of 10 stations at the Wild-Lights Workshop, January 11th, 2023 (weather date January 12th).  Bring festive cheer to your station of a life-sized 3D animal statue. Collectively, we will turn the woods at W.W. Knight Nature Preserve into a magical twinkling forest for visitors to explore during the Wild Lights Weekend, January 13-15. Entry is free to this friendly competition.

Cash prizes courtesy of the Friends of the Wood County Park District for the “most inspired” stations include:

1st: $150      2nd: $100    3rd: $50 

REGISTER

RULES

Participants bring their own lights and decorations. Stations are judged by a panel of Wood County Parks staff and volunteer judges.

For questions please contact Naturalist Craig Spicer: 419-661-1697 x3 | cspicer (at) wcparks.org

image of foam deer at night with a string of large multi-colored light bulbs wrapped in its antlers. Image of area family posing with their decorated station. Image of a lighted display of wild animals acting out a star wars theme. May the Forest be with you.