The Festival in the News

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Key Messages


▪ The 37th annual Waterfowl Festival takes place in the colonial town of Easton, Maryland. The historic buildings of Easton serve as venues for galleries and exhibits, while events and demonstrations are held at the surrounding ponds and scenic areas.

▪ The Waterfowl Festival is America’s premiere wildlife art exposition featuring art work from more than 400 artists recognized world-wide. Hundreds of paintings, sculpture, carvings, photos, and fine crafts reflect the beauty of the natural world.

▪ Nation-wide dealers offering antique and contemporary decoys at their booths or during two exciting decoy auctions.

▪ The Festival offers fly fishing and retriever dog demonstrations – sure to entertain the experienced outdoor enthusiast, children and everyone in between. New this year will be the DockDogs, an entertaining competition between dogs to see who can make the longest jump into a pool.

▪ There are numerous hands-on activities for the entire family, especially for the little ones, such as nature arts and crafts activities and up close wildlife education.

▪ Four world-class calling contests take place at the Festival attracting top callers from across the country and Canada. Contests: World Championship Goose Calling Contest® with $10,000 first prize, Mason-Dixon Regional Duck Calling Contest, World Champion Live Duck Calling Contest® and World Champion Live Goose Calling Contest™ – all with cash and gear prizes.

▪ The Wine Tasting Pavilion features tastings and sales of wines produced by the vintners of Maryland accompanied by a selection of cheeses and sweets.

▪ Attendees can checkout the latest gear, accessories and gadgets for hunting, fishing and marine sports at the Sportsman’s Pavilion.

▪ Great Eastern shore food, daily music and After Hours concerts add to the festivities.

▪ The Waterfowl Festival is produced annually by Waterfowl Festival Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art and the celebration of life on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

▪ In its 36 years, the Festival has become a leader in the conservation of waterfowl and wildlife habitat. More than $4.8 million has been donated to projects throughout the Atlantic Flyway and in particular the Chesapeake Bay.

▪ The Waterfowl Festival takes place November 9-11 in downtown Easton, Maryland, off Route 50. Festival hours are: Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

▪ Admission is $12 for Friday or Saturday, $10 for Sunday or $24 for multi-day ticket - children under 12 free.

▪ For additional information or tickets online, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call 410/822-4567.

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Waterfowl Festival - A Wildlife Art and Sportsman's Expo, A Small Town Celebration, A Commitment to Conservation

HIGHLIGHTS

37th Annual Waterfowl Festival - 37 years of excellence

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, November 9, 10, & 11, 2007

Easton - a charming historic town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore

A wildlife art and sportsman’s expo

More than 400 of the country’s finest artists, craftsmen, collectors and dealers

Wildlife paintings, sculpture, carvings, and photography galleries

Thousands of antique and contemporary decoys and decoy auctions

Folk art and crafts

Wine Tasting and Sales Pavilion featuring Maryland wines

Sportsman’s Pavilion - one stop gear and trip shopping for the outdoor enthusiast

Retriever, fly fishing and DockDog demos and competitions

World Championship Goose and Duck Calling Contests

Visit 12 exhibit locations scattered throughout historic town

Live animal and nature displays and lots of fun for kids

Great Eastern Shore seafood - crabs, oysters and clams

A wonderful family day - kids from 1 to 100 will enjoy

Christmas shopping better than the mall

Festival After Hours Concerts

NEW for 2007 !!!!!!
DockDogs - dogs compete for longest jump into a pool
Kids Poster Contest - display of winning entries

More than $4.8 million donated to waterfowl and wildlife conservation projects

Admission is $12 for Friday or Saturday, $10 for Sunday or $24 for multi-day ticket - children under 12 free

For more information and tickets online, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call 410-822-4567

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Waterfowl Festival Spans Generations With Wildlife Art and Hunting Traditions

Easton, MD (July 16, 2007) – Continuing what has become an Eastern Shore tradition spanning generations, the 37th annual Waterfowl Festival takes place in Easton, Maryland, November 9, 10, and 11, celebrating fine art, folk art and the region's hunting heritage.

Through the years, the Waterfowl Festival has grown into one of the most prestigious wildlife art and sportsman's expositions in the country. More than just a celebration, the Festival is also a nonprofit organization investing more than $4.8 million in proceeds since 1971 in wildlife and habitat conservation projects that benefit the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The event attracts more than 15,000 visitors each year from all over the country. Collectors can purchase paintings, sculpture, carvings and photographs from world-renowned wildlife artists, displayed in galleries throughout the colonial Town of Easton. Every price range is represented, from prints to fit the budget of the most modest collector to last year's record-setting $124,000 for a Bob Kuhn painting.

Carvers bridge the gap between the artistic side of the Festival and its hunting roots. What began as functional decoys for hunters luring game evolved into an art form of its own. The Festival devotes two galleries to these master carvers and their art. Collectors can also bid on antique decoys at the Festival's Decoy Auction, and plenty of old and new decoys can be purchased from the vendors at Buy Sell and Swap, a hunter's bazaar.

The timing of the Waterfowl Festival makes it the perfect place to start holiday shopping. Artists and craftsmen at the Wildlife Emporium and Artists Gallery & Workshop offer a wide range of gift choices, including jewelry, clothing and household items in addition to artwork. For the sporting enthusiast, visit the Sportsman's Pavilion, where everything from fishing rods to big game hunting trips can be purchased.

Fine wine goes with fine art - and also nicely tops off a fine day of hunting or shopping. Wine lovers have their own pavilion at the Festival, where they may discover and taste the many great wines produced by Maryland vintners.

While the Wine Tasting Pavilion is strictly adults only, the young - and young at heart - can enjoy activities and events throughout Festival weekend. Nature activities and displays introduce kids to wildlife and conservation, and the Kids Fishing Derby gives them a hands-on opportunity to reel in the big one. Fly Fishing Demonstrations let both kids and adults hone their skills.

The dogs are back again, eager to entertain all. Retriever Demonstrations draw crowds of visitors to watch these canine hunting companions splash into ponds to show off their retrieving skills. New this year and sure to be a hit is the DockDogs competition, where dogs will be judged on the distance they can leap from a dock into a pool of water.

Dogs will not be the only competitors at the Waterfowl Festival. While it may sound like a flock of ducks and geese, it will be humans competing in the Calling Contests. The Festival's World Champion Goose Calling Contest® draws the best callers in North America, vying this year for a $10,000 cash prize in addition to the title. Three other duck and goose calling contests also take place, attracting contestants and spectators of all ages.

As entertaining as the Calling Contests are, others may prefer a different sound. The Waterfowl Festival presents After Hours Concerts at the Historic Avalon Theatre on Friday and Saturday evenings. During regular Festival hours, street musicians play throughout town, entertaining visitors strolling the streets of Easton or stopping to eat at one of the many food vendors offering Eastern Shore treats.

The 37th Waterfowl Festival offers art, shopping, food and entertainment treats varied enough to delight both the most sophisticated connoisseurs and their wide-eyed grandchildren, welcoming new visitors and new generations to experience this Eastern Shore tradition. The Festival will take place November 9-11 in downtown Easton, Maryland. Festival hours are: Friday and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $12 for a Friday or Saturday pass, $10 for Sunday, and $24 for a multi-day pass. For additional information, call 410-822-4567 or visit www.waterfowlfestival.org.


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*Note: High-resolution photography is available upon request. Please e-mail Ann White at awhite@waterfowlfestival.org for additional information and instructions.