JAMESTOWN – Butterflies are fascinating creatures, and Western New Yorkers will have the chance to learn all about them at the Audubon Community Nature Center’s ‘Monarch Butterfly Fest’ later this month.
The event is set for August 28th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Audubon Nature Center, located at 1600 Riverside Road near Jamestown.
The entire festival will be outdoors with the exception of an indoor monarch room, filled with butterflies and flowers for an interactive experience. This attraction can be accessed via sign-up at the event, but spaces are limited.
Each hour, ACNC staff will present on the monarch butterfly’s life cycle and migration in the Stephanie Frucella Education Pavilion. There will be educational material about the growth of the butterflies, the tagging and tracking of them, and guests who stay until the end of the day will even get to watch the butterflies get released so that they can begin their trip to the warmer weather in Mexico.
The Prendergast Library will have a tent that will feature hourly story times along with arts and crafts and free books. They will also have Makerspace stations that highlight science, technology, engineering, art, and math.
At the fair, there will be butterfly garden plants for sale, food from 3 C’s Food Truck, and access to the Blue Heron Gift Shop. Furthermore, there will be raffles for prizes including monarch butterfly artwork and your own personal butterfly garden.
Each year since 2005, ACNC staff and volunteers have raised monarch butterflies from eggs found on their grounds until their release as full-grown butterflies. The critters are tagged with trackers to help collect migration patterns and population data.
During the fair, face masks are required at all times, both indoors and outdoors.
Admission is $8 for adults and $6 for children ages 3 to 15 years old, as well as ACNC members. Children two and under can enter for free, and parking has no cost as well.
The proceeds from the events will benefit the ACNC’s monarch butterfly research and programming for the future.
For more information, visit auduboncnc.org.
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