MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Families got to enjoy fluffy white dogs, a campfire, arts and crafts and more during the Winter Wonderland event at the Harris Nature Center on Saturday.

“We just moved to Okemos a couple years ago so we are exploring the area,” said Lindsay Jones who was at the event with her two daughters. “I think this would be a nice place to bring the kids.”

The event was from 10 am to 3 pm and it included activities such as dog carting, roasting marshmallows around a campfire and games for the children to enjoy.

Since there was not any snow on this particular day residents were not able to participate in cross country skiing or snowshoeing, however they were able to enjoy some free cookies and hot chocolate.

“We’ve been doing this probably 18 or 19 years,” said Kit Rich, who is the Senior Park Naturalist at the Harris Nature Center. “It kind of evolved from a smaller event where we just did an introduction to cross country skiing and snowshoeing and then we started adding the other [events] to it and it grew through the years.”

According to Rich, after they added the dogs, Winter Wonderland grew into a bigger event. Residents, especially children, are all drawn to the puppies and what they can do.

“I’ve been coming here since about 1999,” said Sharon Kremsreiter, who brought one of her dogs to participate in the Winter Wonderland event. “We bring them out just so people can [get] excited about the dogs get and learn about our breed.”

Rich mentioned that due to the changing weather the staff is thinking about adding more outdoor activities for future events.