Working Artists Forum

We are excited to have the artists of the Working Artists Forum as part of the 2021 Waterfowl Festival!

Launched in 1979 by a small group of artists, the Working Artists Forum – with over 100 members – is today a thriving arts organization with many vital connections within our arts community. WAF members exhibit widely, win awards, teach classes and workshops, and actively participate in arts events throughout our region. Monthly member meetings promote camaraderie through discussion of upcoming exhibits and a lively demonstration by a well-known guest artist.

Their summer juried exhibit Local Color (presented in partnership with the Avalon Foundation’s Plein Air Easton) attracts hundreds of patrons and enjoys excellent sales. Working Artists Forum also presents numerous group shows throughout the year, both on the Eastern Shore and in venues across Maryland/DC. In an effort to support student artists and their teachers, Working Artists Forum donates monies directly to elementary school art teachers for much needed classroom art supplies. Additionally, WAF helps support the Avalon Foundation’s After-School Art Program. Click here to learn more about WAF.

Find these talented artists at the Chesapeake Marketplace – Easton Middle School Location.

Katie Cassidy
Carol Cowie
Pauline Cox
Fred Craig
Lee D’Zmura
Nancy Lee Davis
Mary Ford
Rhonda Ford
Kathy Ryan Gardiner
Jill Glassman
Shirley Hales
Patti Lucas Hopkins
Betty Huang
Carla Huber
Wendy Johnston
Jane Knighton
Kathy Kopec
Marianne Kost
Patricia Dale Lang
Judie Lizewski
Linda Luke
Mary Ellen Mabe
Carol McClees
Deborah McFarlin
Carol Lynn Meers
Diane DuBois Mullaly
Anne Reder
Katie Rogers
Maggii Sarfaty
Stacey Sass
Scott Sullivan
Nancy R. Thomas
Georgette Towes
Stephen Walker
Barbara Harr Watson
Judith Weaver
Maureen Wheatley
Lori Yates
Barbara Zuehlke

FREE Venue – No ticket required

Location: Easton Middle School, 210 Peachblossom Rd.

Bus Route: Blue

Exhibit Hours:
Friday & Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Retriever Demonstrations

Visit the Bay Street Ponds throughout the Festival to watch the retrievers put on their best show! They will amaze you with the skill and control in finding and bringing back various items on command.

Note: There is not parking at the Bay Street Ponds. You must walk or take the bus.

Visit this page during the Festival for the demonstration schedule.

Sponsored By:

Diving Dogs

The Diving Dogs is always a popular attraction at the Waterfowl Festival and 2021 expects to be a great year for competition! Competition pros can register online (rules below).

There are always slots available for amateurs to try it out with your novice pup! Try-Its are $10 for two try-it tickets.

Competitive splashes are available Fri, Sat. and Sunday where you can watch and cheer on your favorites – Festival ticket is required.

Competition Rules: A NADD This event is being run by a NADD mobile dock. Registration Number is required to enter, purchase here for $35.00. Splashes include up to four minutes on the dock for one optional practice jump and two judged jumps. You must inform the judge prior to your jump if you want it to be considered a “practice jump”.

The jump order is set by a posted running order. Each splash closes 30 minutes prior to start time. Failure to be present at the beginning of the splash can result if the forfeiture of jumping in that splash.

Each distance jumping Splash allows 2 judged jumps, back to back. The longest jump of them will be your Qualifying Score.

You can earn a Diving Dog Title at this event. You must have five Qualifying Scores within a Division. NADD titles are recognized by the AKC and CKC through their recognition programs. View their applications here (AKC) and here (CKC).

Please read the official NADD Rules before you register to compete in the Trial.

Sponsored By

Volunteering

Becoming a Festival Chair, Volunteer During the Festival or Apply to be a Duck Sitter

Be a Volunteer

The success of the Festival stems from the hard work and hospitality offered by our corps of dedicated volunteers. We invite you to join the team!

