A craftsman plies his trade during a recent Blackbird Creek Fall Festival at the Blackbird Creek Reserve in Townsend. Blackbird Creek is part of the Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Family fun, food and entertainment await visitors to the 13th annual Blackbird Creek Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 16.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNERR) hosts the festival at the reserve, along the banks of Blackbird Creek. The festival will take place rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 16, at the Blackbird Creek Reserve, 801 Blackbird Landing Road, near Townsend.

The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, consisting of the Blackbird Creek Reserve and the St. Jones Reserve in Dover, is part of a national system of reserves that protects more than 1.3 million acres of coastal land and water.

“The festival is a popular event that provides free fun for the whole family, while also providing opportunities to learn about the natural and cultural heritage of the Delaware Bay,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin.

The festival will feature traditional crafts, a chainsaw carver, hands-on learning about the estuary, canoeing, live music, food trucks and kids’ activities. Visitors may also browse the works of artisans, enjoy hayrides, go on a guided hike of the reserve and check out the educational exhibitors.

Families also can get a “passport” and earn a prize by visiting all the participating stations throughout the festival, learning about the natural resources and heritage of the Delaware Bay through games, demonstrations and challenges.

More information on the Blackbird Creek Fall Festival is at de.gov/blackbirdfestival.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy uses science, education, policy development and incentives to address Delaware’s climate, energy and coastal challenges. For more information, visit the website and connect with @DelawareDNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, Michael.Globetti@delaware.gov or Jim Lee, JamesW.Lee@delaware.gov

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Rehoboth Beach — DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation will host the 5th annual “Boo-B-Que By the Sea,” a barbecue cook-off competition and family festival, on Friday Oct. 18 at Delaware Seashore State Park.

This year’s event will take place at the South Inlet Campground starting at 6 p.m. Free parking is available at the South Inlet Day Area during the event. The event features a wide variety of family-friendly activities. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Delaware Children in Nature Endowment Fund, which affords young people outdoor recreational opportunities across the state.

From 6-10 p.m. Oct. 18, the public can join the Kansas City Barbecue Society competitors (KCBS) for a spooky evening, with trick-or-treating, and an opportunity for visitors to sample and select the “people’s choice award” winners for chicken wings. Craft beers will also be available on tap for adults hosted by La Vida Hospitality. Ocean 98 radio’s DJ Magellan will be live onsite for the festivities.

KCBS is a competitive cooking organization and the world’s largest non-profit group of barbecue and grilling enthusiasts, with more than 20,000 members worldwide. Every year, KCBS sanctions more than 450 barbeque contests worldwide, with the mission of recognizing BBQ as “America’s Cuisine,” and “to celebrate, teach, preserve and promote barbeque as a culinary technique, sport, and art form.”

For event details or to enter either the professional of local BBQ competitions please visit www.boo-bq.com.

For more information, contact Scott Borino, Division of Parks & Recreation, at 302-227-2800.

TOWNSEND – Autumn’s vibrant foliage will be on full display within the lush landscape and pristine waters of the Blackbird Creek Reserve at the 12th Annual Blackbird Creek Fall Festival Saturday, Oct. 19 on the Delaware Bayshore Byway. The festival takes place rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Blackbird Creek Reserve, 801 Blackbird Landing Road near Townsend. The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DNERR) and DNREC’s Delaware Coastal Programs host the festival along the banks of Blackbird Creek.

“The Blackbird Creek Fall Festival showcases one of Delaware’s natural treasures and provides an opportunity for visitors to experience first-hand some of our state’s unique environmental wonders,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin. “Plus, the lineup of activities for all ages, food, and music make this a fun and educational event that the entire family can enjoy.”

The Black Creek Fall Festival is DNERR’s largest event of the year. This year’s festival features a fall native plant sale held for the first time in conjunction with Delaware Wildlands. Additionally, the festival offers traditional crafts and demonstrations by a blacksmith, hands-on learning about the estuary, canoeing, live music and kids’ activities. Visitors may also browse the works of artisans and exhibitors, enjoy hayrides and a hay maze, learn to cast a fishing line, go on a guided hike of the reserve, and check out Native American cultural demonstrations. The musical lineup for the day includes the Smyrna High School Drum Line, Jerry “Crabmeat” Thompson, Bryan Scar, and East of the Mason Dixon Line.

