In less than two weeks Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge and the Friends of Sherburne invite you to their FREE 26th Annual Wildlife Festival! Join us Sat., Sept. 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for our annual fall celebration which commemorates National Wildlife Refuge Week (Oct. 13-19), Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day (Sept, 29) and National Public Lands Day (Sept. 28th).

Wildlife Festival is hosted at the refuge’s Oak Savanna Learning Center and the surrounding accessible trails. At 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., staff from the Wildlife Science Center will use live animals to present a program titled “Animals Nobody Loves.” 

These two presentations require tickets for entry. Pick up these free tickets from the Welcome Booth on the day of the event! Within the building, the Eagle’s Nest Nature Store, Friends’ Silent Auction, and Gary Moss’ murals will be available to browse. The artist will be available for a Q & A session in the entryway from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

At the festival, you can enjoy multiple wildlife booths set along the packed granite trails! Make sure to check out the engaging, hands-on activities at each booth; try your hand at an air-rifle, become a bat biologist, take a horse-drawn wagon ride, learn about Native American culture, or investigate aquatic invertebrates. Live animal booths include Spike the porcupine and other Minnesotan species from the Audubon Center of the North Woods and live bees from a volunteer collection.

Several Refuge service roads will be open to vehicle traffic from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to provide visitors a rare opportunity to see areas of the refuge that are not typically open to vehicle traffic. Maps of these service roads can be found on the Refuge website at www.fws.gov/refuge/sherburne/ and the Welcome Booth on the day of the event.

Three local food trucks will be on-site to serve a variety of food at a reasonable cost. A birthday cake in honor of the refuge’s 54th year will be served at 12:30 p.m., free of charge.

The Friends will hold a silent auction with bidding open until 2 p.m. Proceeds support nature education and other mission-related refuge projects.

Sherburne Co. Rd 9 will still be under construction on the day of the festival. Throughout the duration of the resurfacing project and on the day of the festival, the road will be open to local traffic, including access to the Oak Savanna Learning Center and other refuge trails and facilities. 

See the refuge website or Sherburne County’s Construction page for more information.

The Oak Savanna Learning Center is located ¼ mile west of Refuge headquarters off Sherburne Co. Rd 9 at 16797 289th Ave NW, Zimmerman, look for event signs. For more information contact Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge at (763) 389-3323.