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Last updated on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
(LINTON) - Marsh Madness, a Linton area bird festival celebrating the sandhill crane and waterfowl migration at Goose Pond Fish & Wildlife Area, is set for March 1 and 2.
The Greene County Daily World reports that the festival, presented by the Friends of Goose Pond group, will be based out of Linton's Humphrey's Park. Some activities will take place at Goose Pond FWA, Shakamak State Park and Carnegie Heritage and Arts Center. Festival information is at MarshMadness.info.
Festivities will start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, March 1, at Shakamak's group camp dining hall with the Peabody Energy Kickoff Banquet. The banquet will feature Ducks Unlimited regional biologist Michael Sertle as keynote speaker and include dinner, live music, silent and live auctions, door prizes and a cash bar. Proceeds will go toward the Goose Pond Visitors Center.
From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday there will be guided and self-guided tours of the surrounding area, where festival participants can watch the annual bird migration. Guided bus tours will depart hourly throughout the day from the East Cabin in Humphrey's Park.
In addition to the tours, festival goers can attend presentations by experts on topics such as Goose Pond FWA, waterfowl and shore birds. Leslie Grow from The Dwight Chamberlain Raptor Center at Hardy Lake will give presentations and display several birds of prey, including a bald eagle. For more information, see the website listed earlier.
Other daytime activities on Saturday at Humphrey's Park include a craft and vendor fair, birdhouse construction for kids and other children's programming, tree climbing with help from Earthjoy Tree Adventures, and a waterfowl calling contest and retriever demonstrations by Ducks Unlimited.
Also on Saturday, Carnegie Heritage and Arts Center will host a showing of works by wildlife artist Robin Myers (ArtfromtheWild.com).
On Saturday night, the Goose Pond Chapter of Ducks Unlimited will host Sportsman's Night Out at Shakamak from 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Tickets for the kickoff banquet are $25 and are also good for admission to Saturday's events at Humphrey's Park and Goose Pond FWA. Additionally, tables of eight can be purchased, but the number of tables is limited. Banquet tickets can be ordered at FriendsofGoosePond.org by clicking on the PayPal button at the bottom of the homepage.
A festival pass for daytime events on Saturday is $5 per person at the Roy Clark Building in Humphrey's Park. Family passes for up to five family members are $15. Children younger than 3 are free.
Sportsman's Night Out event tickets are available from local Ducks Unlimited members, or Ducks.org/indiana/events/30223/goose-pond-chapter-sportsmans-night-out. Sportsman's Night Out tickets are $25, $35 per couple, or $15 a piece if you also purchase tickets to the Friday banquet.
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