Families also can get a “passport” and earn a prize by visiting all the participating stations throughout the festival, learning about the natural resources and heritage of the Delaware Bay through games, demonstrations and challenges. Food vendors will also be on-site to provide a variety of food and snacks for purchase.

For more information on the Blackbird Creek Fall Festival, contact Maggie Pletta, Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, 302-739-6377 or visit http://de.gov/blackbirdfestival.

Contact: Maggie Pletta, DNREC Delaware Coastal Programs, 302-739-6377

Vol. 49, No. 244

OCEAN VIEW – DNREC’s Division of Watershed Stewardship and the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays will host their first annual Water Family Fest from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, June 8 at the James Farm Ecological Preserve, 30048 Cedar Neck Road, Ocean View, DE 19970. Admission is free. This family-friendly event highlights areas each organization works on to improve Delaware’s natural resources including wetlands, water, and recreational shorelines.

Visitors will enjoy “feet-wet, hands-dirty fun” through outdoor recreational and educational opportunities, multiple vendors, and native plant giveaways. Wear your best walking shoes to explore hiking trails, wetland Storybook Walks, and the beach, or take the Orienteering Challenge, and even try your hand at kayaking or paddle boarding. Educational exhibits will provide opportunities to explore a variety of environmental topics including seagrass, shellfish, waves, beaches, wetlands, tax ditches, rain gardens, and more.

Short talks on topics such as horseshoe crabs, aquaculture, green infrastructure, and native plants will be scheduled every half hour starting at 10:30 a.m. and running until 2:30 p.m. A select number of vendors will be selling nature-based products, art, and books. A tentative schedule is available online.

For the latest information about the Water Family Fest, please visit de.gov/waterfamilyfest, the Facebook Event, or email Brittany Haywood, of DNREC’s Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program, at Brittany.Haywood@delaware.gov, or Amy Barra with the Delaware Center for Inland Bays at abarra@inlandbays.org.

Media Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

ADVISORY: Expected inclement weather has caused cancellation of this year’s Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival which was to take place Saturday, May 19 at DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve near Milford.

SLAUGHTER BEACH – The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife facility, will host its ninth annual Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival, celebrating the spring arrival of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the center, located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, east of Milford, DE 19963, near Slaughter Beach. Admission is free. The festival will be held rain or shine, except in the case of severe weather or flooding.

Visitors will enjoy fun festivities and educational activities, with food available for purchase. Everyone attending also will receive an Estuary Eco-Challenge passport to be stamped as they participate in a series of Eco-Station activities. The Eco-Stations will provide visitors with opportunities to identify shorebirds, get close to live horseshoe crabs and other aquatic species, create a craft, learn about aquatic species that live in the Delaware Bay, and much more!

Visitors also will have great viewing opportunities from the center’s large deck to see the interaction between horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, including federally-listed red knots, which depend on horseshoe crab eggs to help fuel their long journey from South America to their Arctic breeding grounds. DNREC’s Delaware Shorebird Project Team members will be on hand to identify the shorebirds along the shoreline surrounding the center.

Ample parking will be available at the Lacy E. Nichols Jr. Cedar Creek Boating Access Area, with a shuttle running to the center throughout the day.

Located on the edge of Mispillion Harbor at the intersection of the mouths of the Mispillion River and Cedar Creek, the Division of Fish & Wildlife’s DuPont Nature Center regularly offers a variety of interactive exhibits, school tours and weekly educational programs. To view upcoming educational programs, visit http://de.gov/dnc. Spring and summer hours from May 1 through Aug. 31 are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free and open to the public.

For more information about the Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival, or about the DuPont Nature Center and its programs, please visit http://de.gov/dnc or call 302-422-1329.

Follow the Division of Fish & Wildlife on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DelawareFishWildlife.

Contact: Joanna Wilson, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 48, No. 119