Things to do in Bloomington: Moonlit dog walk, Gallery Walk, seed swap

This weekend in Bloomington, you can take your dog on a moonlit group walk, check out some realistic but, just paper, bugs, or swap seeds to use in your garden next year. Or just enjoy the crisp fall air arriving in time for the Bloomington Paint Out where you can observe or create, all over town.

Howl at the Moon with your dog Friday night at Switchyard Park

A 1.5-mile glow-in-the-dark dog walk, Howl at the Moon, begins at 7:30 p.m. at the basketball courts near the Grimes Lane parking lot of Switchyard Park. All leashed, well-behaved dogs and their owners are welcome to this free event.

Ryder Films presents "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" Friday in the park

Another Friday night event in Switchyard Park will be the free showing of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," as part of Bloomington Parks and Rec's Movies in the Parks series, also presented by Ryder Film Series. The movie begins at 7:45 p.m. in the park, 1601 S. Rogers St. This movie is rated PG; please determine if it is appropriate for your family. Bring your own seating.

Insect sculptures, acrylic on wood and Gallery Walk

"No bugs were harmed!" creating Jennifer Ivory's paper sculptures, but since they are based on real insects, sometimes people are fooled.

"People often believe my paper insects are quite real, necessitating my somewhat humorous disclaimers that no insects were harmed in the making of the artwork!" Ivory said in a press release. "I never get tired of hearing the surprise in people’s voices & seeing the smiles on their faces when they first see my paper bugs."

Plan ahead: Monroe County Civic Theater, public library bring banned books to life Oct. 17

Ivory’s artwork is made with individual insect sculptures that are created using illustration ink and acrylic paint on various types of archival grade art paper. The time it takes to make each piece varies wildly from a day to many weeks.

See Ivory's creations at By Hand Gallery, 101 W Kirkwood Ave, Suite 109, inside Fountain Square Mall, from Oct. 6-Nov. 18 during regular business hours, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Opening reception is 5-8 p.m. Oct. 6 during this month's Bloomington Gallery Walk.

Also opening this weekend: Acrylic on wood by James Campbell at The Brick Room Gallery, 107 N. College Ave. See the exhibit 5-8 p.m. Oct. 6, Oct. 13 or Oct. 20. The Paintings of Brown County’s Art Maven, Patricia Rhoden Bartels, at The Venue Fine Art & Gifts, 114 S. Grant St. See it 5-8 p.m. Oct. 6 or during regular hours, noon-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Closed Tuesday.

Paint Out this weekend: Create art in Bryan Park on Oct. 7 with free classes, demos

Get started on next year's garden with seed swap

It'll feel a lot like fall this weekend, but you don't have to wait for the first frost to start planning next year's garden. Try some new varieties by swapping seeds with other community members from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 7 at downtown branch of the Monroe County Public Library, 303 E. Kirkwood Ave. MCPL's Seed Library will accept seed donations and the library and Mother Hubbard's Cupboard also will offer free seeds.

Sassafras Audubon Society Fall Bird Feeder Cleaning

Bring your dirty and hard-to-clean bird feeders to the Sassafras Audubon Society's Fall Feeder Cleaning at Bloomington Hardware on Oct, 7. Feeder drop off is from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and pick up is from 2-4 p.m. Suggested donation is $5 per feeder. Going to be out of town on Saturday? Drop off your feeders on Friday and pick them up Sunday or Monday. Remember — a clean, sanitized bird feeder is important to the health of the birds you love.

Meet WildCare wildlife and drink some wine Saturday

You can meet Potato the opossum, Loki the fox, Sully the turtle and more of WildCare Inc.'s animal ambassadors 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at Butler Winery, 6200 E. Robinson Road. Tickets are $10-$25 and includes a wine tasting. There will be live music, a silent auction and potentially a release of one or more of the wild animals that receive aid from WildCare. For tickets, go online to https://tinyurl.com/2a22u94s.

Earth Science Week at Lake Monroe

Celebrate Earth Science Week at Lake Monroe from Oct. 8-14 with a variety of activities for both kids and adults, from guided geology tours to a celebration of the partial solar eclipse. Some highlights include:

• Oct. 9, 9 a.m.: Geology driving tour exploring local geological history focusing on the area around Lake Monroe including opportunities to collect rocks and fossils. Limited to 12 participants. $30 per person. Register by Oct. 5 at bit.ly/2023-geologytour.

• Oct. 12, 2 p.m., 2-mile roundtrip hike to the crinoid fossil bed at Allens Creek State Recreation Area. No collecting permitted. Limited to 20 people with advance registration at http://bit.ly/2023-crinoidhike by Oct. 10. Free.

• Oct. 14, 9-11 a.m., experience the partial eclipse by dropping by the campground playground at Paynetown State Recreation Area to decorate and assemble your own eclipse viewer using special solar filter paper. Donation of $1 appreciated. Supplies limited.

• Oct. 14, noon-1:30 p.m. join the eclipse viewing party on the swimming beach at Paynetown. Eclipse peaks at 1:02 p.m. Eclipse glasses available for $1 donation.

Entrance fee at Paynetown SRA is $7 per vehicle with Indiana license plate ($9 per vehicle with out-of-state plates). Indiana State Park Annual Entrance Permits are also accepted.

For more information, call at 812-837-9967 or email Jill Vance at jvance@dnr.in.gov. Full details at bit.ly/2023-earthscience-monroelake.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Things to do this weekend in Bloomington, Indiana