The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve invites the community to enjoy local artists, local organizations and local natural beauty during the Blackbird Creek Fall Festival, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25.
This is the second year DNERR has put on the festival. The festival showcases the Blackbird Creek Reserve near Townsend, one of the two preserved properties under the ownership of DNERR but open to the public for passive use.
“It’s one of the more pristine creek systems within the state of Delaware,” said festival coordinator Jennifer Holmes.
Holmes said 310 people came to last year’s festival. DNERR has set the date for a Saturday – it was on Sunday last year – in hopes of getting more people, but some have already promised to return.
“Quite a few people said they would come back, that they really enjoyed themselves and that they would tell others,” she said.
The festival features displays from local artisans whose work has a wildlife or a nature theme, as well as local musicians, organizations and vendors. Hudson said many who participated last year will return, including traditional Irish band Celtic Harvest, folk musician Bill McAvoy, the Middletown Lions Club, which will provide crab cakes, and Dick “Quiet Thunder” Gilbert, a member of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribe of New Jersey, who will perform a Native American demonstration. The Delaware Bay Retriever Club will return with a canine demonstration.
Hudson said there will be about nine artisans overall and crafts for children. Six local nature organizations will also have exhibits: the Nature Conservatory, Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware Wildlife Rehabilitators, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, the Appoquinimink River Association and Blackbird State Forrest.
However, the main draw of the festival is intended to be the Blackbird Creek Reserve itself, and DNERR has activities to showcase it. While the festival will not feature a 5K run this year, there will be guided hikes and hay rides through the reserve. These will be held sporadically throughout the festival.
“They’ll see some of our restoration efforts,” Hudson said. “They’ll be able to see some of our different habitats in the reserve.”
A new activity this year will be canoe rides through the Blackbird, which will be held at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“If people miss those, we’ve got another one scheduled [later in the year] where people can come,” Hudson said.
Another new activity will be geocaching, in which items will be hidden throughout the reserve. Geocachers can find them using a global positioning device and the coordinates of the hiding spots, which will be provided at the festival.
“It’s like a technologically-advanced scavenger hunt,” Hudson said.
Hudson said the items will include one fact and one myth about the Blackbird Creek. Since a common misconception is that Blackbird was named after Blackbeard the Pirate, the items will also include pirate coins.
She said the festival is a way for DNERR to showcase the reserve and get involved with the M.O.T. area.
“Just kind of showing [the community] we’re there and we exist and we want to be a part of the community,” Hudson said.
The event takes place at 801 Blackbird Landing Road near Townsend from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The reserve is open from dawn until dusk seven days a week, with some places marked for active hunting during shotgun season in November.
Visit the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Web site at www.fw.delaware.gov for more details.
Townsend, Del. —
