Heightened excitement surrounds upcoming Bird Fest

The 16th annual Leavenworth Spring Bird Fest is May 17-20 in Leavenworth. A lot of excitement surrounds the Bird Fest this year. Highlighting this year’s Fest is the keynote speaker, noted author and illustrator David Allen Sibley.
“That is pretty big and exciting. He is a primo birder to have him come out to the festival. He’s the biggest name we’ve ever had. This is in partnership with Icicle Creek Center for the Arts,” said Brook Hinton, the community events manager at Wenatchee River Institute.
Sibley is famous for The Sibley Guide to Birds, which was published in 2000. The guide features over 6,600 original illustrations by Sibley. He is speaking at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 19 at Snowy Owl Theater. It is sold out.
There are also a record number of birding trips going out this year. Hinton said there are only three trips left open.
“Everything is pretty much sold out. There are 43 trips total, including rafting, paddle boarding, kayaking and bird hiking trips,” Hinton said. “There is a poem writing class this year with Derek Sheffield and Cynthia Neely. That is a first,”
Flirting with Air: Writing Poems about Birds is 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday, May 20.
Family Discovery Day is Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to noon at the WRI campus. It is open to the public. Families are welcome.
“There’s arts and nature walks for kids. Blow up archery. Somebody walking around with a live owl. At noon, Dave Judd and his band are playing Blue Grass,” Hinton said.
Hinton said this is the biggest year they’ve ever had.
“There’s a nice influx of new, younger birders, families-folks from far away. It used to be a lot of western Washington birders. Now, we have birders from Canada, New Jersey, Ohio. We’re getting much more recognition nationally,” she said.
Hinton attributes much of the added excitement to their keynote speaker.
“That takes it to a new level in terms of getting it on people’s radar. And I just think we’ve been able to offer more, especially online. Birding is also growing. It’s very popular,” Hinton said.
Of course, Leavenworth is a very unique area which offers a lot of birds that are on people’s life lists. Sometimes, these birders find more than one bird on their life lists.
“Birders are looking for great place to recreate, dine and overall experience. The quality of the birding is really great too,” she said.
The Song Bird Concert is at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 18, at Snowy Owl Theater. Featured are local favorites, the Marlin Handbell Ringers, playing at Bird Fest for the 14th year.
There is also an art exhibition featuring locals artists. It’s open to the public at Snowy Owl Theater through May 20. It is a juried art exhibition.
For more information, go to leavenworthspringbirdfest.org.
Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.