LAKE COUNTY ? The sun came out and remained for the duration of the 16th annual Heron Festival at Clear Lake State Park last weekend. Record numbers of people attended the event.
“I think it was one of the best Heron Festivals yet,” Roberta Lyons of Redbud Audubon Society said.
The Heron Festival is fast becoming one of the most prominent wildlife festivals in Northern California.
“We have probably almost tripled the event in the last few years,” organizer Marilyn Waits said. “We created a Web site and have an online reservation system. About 40 percent of the attendees are from outside of Lake County.”
Waits built it into an event that brings people to Lake County.
Waits credits Lyons, the volunteers, Madelene Lyon and Debra Sommerfield of County of Lake Marketing, with its success. Lyons credits Waits, Suzanne Scholz, Lyon and the volunteers. The culmination of these forces makes the event run like a well-oiled-machine.
Blue herons, green herons, osprey and yellow-headed blackbirds were spotted from the pontoon boats, which ran four trips both Saturday and Sunday for hour and a half excursions. More than 550 people toured on the pontoon boats, exceeding the attendance of any year in the history of the festival.
A quilt raffle featured two handmade quilts.
“I nearly broke the bank buying tickets for those beautiful quilts,” Lyon, president of the Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association (CLSPIA), omelet chef and Wildflower Brunch organizer said.
“Every cent that the association (CLSPIA) raises goes back in to the park one way or the other,” Lyon said. “The volunteers were fantastic. Everybody was so well-organized. Everybody knew their job and just jumped right in and did it.”
Vendors and public service entities lined the festival with booths. The hot dog and chili stand sold a staggering 600 hot dogs.
“This is an event that just creates such happiness for people,” Waits said.
Mandy Feder can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or call 263-5636 ext. 32.
