Othello Sandhill Crane Festival starts Friday

OTHELLO - Bird watching, animals and plants of the Columbia Basin, the region's geological history, a pancake breakfast and baked potato lunch are among the attractions at the Othello Sandhill Crane Festival this weekend.

The festival offers tours of the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge and the fields and sagebrush range surrounding Othello. That's just the beginning, there are classes on subjects ranging from bats to woolly mammoths, bird nests to wolves, burrowing owls, ancient floods, native plants, animal photography, pygmy rabbits, among many others.

"If you've never done it (attend the festival), try it once, and you'll be back," said Marie Lotz, the event chair.

Bird watching tours cover the region by bus, boat and bicycle, according to the festival brochure. There are activities for kids and students from Washington State University's Raptor Club will display live owls, hawks and other raptors.

"Come at least once, and I guarantee you, birder or not, you will enjoy it," Lotz said. "Anyone with kids, the kids will just love it."

A children's program is scheduled for Saturday at Othello High School, 340 South 7th Ave. Activities include origami, painting projects and a variety of crafts. The activities are free to children accompanied by a paying adult.

The Old Hotel Art Gallery will sponsor an art show Friday through Sunday. The Othello Community Museum, at the intersection of Third Avenue and Larch Street, will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Tours begin Friday and continue Saturday and Sunday; speakers are scheduled for Friday and Saturday evening. All classes are Saturday, Lotz said.

Friday tours start at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day. The boat tour of Potholes Reservoir is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; it's the one water tour of the weekend. Other tours examine habitat restoration, species restoration and wind energy production. More information about the tours is available in the festival brochure, available on the website.

Friday evening will feature a lecture by Max Smith and Sarah Swanson, authors of "Must-See Birds of the Pacific Northwest." The program starts at 8:15 at the Stevens Funeral Home, 511 South Seventh St.

Saturday begins with breakfast sponsored by the Othello Rotary chapter, from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the high school. The menu includes pancakes, sausage, eggs and beverages.

Saturday activities start at 7:30 a.m., and the classes and tours continue all day. Classes are held every hour, and a complete list is available in the festival's online brochure.

Othello area seniors sponsor a baked potato bar at the high school from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Saturday evening wraps up with the festival banquet and silent auction from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Othello High School. Noah Strycker, photographer, writer and associate editor of Birding magazine, will be the featured speaker. Dinner will be catered by Cathy Will of Cathy Jo's Catering.

Tours continue on Sunday, but end at 2:30 p.m.

More information and registration forms are available at the festival's website, www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org/.