Recent News

October 31, 2022 In News

Announcing the Waterfowl Festival Salute to Veterans

Honoring our military and veterans who have served our country

Easton, MD (September 28, 2022) – The Waterfowl Festival opens on Veterans Day, November 11, 2022, and is offering a 25% discount to active-duty military, reserve and National Guard, retirees, and veterans who are or have served in defense of our country. Pay just $15 for all three days of the Festival.

Show a military ID, a membership card from a veterans’ organization, an ID from the Veterans Administration, or a driver’s license with veteran status annotated, and receive a discount. This discount is only available for on-site ticket sales at one of the Festival’s ticket booths.

Waterfowl Festival, Inc., is a nonprofit, 501c (3), dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art, and the celebration of the life and culture of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Now in its 51st year, the festival continues to draw thousands of visitors from throughout the mid-Atlantic.

The Festival runs on volunteers, many of whom are veterans. We hope many more veterans will join us for one of the largest festivals on the Eastern Shore of Maryland where more than 350 artists, artisans, and vendors offer a fantastic weekend of fun focused on art, hunting, and sporting.

Watch the Delmarva Dock Dogs and wildlife callers compete for prizes; watch retriever and raptor demonstrations; view fine art, sculpture, and carvings; shop our marketplaces; and buy, sell, and swap antiques and collectables.

Kids can learn to carve and fish. There are many family-oriented activities.

There’s also food and craft beer and wine. Something for everyone on the beautiful Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Just 40 minutes from Annapolis, 65 miles from Baltimore, 75 miles from Washington, DC, Waterfowl Festival is the perfect weekend getaway.

August 9, 2022 In Art, News

Waterfowl Festival’s Featured Artwork: ‘November Morning-Pintails’

When artist Richard Clifton began planning the featured piece of art for Waterfowl Festival 2022, he wanted to capture not only the beauty of waterfowl, but wanted his creation to appeal to art collectors, waterfowl enthusiasts, hunters, and conservationists alike. He settled on Pintails as his subject and created “November Morning-Pintails.”

“Everybody loves Pintails,” declared Clifton. “They have a classic look and broad appeal. People get excited when they see a group of Pintails.”

Clifton lives on 115 acres where he has created extensive habitat to attract waterfowl and wildlife.

He’s also a farmer, hunter, photographer, and waterfowl enthusiast. He comes from a farming family and keeps around 75 acres of his land under till. He says there’s something therapeutic about planting in the ground and working his fields. He’d do more farming if he wasn’t so busy with his art.

His love for the land and wildlife is evident in his paintings. He takes his own reference photos and then puts them together to create compositions that use light, patterns, and flow to bring viewers in. He says he’s probably sitting on several thousands of photos he’s taken on his land.

About the Painting

For Waterfowl Festival 2022, Clifton created a painting that is understated and elegant.

“November Morning-Pintails” evokes calm. Soft background light sets apart the ducks – three drakes and two hens. The contrasting patterns on the ducks give variety, while the colors serve to tie them together in a warm, serene composition.

The painting is 24”x36” unframed, and 32”x44” framed. The framed original is being offered for $12,000.

Posters will also be available closer to the date of the Festival.

“I’m so honored that the waterfowl festival has ask me to be their featured artist, and so grateful of the people that I’ve met in the last few years, both that work with the festival and -I’m gonna call them friends- the people that have come out and supported me and my artwork,” said Clifton. “It’s big shoes to fill, but I’m hoping together we can kick off the next 50 years with the same enthusiasm and anticipation that was there all those years ago when this great vision began.

About the Featured Artist Program

Waterfowl Festival’s Featured Artist Program was created in 2010 to generate excitement about a chosen artist and their visual interpretation of the bounty of our natural habitat. It encourages visitors to meet the artist and see the featured piece “up close.”

The Featured Artwork is the inspiration for the year’s marketing theme and keeps the visual identity of the Festival fresh and current. The painter or sculptor chosen each year showcases the variety and high-quality art that the Festival is known for to a new and returning audience.

For a hi rez version of the painting, click here.

For a photo of artist Richard Clifton, click here.

August 9, 2022 In Artists, News

Richard Clifton Selected as Featured Artist for 2022 Waterfowl Festival

EASTON, MD (May 5, 2022) – The Waterfowl Festival is excited to announce that Richard Clifton will be the featured artist for the 2022 Waterfowl Festival. Clifton is a world-renowned wildlife artist and won the 2007 and 2020 Federal Duck Stamp contest.

