2011 Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival
Thanks to all who made the 2011 Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival a success!
Call for Artists and Pie Bakers
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2011 Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival
The Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival is coming back to Carrabelle, Florida. Come help us celebrate one of the Forgotten Coast’s most treasured species!
What: Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival
Who: Defenders of Wildlife, FL Fish & Wildlife Comm., U.S. Forest Service & others
When: October 15th, 2011, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Where: Sands Park 503 Highway 98 Carrabelle, FL
The festival is an opportunity for Floridians of all ages to learn about wildlife and the environment around them. This years’ celebrations will include favorite programs such as the “Procession of Species” parade produced by Carrabelle Cares, bear and bird field trips to Tate’s Hell State Forest and a workshop on living with bears and bear-proofing your trash.
We are adding some terrific new programs such as our “Bear Banners” created through a program with local school children.
PIE BAKING CONTEST We will be giving a nice prize for the best home baked Fruit Pie brought to the festival. Prizes will also be offered for the best original painting and sculpture displayed at the Festival.
The festival will have live music, stories and tall tales told and read by local residents and authors. There will be food, arts and crafts for sale and lots of fun for all.
Contact:
Allen Loyd
Defenders of Wildlife
727-823-3888
CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR UPDATES ON DETAILS OF THE EVENT
2009 Event is a Success! - click here to read the article from Apalach/Carrabelle Times
The Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival is a one-day, free educational event that is fun for all ages.
Festival highlights include:
- Live music and dance performances
- The Procession of the Species Parade at 1:00. Join in the celebration! Be creative! Plan to participate in your costume or mask with the Carrabelle Boys and Girls Club and Carrabelle CARES. (no pets and no motorized vehicles)
- Authors’ Corner
- Presentations by bear experts
- Demonstrations on how to retrofit trash cans and other ways residents can co-exist with bears
- A family activity pavilion
- A variety of vendors and exhibits will be on display.
Guided field trips to Tate’s Hell Forest are by bus and include a moderate hike to a site where biologists will provide participants with interactive lessons about bear biology, behavior and management.
Testimonials from the 2009 Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival:
News Articles on the 2008 Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival:
Tallahassee Democrat
Carrabelle & Apalachicola Times
Pictures from the 2008 Forgotten Coast Black Bear Festival
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Note: The "bear cape" is a replica of a Native American ceremonial garment.
The bear cubs came to Big Bend Wildlife Sanctuary, Inc. on February 3, 2009 weighing 2.0 and 2.5 lbs. There was a wildfire on a plantation near Lloyd on the Aucilla River. Florida Forestry had been called in to assist and one of the Forestry people was on a tractor plowing a line around the fire. His tractor started making a strange noise, so he stopped the tractor and turned it off to see if he could find something wrong. It was then he heard the baby bears screaming. The cubs were about 5 ft. in front of the tractor and he would have run over them had he not stopped. The wildfire was within six or seven feet of the cubs, so the Forestry Employee grabbed his phone, called FWC and received permission to take the cubs. The mother was never seen and probably left at her first whiff of the fire. Four days later, Forestry officials went back to the site of the den and it was nothing but ashes--powdery ashes.
Supported in part by the Franklin County Tourist Development Council