What is everyone’s favorite part of a festival? That’s right, the food! Once again, most food available during the Prairie Days festival will be provided by local non-profit organizations, so not only are you filling your belly, you are helping out a good cause. Parking and admission to Prairie Days are free, so that gives families a few extra bucks to splurge on some pie and ice cream. From hamburgers to hot dogs, walking tacos to sloppy joes and sausages, there is sure to be a sandwich to satisfy everyone’s cravings. There will also be french fries, kettle corn, pork rinds, fresh fruit, cider slushies, and much more. Don’t forget to wash all the food down with some old fashioned sodas and top off the meal with a piece of the best pie in Darke County from our pie baking contest! Prairie Days has extended hours for the third year, so come for lunch and grab an early supper before leaving. The festival will be held Saturday, September 24th from 10am-5pm and Sunday, September 25th from 12pm-5pm. For more information, call the Nature Center at (937) 548-0165, or visit the website at www.darkecountyparks.org.   

Darke County Parks Naturalist, Mandy Martin, invites preschoolers to join her for the September Parent and Preschool Adventures programs. The “Little Explorers” classes for 2-3 year olds will be held on September 7^th from 10am to 11am, and the “Seedlings” class for 4-5 year olds will be held on September 8^th from 10am to 11am, both at Shawnee Prairie Preserve on St. Rt. 502 west of Greenville. The Parent and Preschool Adventures program is a series of monthly, hour long programs designed to give parents and their preschoolers and opportunity to investigate nature through hands-on activities, hikes, stories, songs, and take-home projects.

The September program will feature spiders. On early fall mornings there happen to be an abundance of spiders. Whether the webs are intricately created or messy cob webs, spiders are intriguing and useful. Participants will search for different types of webs and a variety of colorful spiders. A fee of $2 is charged for the program, and preregistration is required. For any questions about the preschool programs or any other park district programs or to register for the September class, please call 548-0165 or email info@darkecountyparks.org.

 Did you know? The common garden spider can be identified by its zipper-like zig-zag section if its webs.