MASON CITY – The Lime Creek Nature Center and Cerro Gordo County Conservation Board are hosting a Fall Festival on Sunday, September 7 at the nature center located just north of Mason City off Highway 65. A variety of activities will be held throughout the day for the public to enjoy.
Activities include a beehive demonstration, canoeing, air rifles, archery, historical site tours and artifact display, reptile and amphibian presentation, squirrel feeder building, nature challenge, crafts, Dutch oven cooking, monarch butterfly tagging, fish ID station, and casting challenge.
A lunch of grilled burgers & brats will be served from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., with a prize drawing held at the end of the event at 2:30 p.m.
LCNC naturalist Todd Von Ehwegen said the event should appeal to people of all ages. “Our goal was to provide a wide variety of recreational activities, so there is something for everyone who attends,” he said. “People can choose specific activities that appeal to them, or stay for the whole day and enjoy them all.”
There is no cost to attend the celebration but registration is required.
Registration for Lime Creek Nature Center members will be accepted beginning August 20; and will open for non-members beginning on August 25 and ending at Noon on Thursday, September 4. Please call 641-423-5309 to register or for more information.
The schedule for the day is as follows:
· 8:00 a.m. – Registration
· 8:15, 9:15 & 10:15 a.m. – Air Rifles/Archery
· 9:00 -11:30 am & 12:30 – 2:30 pm (ongoing)-Nature Challenge!
· 9:30 -11:30 am & 12:30 – 2:00 pm (ongoing) Build a squirrel feeder
· 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – (ongoing) Craft Activity
· 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – (ongoing) Habitat mural activity for young children
· 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – (ongoing) All About Birds table
· 9:30 am – 2:30 pm – (ongoing) Krieger artifact display
· 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (every 30 minutes) – Trail Tram Rides to Krieger ruins
· 11:00 am & 1:30 pm – Critter Presentation
· 11:30 am – 12:30 pm – Lunch
· 12:30 – 2:30 pm – Dutch oven cooking demo
· 12:15, 12:45, 1:15 & 1:45 pm – Canoeing Quarry Lake
· 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm – (ongoing) Monarch Butterfly Tagging
· 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm – (ongoing) Casting challenge/knot tying
· 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm – (ongoing) Bee demonstration
· 12:30 & 1:30 p.m. Fish identification demonstration
· 2:30 pm – Prize Drawing
A complete schedule of activities for the festival is available on the LCNC’s website at: http://www.co.cerro-gordo.ia.us (click on outdoors).