Cleveland Metroparks Family Friday Night Frosty Fire event is too cold for area families to attend

Willoughby Hills, Ohio - Cleveland Metroparks offers many family programs throughout the year. The Friday Family Night Frosty Fire is a popular one. On a cold, snowy Friday night at the North Chagrin Reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks, the fire burns hot and ready for the families to arrive. Summertime attendance can reach up to 90 people. This Friday night, not one person showed up.

"It's freezing, we are supposed to be doing a frosty campfire, frosty fire which is one of our Friday nights here at North Chagrin, of course when we plan these we didn't expect lake effect nor did we expect the temperature in the teens," said Mindy Murdok, a Cleveland Metroparks Naturalist.

The evening program typically begins with a night hike. "It can be a short hike just around the marsh and the pond to see what the beaver is up to and the bats that we have at North Chagrin or we might go for a longer trip into the woods and look for nocturnal animals," said Murdock.

The hike is followed by stories and s’mores around the campfire. Mindy struggled to get a frozen marshmallow on the fork before the fire could turn it golden brown. It doesn’t get much better even at 17 degrees. "It’s free marshmallows, it's a good time to sit around with family and we always have a good laugh and good conversation," said Murdock. See the Cleveland Metroparks website for more winter family programs: http://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/Main/Home.aspx