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More than 40,000 families and wildlife enthusiasts gathered in Charleston for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition for three days of education, entertainment, and awareness.(Live 5)<\/p>\nCHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) \u2014 More than 40,000 families and wildlife enthusiasts gathered in Charleston for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition for three days of education, entertainment, and awareness. <\/p>\n
More than 40,000 families and wildlife enthusiasts gathered in Charleston for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition for three days of education, entertainment, and awareness.(Live 5)<\/p>\n
SEWE officials say they reached record sales for general admission tickets and had overall success throughout the weekend. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe energy across the peninsula during this weekend is something that you can\u2019t really find anywhere else,\u201d SEWE Marketing and Sales Director Meagan Trotta said. <\/p>\n
From families and friends to wildlife enthusiasts, people came together for an unforgettable experience connecting with our environment. <\/p>\n
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More than 40,000 families and wildlife enthusiasts gathered in Charleston for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition for three days of education, entertainment, and awareness.(Live 5)<\/p>\n
\u201cSouth Carolina is known for doing conservation right and SEWE is a part of that. conservation as a team sport\u201d cartographer Travis Folk said. <\/p>\n
SEWE provides such a diverse range of opportunities From Dock Dogs competitions and Birds of Prey demonstrations to art and vendor markets. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe paint the things that we love and the people that come here love the things we paint and sculpt and carve. So, it\u2019s just a wonderful experience for us all to enjoy.\u201d artist Henry Von Genk said. <\/p>\n
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More than 40,000 families and wildlife enthusiasts gathered in Charleston for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition for three days of education, entertainment, and awareness.(Live 5)<\/p>\n
Officials say they also heard great feedback from new demonstrations they implemented this year. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some canine demonstrations with the police department in Marion Square and we also had the new Turtle Survival Alliance demonstrations there, which were great,\u201d Trotta said. <\/p>\n
Those experiences continued to live shows by Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, where you could truly engage with wildlife and see the importance of giving animals a second chance at life. <\/p>\n
\u201cSee them, look at them like they\u2019re old friends and they\u2019re reuniting with them, and it\u2019s like, \u2018Oh we missed you,\u2019 and they almost told them stories about the past two years. It\u2019s just, wow. You know, that\u2019s some impact that these people have created this bond with them.\u201d Busch Wildlife Sanctuary CEO Amy Kight said. <\/p>\n
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More than 40,000 families and wildlife enthusiasts gathered in Charleston for the annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition for three days of education, entertainment, and awareness.(Live 5)<\/p>\n
These connections are what help promote awareness to protect wildlife for generations to come. <\/p>\n
\u201cConsider wildlife rehab a band-aid and education being something leading more to a cure,\u201d Kight said. \u201cIf people can understand these animals and the way they behave in the natural wild, they\u2019re going to understand how you can coexist peacefully with them.\u201d <\/p>\n
And while many who attend share the same passion, they are also able to walk away with something greater. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s conservation as a team sport and any way you can talk about conservation, whether it\u2019s land trust like the Lowcountry Land Trust or the Nature Conservancy, that they\u2019re doing on the ground conservation, or somebody like SEWE, a group like SEWE, that\u2019s really celebrating the emotion and power of conservation and hunting and being outdoors,\u201c Folk said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI see a lot of artists come in and I give them techniques and advice. I love, you know, sharing my ideas,\u201d Genk said. <\/p>\n
Even beyond fellowship, the impact of SEWE will go far beyond the Lowcountry. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are able to raise this money and kind of invigorate it back into these other nonprofit organizations that we work with,\u201d Trotta said. \u201cWe have over 40 nonprofit organizations that exhibit and partner with sewe and so, we\u2019re able to kind of be a rising tide for all these boats, they\u2019re able to further their mission.\u201d <\/p>\n
There are also more events on the horizon. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll actually have our second annual SEWE at the Bluff, at Palmetto Bluff, which is kind of a smaller version of SEWE, but with some of our top exhibitors and brands and artists all coming together,\u201d Trotta said. <\/p>\n
SEWE at Palmetto Bluff is taking place March 19-21 in Bluffton.<\/p>\n