“The Waterfowl Festival is truly fortunate and honored to have Richard Clifton selected as it’s 2022 Featured Artist,” said Kenneth Miller, president of the Waterfowl Festival board of directors. “Richard is one of our country’s premier artists for paintings that capture the beauty of waterfowl within their natural habitat. His compositions evoke a unique, if not varied set of emotions and feelings among experienced waterfowlers, naturalists and art collectors alike.”

Clifton is a self-taught, award-winning artist. Waterfowl are one of his favorite subjects and he has painted 53 duck stamps from various states and countries, including the 1996 Australian Duck Stamp.

Clifton’s art has been chosen several times for the Ducks Unlimited National Art Package and he was named Artist of the Year by DU three times.

“As a wildlife artist, it has always been a career dream of mine to be the featured artist for a show,” says Clifton. “So, I was both humbled and honored to be named 2022 featured artist for the Waterfowl Festival.”

Clifton first exhibited at the Festival in 2006. His work is sought by domestic & international fine art collectors.

“The long tradition of the festival promoting ducks and geese and my love of painting waterfowl are coming together, and it feels like a good fit,” says Clifton. “We should all be excited by the hope and promise this brings as we gather in November.”

More artists will be announced during the coming months. As always, the festival organizers are looking for the best-of-the-best in painting, sculpture, photography, and carving.

About the Waterfowl Festival

Waterfowl Festival Inc. is dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art, and the heritage of hunting and fishing on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It attracts some 18,000 visitors annually. It is the premier destination for everything waterfowl in the U.S.

The next Festival will be held November 11-13, 2022 in historic Easton, in the heart of Talbot County, MD. Tickets can be purchased online or at the event. VIP and corporate sponsorship packages are available. For more information, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call the Festival’s office at 410-822-4567.

December 27, 2021 In News, Sliders

Waterfowl’s 2021 Grant Awards Support Horn Point and Shore Rivers Projects

Every year, Waterfowl Festival’s Community in Conservation Grant Program receives funding requests from non-profits and community organizations across the region that are looking to make a difference.

This program supports projects that are at the intersection of waterfowl conservation and community, whether they are focused on education and outreach, science and research, or restoration. Ideally, projects include aspects of each focus area with the intention of building connections between our waterfowl, our region’s non-profits and the people of Delmarva. This cross sectional perspective means Waterfowl always receives a variety of projects that make for a very interested and thoughtful discussions by its review panel.

For 2021, these awards honor Judy Stansbury who, along with her husband Henry, are longtime supporters of the Festival and waterfowl conservation.

The 2021 Judy Stansbury Community in Conservation Grant recipients are:

University of MD, Center for Environmental Science – $5,000

Horn Point Laboratory’s (HPL) outdoor environmental education programs reach more than 3,000 students each year, teaching them about the Bay ecosystem through experiential learning on school or university field trips, HPL’s summer STEM programming and other community educational experiences. After more than eighteen months of isolation, distance and hybrid learning, HPL is ready to support getting children out into nature once again.

HPL’s project “Enhancing the Horn Point Nature Trail Experience” will create improvements to the Cove Point Train, part of a network of trails at the eight hundred acre UMCES/HPL campus. Improvements will include renovation of the trail’s wildlife/bird blind and the construction and installation of nesting platforms and boxes. Overall the project aims to better connect students to habitats, research and conservation and improve educational resources that focus on the wildlife and bird ecology of the Choptank River.

ShoreRivers $5,000

The Bay’s underwater grasses, known technically as Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV), are flowering, vascular plant species that grow in salt, brackish, and fresh waters. They provide immense ecological, acting as feeding grounds for waterfowl and commercially important fish and shellfish, sequester carbon, take up excess nutrients and trap sediment, and they protect shorelines from erosion by slowing tidal action.

ShoreRivers has been working with MD Dept. of Natural Resources and Anne Arundel Community College for the past several years to assist with SAV restoration plantings on the Eastern Shore. Waterfowl funding will compliment an existing grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust, allowing ShoreRivers to further expand SAV restoration efforts. Overall, the project goal is to restore 24 acres of grasses throughout several Delmarva rivers. It will increase populations of native SAV species in an effort to reach Eastern Shore watershed restoration goals outlined set by the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. The project includes volunteer-supported seed collection and distribution of species including widgeon grass, redhead grass, wild celery and horned pondweed – all key food sources to migratory waterfowl.

Help us build the foundation for future environmental conservation for waterfowl with a contribution to our Community in Conservation Grants Program. To make a gift, call us at 410.822.4567 or email us at .

