By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
PERRYSBURG—More than 1,500 people saw the power of partnership and access during the 2026 Wild Lights weekend at W.W. Knight Nature Preserve Jan. 16-18.
“I’m happy to have this event be even more inclusive and more wide-reaching every single year. And we did that this year,” Program Naturalist Craig Spicer reported at the February Wood County Park District board meeting. ”And all the people that helped out made Wild Lights even more spectacular than the lights themselves.”
In addition to the 1,534 people who attended (542 on Friday, 734 on Saturday, and 270 on Sunday), the event involved 32 volunteers and helpers who spent 64 hours helping,
The people who helped included volunteers, the groups that “adopted” animals for the displays, the station decorators, the Friends of the Parks, who served cookies and hot cocoa, and the two organizations that donated the food for the weekend event.
Maddie & Bella Coffee Roasters donated the hot cocoa and coffee, and Penta Career Center’s Culinary School provided cookies. More than 1,400 servings of hot chocolate were enjoyed, and 1,300 cookies were eaten.
Donations of approximately $600 were given to Friends of the Parks during the event as well.
“Thanks to those donations for the refreshments, a lot more of those donations can just go right back into the Friends; it doesn’t have to recoup them buying the refreshments like they had to do in years past,” he said.
A new attraction at the event was a train display by the Swanton Area Model and Train Club. Located in an upstairs room at W.W.Knight, the train display was a highlight for many people.
“We had kids come in through the front double doors. One kid had a train hat on. He just came in and asked, ‘Where are the trains at?’ And he booked it upstairs,” Spicer said.
The addition of the Wood County Board of Developmental Disabilities’ accessible changing unit helped make the event more accessible, he reported.
The partnership with the board helped accessibility and inclusion for the parks. In addition to the changing unit, the board hosted an information table at the event. After hearing the unit was used each day of the event, Spicer said, “Especially for the first year (with the unit available), I was happy that it was being utilized even one time over the weekend.”
Spicer also praised other park district units, including construction, which helped put up the main archway into the animal stations; operations staff, who added lights to the paths, and were on hand each day to keep the building clean from wet and muddy boot prints, and the marketing staff for their support to promote the event.
He also premiered a short video about the event, created by the marketing team.
In other business, the board:
- Passed resolutions to purchase a new utility trailer from DR Trailer Sales for $5,075, and to authorize Director Christopher Smalley to sell, donate or dispose of multiple items considered to be surplus property.
- Announced some of the upcoming park programs, including the Farm Breakfasts on Sunday, March 8 and April 12 from 10 to noon at Otsego Park’s Thomson Stone Hall.
