Enjoy Meteors, S’mores, and Star Wars in Ionia on August 10

The Perseid meteor shower is expected to be visible from Michigan in August.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is celebrating by hosting a number of meteor shower watch parties with complimentary s'mores, movies, and speakers.

The Ionia Recreation Area will serve s'mores and play "Star Wars: A New Hope" in the beach day-use area at 8:30pm on Sunday, August 10.

There is no charge to attend the events, but a Recreation Passport is required for any vehicle entering a Michigan state park.

Here's a full list of meteor shower watch parties:

Saturday, Aug. 9

•  Bald Mountain Recreation Area (Oakland), 9 p.m. (beach parking lot)
•  Fort Wilkins Historic State Park (Keweenaw), 10 p.m. (parade grounds) This program features guest speaker Joel Kimball, professor at the South Dakota School of Mining and Technology

Sunday, Aug. 10

• Ionia Recreation Area (Ionia), 8:30 p.m. Star Wars: A New Hope (beach day-use area)
• Leelanau State Park (Leelanau), 8:30 p.m. (day-use picnic shelter)
• Van Riper State Park (Marquette), 10 p.m. (campground shelter building)

Tuesday, Aug. 12

• Brimley State Park (Chippewa), 7 p.m. (visitor beach playground)
• Muskallonge Lake State Park (Luce), 9 p.m. (community fire pit in the day-use area)
• Silver Lake State Park (Oceana), 9 p.m. (dune pedestrian lot)
• Hoeft State Park (Presque Isle), 9 p.m. (hospitality site)
• Wilderness State Park (Emmet), 9 p.m. (amphitheater)
• Rifle River Recreation Area (Ogemaw), 10 p.m. (ranch ball field)
• Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Ontonagon), 9 p.m. (Union Bay campground)
• North Higgins Lake State Park (Crawford), 9 p.m. (park beach pavilion)
• Port Crescent State Park (Huron), 8:30 p.m. (day-use area)

Wednesday, Aug. 13

• Young State Park (Charlevoix), 10 p.m. (park baseball field across from loop 4)

Thursday, Aug. 14

• Van Buren State Park (Van Buren), 9 p.m. (southern side of the beach parking lot)

Friday, Aug. 15

• Baraga State Park (Baraga), 10 p.m. (park picnic area)
• Pontiac Lake Recreation Area (Oakland), 8:30 p.m. Star Trek (2009) (west picnic area)

Saturday, Aug. 16

• Aloha State Park (Cheboygan), 8:30 p.m. (camp host site no. 47)
• Burt Lake State Park (Cheboygan), 9 p.m. (fire pit on the west side of the interpretive building)
• Brighton Recreation Area (Livingston), 9 p.m. (Chilson Pond behind the park headquarters). This program features guest speakers from University Lowbrow Astronomers.
• Hartwick Pines State Park (Crawford), 8 p.m. (campground amphitheater)