Holiday Open House at CAVE CANYON December 6, 2008

The Highlands Nature Sanctuary is hosting a day of festivity at the annual Holiday Open House at Cave Canyon Nature Preserve, previously known as the 7 Caves, located in Bainbridge, Ohio. The event will be held from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, with most activities taking place at the Appalachian Forest Museum. A local musician will provide live music, and holiday refreshments will be served throughout the event. A variety of children’s activities will be offered, including dipping buckeye candies, making holiday ornaments, and storytelling. The sanctuary’s newly expanded gift and book shop will be open, stocked with unusual items such as stone and wood carvings, Appalachian crafts, nature jewelry, and Native American-inspired flutes and pipes, as well as more common items such as greeting cards and nature books for children and adults. During the event visitors may hike three nature trails which follow the rim of the Rocky Fork Gorge and provide breathtaking views of the vertical-walled canyon. Living history hikes will be offered free of charge, led by the historic costumed character, William Starling Sullivant. Sullivant was a real-life Ohio naturalist and botanist in the 1800’s and son of the founder of Columbus. During this event, Sullivant will be leading groups into Cave Canyon to share stories of his latest botanical discoveries. A second tour offered during the open house will be to Beechcliff Lodge. This historic building was built in 1912 by the Waddell family of Greenfield, to originally serve as a family hunting lodge. It has been recently renovated by the Highlands Nature Sanctuary and is now available as a group rental facility for the general public. Cave Canyon Preserve is part of the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, headquarters of the Arc of Appalachia Preserve System, a charitable non-profit organization preserving and protecting more than 3,000 acres of Ohio’s forests, prairies and wetlands. Originally begun in 1995 to preserve the 7 Caves park, the Arc of Appalachia now works in a five-county region. It is funded almost entirely by donations from citizens all over who are dedicated to ensuring that future generations may experience the splendor of Ohio’s natural legacy. The Arc of Appalachia also is dedicated to reconnecting people with the natural world through educational offerings, and serves as a gateway for the public to Ohio’s Appalachian Forest. To learn more about the Holiday Open House or the Cave Canyon Nature Preserve, please visit www.arcofappalachia.org.

Official Website: http://www.arcofappalachia.org