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Cities and townships throughout Butler County offer a number of recreation activities for their residents. Here's a look what will be offered in 2008:

Hamilton

Hamilton Parks and Recreation Director Bob Harris expects the joy of parks to continue this year with a few tweaks.

The department is hosting annual favorites like breakfast with the Easter Bunny and a city-wide Easter egg hunt. However, this year the department is throwing in a flashlight Easter hunt on the evening of March 14 at the Colligan Lodge in an event aimed at the 10-14 age group.

"We're always looking for interesting ways, especially for this pre-teen age group, to get them involved," Harris said.

Hamilton will again receive a special night at Great American Ball Park in June in what has become a annual favorite.

Traditionally, held on a Friday or Saturday evening, City of Hamilton Night will be on Tuesday, June 10 to coincide with the 64th anniversary of Joe Nuxhall's history-making pitching debut at age 15 as the youngest player in the major leagues. Harris expects it to draw quite a crowd.

Harris said he hopes they have enough buses to transport people. However, he said the city had "plenty."

"This is going to be the most special of the City of Hamilton Nights," he said.

The city will also continue its movies in the park series with three showings during the summer. Harris also expects the city to host special events at its two golf courses.

Oxford

Oxford Parks and Recreation will offer new and old programming to the community in 2008.

Community programs through April include events such as Spring Break Adventure camp and Fossil Hunters in March and the Tricycle Rally in April.

"In April, we are partnering with the Butler County Family Services and Oxford Family Resource Center to host 'Steppin' Out in the Park'," Gail Brahier, director of parks and recreation, said. "The purpose is to offer a program that educates families about opportunities for family activities at no cost and to learn about their community resources."

2008 is the fifth anniversary of the Oxford Community Park and Oxford Parks and Recreation will host an event to celebrate in October.

Oxford Parks and Recreation will team with other organizations to create events throughout the year as well.

"The department is working with "Friends of the Dog Park" to raise funds to develop the dog park to be located on the backside of Leonard Howell Park," Brahier said. "We hope to begin this project within the year."

Brahier explained that the department plans to move forward with the Oxford Community Park this year.

"We plan to add shade structures to the new K-12 playground in 2008," Brahier said. "Also, we will continue development of the park master plan as funds become available."

Fairfield

Parks and recreation in Fairfield will be "bigger and better" in 2008, which includes a new jazz series and an expanded September Dayz, recreation officials said.

Residents can expect older and newer city traditions to continue, said director Jim Bell, but he and Community Arts Manager Heidi Schiller said people can also expect new events, like a summer Jazz series.

"This just expands it to the parks system for the summer. Our little tag line is, 'Keeping Jazz alive in Fairfield,' so we want to keep Jazz alive in the summer too," Schiller said.

Summer's end will include a "bigger and better" September Dayz festival. Bell said he and park and events manager Ben Strickler will propose ideas in April to council on how to expand the annual festival.

"Fall in Southwest Ohio is tough," Bell said. "Everyone has their end-of-summer festival and have that niche and get that right niche, and we haven't found that niche yet."

Also in 2008, the parks department will look into buying some new features for the Aquatics Center and will be monitoring how the new golf course club house will affect the income at Fairfield Greens.

"The course hasn't changed that much, but the experience has changed," Bell said of the new club house. "It will give (golfers) a new place to socialize."

Schiller said they will have a number of new events at the CAC theater, including in April ArtReach, which is part of the Children's Theatre of Cincinnati.

The CAC art gallery will have a number of new exhibits, including a partnership with Miami University regional campuses. Art instructors will have an exhibit of their work in late March or early April.

For more about upcoming events, call the parks department at (513) 867-5345 or visit fairfield-city.org/parks.

Fairfield Twp.

Recreation opportunities in Fairfield Twp. should be even more plentiful in the coming years, if newly elected trustee Terry Scharnhorst has his way.

Scharnhorst said one of the items on his "to-do list" is the creation of walking trails, bicycle paths and picnic areas. He said many of the residents he met during last year's campaign expressed the importance of such parks being accessible and enjoyable.

"I think our parks should be more than just organized sports. They should be user-friendly to the entire family," he said.

Located on Reigart Road, Rentschler Forest Preserve and Miami-Erie Canal features picnic shelters, nature trails, an amphitheater, canoeing and bank fishing.

Maintained by Butler County Metroparks, the nearly 400-acre site also offers a fitness court, playgrounds, soccer fields, hiking trails, reservable picnic shelters and youth group campsite. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. until dark.

Millikin Road Park, which can be found behind the township's administration building at 6032 Morris Road, includes a variety of amenities such as baseball, basketball, tennis, a playground, gazebo, restrooms and a walking trail.

Fairfield Twp. also offers Shafer Run Community Park, located behind the township's police station at Walden Ponds Circle and Vonnie Vale Court.

For more information about township recreation, call (513) 887-4400.

West Chester Twp.

West Chester Twp. opens the gates of a new park and unlocks the doors of a historic structure to headline recreational offerings in the township this summer. The Square at Union Centre, a two-acre urban park, is under construction at a site along West Chester Road in the Union Centre area. When complete, the park will feature fountains, a bridge connecting it to the site of the new West Chester Library building and an 80-foot clock tower designed by Cincinnati based Verdin Company. Township spokeswoman Barbara Wilson said construction is expected to finish in May, with the park's grand opening in June.

"Our first after-work concert will probably mark the opening of the square," she said.

Another park feature, this time with a historic lineage, is scheduled to open at around the same time as The Square at Union Centre. The Muhlhauser Barn is a 126-year-old timber-framed structure that was acquired by the township in 2002. After several years of debate over what to do with the building, it was rebuilt last year as a rentable event center at Beckett Park, overlooking the Union Centre area.

Wilson said interest in the barn, which can be booked for private events and parties, has been high.

"There's been a lot of interest," she said. "We've brought a lot of people through."

For more information on West Chester Twp. parks, contact the parks and recreation department at (513) 759-7304.

Liberty Twp.

For those looking for recreation that relaxes or revives, Liberty Twp. offers more than a handful of park sites and a series of regular events geared for the entire family.

"Within a few minutes of home there's a place for every family to roam," Liberty Twp. Parks Committee President Kurt Feldmann said.

Area residents often are unaware of the amount of outdoor options available to them in Liberty Twp., he said.

"That's one of the goals of our parks committee — to increase awareness of our parks," he said. "We have recreation opportunities, places to picnic, birdwatch, play on a playground with your children, walk, hike or go for a run."

The parks range in size and scope of offerings. At 7.5 acres, Fort Liberty Playland is the smallest of the township's parks but also its most visited, township officials said. Located on VanGorden Road, north of Ohio 129, the park features a state-of-the-art playground and a shelter.

Dudley Memorial Park also includes a playground and shelter, as well as picnic tables with charcoal grills, wooded hiking trails, a bird blind and fishing. Forty-two acre Wetlands Parks offers paved and chipped trails that lead to four ponds and the chance to see wildlife in a variety of habitats. Cherokee Park features a large pond for fishing and Dudley Woods' 63 acres offers a one-mile loop along Gregory Creek.

Located behind the Lakota Family YMCA, Liberty Park features nearly one mile of paved path around and through the park. The park is the site of the township's annual Easter Egg Hunt, its Fourth of July celebration and its Fall Festival, conducted the first Saturday in October.

The township continues to create new recreation opportunities with a series of hike-and-bike trails linking area subdivisions and parks. This year, officials are developing a parks master plan with the input of township residents.