If you're out and about in Valparaiso or nearby environs, please make a stop at Ogden Gardens. The city park, with its water features, gazebo, paths and plantings is perfect for a short stroll at lunchtime, a venue to catch up with an old friend, or visit with a child. Through a child's eyes the bridge over the koi and turtle-filled pond must seem massive. To touch the succulent leaves of a water plant, look over the scene from the Japanese teahouse or spot one of the resident frogs can bring the magic of nature back to those of any age.

Ogden Gardens is on the southwest corner of Campbell and Harrison Streets. It is one of several parks maintained through the city. For information on Valparaiso Parks, or to schedule a wedding at Ogden, call (219) 462-5144.

Entertainment close to home

Chesterton High School is the venue for The Second City at 7 p.m. Wednesday. It's the first of the 2008-2009 season of the Duneland Performing Arts Series. The series, initiated in the fall of 2007, offers a wide range of entertainment this season, including this legendary Chicago comedy theatre, the Northwest Indiana Symphony and more.

The Second City features entertainment appropriate for high school-age students and adults. An evening with The Second City is an opportunity to see irreverent satire and clever improvisation. I saw The Second City years ago, and I still tell the story of one of their skits involving a guy who got his head stuck in a giant can of pork and beans. A few of the well-known alumni of The Second City include Chris Farley, Amy Sedaris, Stephen Colbert, and John Belushi.

Tickets for this event are $12 for general admission seating and can be purchased at purchased at either the Red Cup Café, 520 Broadway, Chesterton from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. or at the Chesterton High School Main Office from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, visit the DPAS online at www.dunelandperformingarts.com, or call the CHS Box Office at (219) 983-3730 Ext. 7286.

Next month on the same stage is the Northwest Indiana Symphony Orchestra and contemporary dance company Hubbard Street 2. The company of seven dancers between the ages of 17 and 25 will perform a repertoire of works by some of the nation's most promising young choreographers. Also performing trumpet solo to Lofstrom's Trumpet Concertino is Northwest Indiana native Rick Kirgan. Now living in Chicago, Kirgan has performed as a soloist and recording artist and has performed with Placido Domingo, the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets, Deep Purple and the Bee Gees.

Single tickets for this event can be purchased through the NISO office by calling (219) 836-0525. Prices vary.

The opinions expressed solely are those of the writer.