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Festival Volunteers pose with Athene, the Burrowing Owl Mascot. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
With over 7000 burrowing owls, Cape Coral is home to the largest population in Florida. For this reason, Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife hosts the Burrowing Owl Festival every year to increase awareness of this species in the community.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cReally, this event is about raising the awareness of the burrowing owl and other wildlife in the community, educating the community about the wonderful wildlife that we have, celebrating it and having a good time,\u201d said Janet Windisch, the corresponding secretary for Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife (CCFW).\n<\/p>\n
The owls make their homes in burrows all around Cape Coral. But since they\u2019re a threatened species, people must stay 10 feet away from their habitats. To help increase public knowledge, CCFW marks the owl burrows in the community with PVC pipes.\n<\/p>\n
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Festival Volunteers pause after erecting the Festival arch. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Cape Coral was first developed, the canals were dredged and a lot of wide open, empty lots were left with sandy soil. And that prairie-like kind of habitat is good for the burrowing owls,\u201d Windisch said. \u201cSo, over the years, they slowly started to flourish here.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Of course, the friends of wildlife also host this event every year to help attendees understand who and what they share the land with. This year, the festival is on Saturday, Feb. 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rotary Park in Cape Coral. It is the 24th annual.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDevelopment continues to happen in Cape Coral and all over Florida,\u201d Windisch said. \u201cSo, to retain the beauty and the diversity of this species in our environment, we really feel it\u2019s important to keep up our conservation efforts.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The Burrowing Owl Festival is the biggest wildlife exposition in the area, so planning starts a year in advance. It hosts 30 vendors and 40 exhibitors, some new and some returning, and 240 volunteers in total. There are usually 200 volunteers on the day of the festival and 40 to help set up the day before. Volunteers are crucial to the success of the festival, since it is an all-volunteer organization.\n<\/p>\n
Marlene Paulding has been a member of the CCFW since 2017 and has volunteered at the festival every year since. She is always in charge of helping vendors and exhibitors set up before the event and is a volunteer at the Cape Coral Wildlife Trust table during the event.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love doing this, and I\u2019ll continue doing it as much as I can,\u201d Paulding said. \u201cI just appreciate the opportunity to work with all the people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The festival is still in need of volunteers. Paulding suggests that those interested in volunteering attend a meeting and talk to other volunteers.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not for everybody, but come in and see and meet people, and hear the speakers and then maybe you will get hooked,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
Attendance increases every year. Last year, 3500 people came to the event. This year, the City of Cape Coral is expected to be more involved with this event because the police and fire departments will be there teaching event-goers about various safety issues.\n<\/p>\n
The festival is a family event. As such, many activities are available for families to enjoy and make the most out of their day. There will be an owl bus tour that will take crowds to see the burrowing owl habitats, birding tours with a separate fee of $70, a butterfly house exhibit, crowd-favorite Adam\u2019s Animal Adventures, wildlife bus tours, a learning bus wildlife and conservation expo, guest speakers, arts and crafts, astronomers and more.\n<\/p>\n
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Animals of all kinds can be found at the Cape Coral Burrowing Owl Festival. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no burrowing owls at the festival,\u201d Windisch said. \u201cIt totally confuses people, but they\u2019re wild animals, and they live wherever they want to live, and there don\u2019t happen to be any at the park that we\u2019re having the festival at.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
With an event with so much to do, there\u2019s something for everyone. Windisch\u2019s favorite thing about the festival is the astronomers since she comes from a science background. Paulding\u2019s favorite thing is Adam\u2019s Animal Adventures and interacting with them.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have so many kids that come to the festival, and we see them interact with the animals,\u201d Paulding said. \u201cJust to see the expression on the kids\u2019 faces and hopefully they\u2019re our future members of the organization that will carry it forward.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
If interested in attending the festival, tickets are a $5 donation at the door. Funds raised go to purchasing wildlife habitats in Cape Coral for the CCFW partner organization, Cape Coral Wildlife Trust. Currently, the Trust has preserved nine acres and 87 lots for burrowing owls, gopher tortoises and other animals.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people are unaware of how tiny a burrowing owl is and I just kind of fell in love with them,\u201d Paulding said. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to appreciate the wildlife and not to take over their space.\u201d\n<\/p>\n