Decision Reached To Postpone Wings Over Willapa
Sights set on virtual workshops in 2020 and third annual birding festival in 2021
LONG BEACH PENINSULA, Wash. – July 7, 2020 –
Friends of Willapa National Wildlife Refuge today announced the postponement of the third annual Wings Over Willapa Festival. In its place, two virtual workshops by the 2020 keynote speaker will be offered this fall as a gift to the community. The dates for the next Wings Over Willapa festival were also announced; it will take place September 23 through 26, 2021.
“Our planning team struggled with this decision, waiting and watching,” said Dianne Fuller, coordinator, Wings Over Willapa 2020. “We have great concerns for the health and safety of our community, visitors and trip leaders. It is time to acknowledge that there is no safe way to hold our festival.
“Although some of the outdoor activities might maintain safe social distancing, many of the field trips include gathering in places where there is inadequate parking. With carpooling no longer an option, physical distancing would prove difficult.”
Rather than cancel altogether, the planning team is enlisting the services of the 2020 keynote speaker, nature educator and cartoonist, Rosemary Mosco. She will provide two free virtual workshops. The first, scheduled for Sept. 25, 2020, will be for the middle schoolers in the community and will be delivered via Zoom so all may participate regardless of the status of attendance in the schools. The second will be Saturday, September 26 at 3PM PST. Registration for this free event will open in several weeks.
Wings Over Willapa is a premier, multi-day festival celebrating birds, nature and the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. The festival is held annually on the last weekend in September so that attendees might experience shorebird migration in Pacific County and greater Southwest Washington. The region is notable for its diverse ecosystems with old growth forests, tidal flats, beaches, rivers and Willapa Bay, all in a condensed area. The refuge has been designated part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, as a site of International importance to birds.
For Wings Over Willapa updates and registration for the virtual workshops, please visit www.wingsoverwillapa.org or email wingsoverwillapa@gmail.com. For destination information on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, please access www.visitlongbeachpeninsula.com.
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