Forest Festival Fun

We have spent the last two days at our local Forest Festival.  We have had so much fun meet with this community outreach.  We have a 4H booth set up to explain about 4H.  We do this each year to help promote 4H in general...it is important to get the word out to others.  It also gives us a chance to show those who know about 4H to see how the members are learning. 

Christina checking out
our bee hive

We were given a great opportunity to share part of our Entomology project with the community thanks to our beekeeper friend Marie.  She let us take out an observation hive to the festival.  You would be amazed at how many people were more afraid to look at a contained bee hive than they were to hold a snake (more on that in moment)!  However, after some education on bees we were able to come in close and see the hive along with the queen, her worker bees, and the new larva. 

Brendan and Edward with the
Friends of the Forest booth

So, as you might have guessed, our family does not do anything simple.  We are also a part of an organization called Friends of the Forest.  And, yes, we did get involved with this group indirectly from 4H.  My daughter met the leader of the group a few years ago when we were volunteering at a 4H community service project.  Since that time we have gone to many events with this group.  What was the great pull for my daugther to get involved?  SNAKES!!!!  She loves these things and so she fell in love with Friends of the Forest because they always have snakes in their exhibits. 

Well, now she is off to college to study animals (especially snakes) and we are still enjoying the group.  To find out more about this awesome organization that teaches about conservation and more, check out the link on the name above.

Brendan with the
fire safe house

So the complexity of the situation came about when we wanted to help both 4H and Friends of the Forest.  Thankfully, we found a way to set up booths next to each other.  So we have been floating between the two booths, helping out as we can.  Tonight I got an extra thrill of learning we get to bring the snakes home with us tomorrow night!  I will add some extra pictures of the boys holding them tomorrow.

And, we are not through playing out at the festival.  We will be back out there tomorrow and Saturday.  Tonight we get to have a good night sleep so we can head to a different fair.  This time for a plant identification contest.  Can't wait to tell you all about it tomorrow!