November 9, 2021 In News

Heritage Art Awards Highlight Original Waterfowl Compositions

The genesis of the Waterfowl Festival was initiated some 50+ years ago by a number of individuals who shared a common belief in the beauty of abundant waterfowl thriving in their habitat throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and nearby coastal bays…spanning more than 64,000 square miles and encompassing parts of six states – Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia – and the entire District of Columbia.

Artwork featuring various waterfowl plus waterfowl habitat areas, vistas, etc., has always been a very important theme for the Waterfowl Festival. In recognition of the Festival’s 50th Anniversary, the Waterfowl Festival has received a generous contribution of $5,000 to be used solely for cash awards for original waterfowl compositions [e.g., waterfowl and/or scenes depicting waterfowl & their habitat] to be judged and ultimately displayed and offered for sale at this year’s Festival. Artists submitted their intent to participate in the award program and their winning pieces will be displayed at Premiere Night this Thursday. Winning pieces will be displayed with ribbons in the artists’ booths after Thursday’s announcements.

Artwork submitted will be judged on the following criteria —Visual Appeal (attractiveness & creativity of the composition, regarding spatial balance, lighting and harmony of subject(s) and background); Anatomical Details of Species (level and accuracy of detail in all aspects of the anatomy and coloration of the chosen waterfowl species); Habitat Accuracy (appropriateness and detail depiction of the waterfowl species habitat) and General Rendering (inter-relationship, accuracy and depiction of all individual and collective elements of the composition.)

Awards Include

1st place winner will receive a cash award of $2,500 plus certificate and ribbon;
2nd place winner will receive a cash award of $1,500 plus certificate and ribbon;
3rd place will receive a cash award of $1,000 plus certificate and ribbon

November 3, 2021 In News

WF Announces App for On-The-Go Festival Information

We’ve been working hard to get the Waterfowl Festival App ready for you! Download it now so you’ll have the schedule, venue information and a lot more at your fingertips. Scan the QR code with your phone or search for Waterfowl in the App Store and Google Play Store.

Get info about:

Schedule
Gallery Listings
Venue Information
Tickets
Special Event Information

October 26, 2021 In Festival Highlights

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.

October 20, 2021 In News

Retrospective Film Celebrates 50 Years of the Waterfowl Festival

Those who came together to create the first Waterfowl Festival in 1971 were lovers of everything the Eastern Shore had, and still has, to offer. They saw a heritage to celebrate and preserve; natural resources, waterfowl and wildlife worth conserving (before conservation was even a thing to do); and a community that cared enough to do something about it. Our name, “Waterfowl Festival,” is our history; a history of care and appreciation for our migratory ducks, geese and swans and our natural world; a history of dedication by the
people who live here.

With the hospitality that can only rise when given from the heart, every year our volunteers, partners and supporters create
our showcase. It is, and always has been, the best of the Shore and beyond — world-class art featuring wildlife and Chesapeake Bay culture, classic sporting heritage, unique historic collections of waterfowl decoys and artifacts, conservation activities and regional cuisine. All for the benefit of waterfowl-related conservation. We are so pleased you have joined us to celebrate our 50-year journey!

Special thanks to Tom Horton, Caroline Phillip of Riverine Creative, Megan Miller of M2 Group Strategies, Joe Walsh and the Walsh Family, Bruce Perry and the Perry Family, Sandy Cannon-Brown, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Ducks Unlimited and the Waterfowl Festival staff and board members who worked tirelessly on this production; Julie Susman, Margaret Enloe-North, Martha Horner, Leslie Milby, Eric Milhollan, Jerry Serie and Charles Wrightson.

September 23, 2021 In Festival Highlights, Special Events

Sportsman’s Party

Saturday, November 13, 6 p.m. – Easton Elk’s Lodge

Enjoy dinner and drinks at the Easton Elk’s Lodge and celebrate all that is Sporting at the Waterfowl Festival!

· All you can eat- appetizers, chicken and more
· Domestic draft beer included, cash bar for mixed drinks & craft beer
· Lots of raffle prizes from our sporting favorites
· Live Music

$50 per ticket!

September 23, 2021 In News, Promotional Partners

The Making of Wind and Waves by Bart Walter

Have you ever wondered how a sculpture becomes a sculpture? 2021 Festival Featured Artist Bart Walter took us behind the scenes of the creation of his work, Wind and Waves, his signature piece for the 50th Waterfowl Festival.

Enjoy this video and learn more about the lost wax process and how “Wind and Waves” was transformed from clay to bronze. We visited Bart at his studio in Westminster, Maryland and got and up-close look at the lost wax process at the Turner Sculpture foundry. Be sure to look for the 2000 degree molten bronze pour!

Special thanks to @Bart Walter Studio, @Turner Sculpture and @Caroline Phillips/Riverine Creative.