Community Calendar

With winter coming, many of us are getting ready to shutter up our lawns for the season, but now’s the time to get our homes ready to support our wintering bird species!

Heather from Wild Birds Unlimited will lead an in-depth discussion on how to make our homes more bird-friendly in the cold months and give tips on how we can enjoy watching our native birds all year round.

This program is geared for adults 50 and up, but all ages are welcome.

Date: November 19 from 11:00AM-1:00PM

Meet: Cooper’s Glen Auditorium inside the Visitor Center

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; KNC Members free!

Registration recommended, drop-ins welcome

Audience: Geared for Adults 50+, but all are welcome

For more than 1,000 years, vessels for the preparation and consumption of whisked, powdered tea have ranked among the world's most highly prized ceramics. With roots in China, these objects took on new meanings in Japan through chadō, the Way of Tea, shaped significantly by the Zen Buddhist idea that mundane actions can become paths toward self-cultivation. During this lecture, Dr. Meghen Jones will explore how—through materials, processes, and forms—Japan's leading ceramists carry forward the Way of Tea.

Meghen Jones is Professor of Art History at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where her research centers on Japanese and global ceramics histories, modernity, and cultural production. Recent publications include the edited and co-edited volumes Path of the Teabowl, Ceramics and Modernity in Japan, and the forthcoming A Global History of Japanese Ceramics. In 2024 she received the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship.

Learn to extend the life of your clothes and other belongings with the creative practice of visible mending. Using intentional design choices, you can repair and reinforce areas with holes, rips or worn fabrics. Visible mending is not only a sustainable solution to maintain what already exists, but is also full of joy, creativity, and relaxation! Explore basic techniques for creating repairs that are meant to be seen and loved for years to come.

Bring a damaged piece of your own, or practice your techniques on provided fabric.

Saturday, November 21, 2026, 10 am-12 pm

Meet: Visitor Center Classroom

Fee: KNC Members $15; Non-Members $20

Please Register >

Audience: Adults and teens

Drawn from the renowned collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz, Chanoyu: Modern Tea Ceramics from the Horvitz Collection brings together a selection of Japanese tea bowls (chawan) and water jars (mizusashi) that embody the quiet power and refined sensibility of the tea ceremony and Japanese aesthetics.

Join WMU professor Dr. Kathryn Docherty for a talk on the ways that native plants can restore soil health in our ecosystems, and just how intricate our soil ecosystems can be.

Saturday, November 21, 2026, 2-3pm

Meet: Cooper’s Glen Auditorium inside the Visitor Center

Fee: Included in regular KNC admission; KNC Members free!

Audience: All ages

The 53rd annual Holiday Art Sale at the KIA will feature artworks from 160+ faculty and students of the Kirk Newman Art School.

• Thursday, December 3, 4–8pm: Members’ Night
• Friday, December 4, 4–8pm: Open to the Public
• Saturday, December 5, 9am–3pm: Open to the Public

This unique, three-day shopping experience will help you find the perfect gift for your loved ones this holiday season, and help support both area artists and KNAS programs. You’ll find wearable fiber art and jewelry pieces; handmade original prints, photos, and paintings; functional and decorative home goods; cards, stationary and holiday ornaments; decorative glass, sculpture, ceramics, and more!

Made possible by generous support from StoryPoint Oshtemo.

The 53rd annual Holiday Art Sale at the KIA will feature artworks from 160+ faculty and students of the Kirk Newman Art School.

• Thursday, December 3, 4–8pm: Members’ Night
• Friday, December 4, 4–8pm: Open to the Public
• Saturday, December 5, 9am–3pm: Open to the Public

This unique, three-day shopping experience will help you find the perfect gift for your loved ones this holiday season, and help support both area artists and KNAS programs. You’ll find wearable fiber art and jewelry pieces; handmade original prints, photos, and paintings; functional and decorative home goods; cards, stationary and holiday ornaments; decorative glass, sculpture, ceramics, and more!

Made possible by generous support from StoryPoint Oshtemo.

Free admission to the Fair and trails all day!

Get ready for the Kalamazoo Nature Center’s Buy Local Art & Gift Fair with unique booths from top local artisans. The quality and variety of work, friendly artists, and festive atmosphere have made this an annual tradition you don’t want to miss! Find one-of-a-kind, creative gifts for everyone on your holiday list. If you work up an appetite, Grampa’s Pasties is serving up delicious breakfast and lunch options or frozen varieties to go. Enter the Buy Local Raffle for a chance to win gift baskets filled by our talented artists and vendors. All raffle proceeds support KNC.

Please join us the first Saturday of each month at 9 AM (barring special events or bad weather which will be announced on our Facebook page), for "Beginning Birding Walks," led by experienced birders from the Audubon Society of Kalamazoo. This event is free and open to the public. Meet at the second parking lot at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan, just off SR 43. All skill levels are welcome.

We will enjoy nature while typically identifying 20-40 species of birds, plus butterflies, frogs, etc. Over 200 bird species have been sighted at Wolf Lake, which offers a variety of habitats and easy walking trails. Annual highlights include colorful songbirds like orioles, warblers, tanagers, hawks and eagles, kingfishers, Great Blue and Green Herons, and over 20 species of waterfowl. Eastern Bluebirds can be found year-round! Children accompanying adults are welcome. The focus is on birding fundamentals, and extra binoculars are always available. The walk typically takes about 2 hours (but feel free to arrive late or leave early).

Venture offsite with us as we visit our neighbors at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre! While the Statement Pieces exhibition encourages us to consider the relationship between fashion and self-expression, this program will explore the ways in which clothing is used to establish vital aspects of dramatic characters onstage. Resident Costume Designer Elaine Kauffman will offer a behind-the-scenes look into the process of creating costumes for the stage, as well as a glimpse into her work as an independent fashion designer. Check back soon for more information on meeting location and parking!

Statement Pieces is organized in conjunction with Barrett Barrera Projects. Made possible by generous support from Diane & Randy Eberts and Heritage Community of Kalamazoo.