Each year we recruit, train and depend upon more than 1,200 volunteers to make the whole event happen. While mostly from Talbot County, some even travel from across the country simply for the fun of volunteering at our annual event. Festival planning and preparations go on year round, so volunteers are always needed for a multitude of tasks. More than 60 volunteer committee chairs invest hours of their time coordinating Festival details and they, in turn, depend on hundreds of others to help get things done. Volunteer opportunities are small to large, easy to extensive – but always much appreciated!

Volunteer Opportunities

Below are the opportunities we could use help with for 2021. Please use the form below to reach out.  Not sure where your best fit is? Call our office at 410.822.4567 or email Leslie Milby at.

BUS GUIDES
DUCKSITTERS (Volunteers 18 and under)
FESTIVAL SHOPPES
GUEST SURVEY HELP (NEW)
OFFICE HELP
SECURITY WATCHMAN
SET UP & BREAK DOWN HELP
TICKET SALES
TIPS TRAINED BARTENDERS & BEER POURERS

Chairman Opportunities for 2021 – Coming Soon!

Calling Contests

The Premiere Calling Championships in the World.

Putting the Duck and Goose back into Duck and Goose Calling. 

Competitors are immersed in the language of the incredible waterfowl of the region, competing against each other the for coveted title of World Champion. Callers from all around the world come to Easton once a year to showcase their skills and hope to be immortalized in the history books of Championship Calling. Many of the industry’s leaders in waterfowl calling and hunting have gotten their start on the calling championship stage at the Waterfowl Festival.  The World Championship Goose Calling Championship ®, founded in 1976, is the longest running goose calling championship in the United States. This Championship has single-handily changed the shape and face of the goose calling and waterfowling industry! Prize packages range from $5,000 to $12,000 in cash and prizes thanks to all our Corporate partners.

With audiences of 600+, five championships and incredible prize packages on the line, the stage is always set for an exciting evening. The beauty of Easton’s championships is the level playing ground. Anyone, novice or master, can blow. The World Waterfowl Calling Championships bring in judges from all the flyways, to have representation from across the country.

All the callers on our stage showcase their incredible abilities to operate a duck or goose call. However, our live championships stress that all callers must replicate the sounds of actual ducks and geese. The callers are instructed to not go outside the realm of natural sounds of ducks and geese. By leveling the playing field, any and all callers are urged to participate. This championship is not about who can operate a call the best, but who sounds the best in the field!

Competition Schedule

Friday, November 12- 10 a.m. – Noon – Registration for all Competitors  (at Easton High School Auditorium)

• 11 a.m.: Judges & Callers Meeting – Senior Division
* A meeting for all the callers and judges to give their input on the contests, scores and how to improve the sport for the following year.
• 12:30 p.m.: Preliminary Rounds begin (Senior Divisions)
• 12:30 p.m. World Championship Team Goose Calling Contest
• 2:00 p.m.   World Championship Team Live Duck Calling Contest
• 
3:30 p.m.   World Championship Live Goose Calling Contest
• 5:00 p.m.   World Championship Live Duck Calling Contest
• 6:30 p.m.   World Championship Goose Calling Contest

Saturday, November 13 – 9-11 a.m.  Registration for Junior competitors (at Easton High School Auditorium)

• 10:30 a.m.  Judges Meeting – Junior Division
• 11:00 a.m.   Preliminary Rounds begin (Junior Divisions)
• 11:00 a.m.   Junior World Championship Live Duck Calling Contest
• 12:15 p.m.  Junior World Championship Goose Calling Contest
• 2 p.m.: FINAL ROUNDS (Please note, there is no bus transportation after 5 p.m.)

o World Championship Live Duck Calling Contest – Junior
o   World Championship Goose Calling Contest – Junior
o   World Championship Team Goose Calling Contest
o   World Championship Team Live Duck Calling Contest
o   World Championship Live Goose Calling Contest – Senior Division
o   World Championship Live Duck Calling Contest – Senior Division
o   World Championship Goose Calling Contest – Senior Division

6-10 p.m.  Sportsman’s Dinner & Celebration
Easton Elk’s Lodge. Tickets $50  Buy Tickets

LIVE Location: Easton High School
723 Mecklenberg Ave.
Admission: Preliminary Rounds (Fri & Sat) – FREE;

Finals  (Sat. eve) – FREE with Festival admission or $10 per person

Follow the action LIVE on our Facebook Feed!

