Skiing, gardening and one-stroke painting are just some of the events being offered by the Hermitage Parks and Recreation Department during the next few months, and many of the classes are open to the public at large, according to department director Ed Chess.

One upcoming event is a Seven Springs ski trip on Valentine's Day. A bus will leave from the municipal building at 7 a.m. and return around 7:30 p.m. Several schools in the area don't have classes on Feb. 14, so the trip may be attractive to students, Chess said. Students under ninth grade must be accompanied by an adult.

All the prices for the different activities and lessons at Seven Springs are reduced. Included are ski lessons and rentals, snowboard lessons and rentals, and two-hour tubing sessions.

Other Hermitage classes include Donna Dewberry's one-stroke painting techniques, which are seen on the QVC channel and PBS, and which will be taught by a certified instructor, a Hawaiian quilted pillow or wall hanging class, and a picket fence bench decorated with a birdhouse or sunflower theme, which can be used to hold plants.

The second session of computer classes, such as Internet and e-mail basics and Word 2000 for beginners, will begin in March and April.

April is also when the children's vegetable garden will begin, with students planting cold crops such as potatoes and onions and planting seeds to create seedlings for planting, Chess said.

The summer recreation program will start June 9, the Monday after Hermitage schools are done, Chess said. He added that the summer activities for children and teens are for Hermitage residents only. The city and the school district are splitting the costs because of the use of the school buildings and property for many of the sporting events and classes. They are free to the students.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time if there's a fee, it's open to the public," Chess said.