Our master of ceremonies is Chad Belding, the host of “The Fowl Life” and owner of Jargon Duck and Goose Calls. In his 36 years, Belding has worked with the best in the hunting industry. Nevada native Belding got hooked on hunting ducks after pursuing them as a kid with family and friends. He’d ultimately turn that love of waterfowl hunting into his life’s work when he created Banded Nation after college, with help from key partners in the industry.

Today, hunting waterfowl remains at the center of Chad’s world, as the passionate hunter and champion duck caller travels the continent as star of “The Fowl Life” outdoor television show. Hunters from all walks of life appreciate his aggressive hunting style and die-hard dedication. We are very excited to have Chad and “The Fowl Life” team on board!

Sponsorships

No matter the size of your business or organization– there are many ways to get involved in supporting the Waterfowl Festival

The generous contributions of our Corporate Partners are instrumental to the success of each annual Waterfowl Festival. Their sponsorship offsets the costs of conducting the Festival, thus enabling the maximum amount of Festival proceeds to be applied to conservation activities. The Corporate Partner Program offers levels of support at all price levels. In appreciation, the Waterfowl Festival extends recognition, promotional and entertainment benefits which vary depending upon the level of support. Partnering with the Festival is an excellent opportunity for businesses to meet their goals for community involvement by supporting an event that attracts nearly 20,000 attendees from the Mid-Atlantic region and produces an annual economic impact of $3.5 million to the community.*

There are many opportunities that exist for Corporate Partners at the Waterfowl Festival, some of which include:

• Venue Sponsorships
• Special Event Sponsorships
• Title Sponsorships
• Official Guide Advertising and Sponsorships
• Calling Contest Sponsorships

Sponsorship levels start at $500!

To join the Corporate Partner program or for more information,  download the Partnership Kit , email

The Economic Impact of the Waterfowl Festival

• The 6,833 out of town visitors to the 2019 Waterfowl Festival spent nearly $3 million in travel-related goods and services. On average, visitors spent roughly $421 within Talbot County during their trip.
• 6 out of 10 stayed overnight spending an average of $251 per trip on lodging
• 55% of overnight visitors stayed in a hotel or motel (over 76% of those stayed in a hotel or motel in Easton)
• 25% of those who stayed in other towns, stayed within Talbot County
• Waterfowl Festival-initiated spending generated $787,000 in tax receipts, including $357,000 in federal receipts and another $429,000 in state and local tax receipts
• In 2019, spending by visitors and event organizers generated a total of nearly $1.6 million in wages for Talbot County employees

*Source: Rockport Analytics Economic Impact Study of 2019 Waterfowl Festival

Vendors

Application will be open on April 1, 2023 for our 2023 show. 

Categories of Vendors:

Buy, Sell, Swap Antique and contemporary decoys, sporting collectibles, American folk art. 

Chesapeake Marketplace Demonstrating Artisans and Craftspeople offering a variety of gift and collector items. 

Sportsman’s Pavilion Sporting retail products, goose and duck calls, excursions, charters or similar.

Tasting Pavilion Regional wineries, breweries and gourmet foods. 

Artifacts Decoys, guns, boats, equipment and memorabilia related to waterfowling made and used prior to 1955. 

Children’s Activities —  Call 410-822-4567 or email   if interested

Food Vendors at the Festival are or are associated with nonprofit, Eastern Shore-based organizations. Food vendors must participate in a separate application process.
Call 410-822-4567 or email if you feel your organization qualifies.