Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free
VANCOUVER — Area residents will have the opportunity to view intricately carved birds, fish and wildlife on display Sat., Sept. 8, and Sun., Sept. 9, during the 31st annual Columbia Flyway Wildlife Show and Northwest Championship at the Water Resources Education Center, located at 4600 S.E. Columbia Way in Vancouver.
Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free.
This premier wildlife carving show and competition attracts more than 90 wildlife artists from across the United States and Canada. Judy Caldwell is the featured artist for this year’s event. Caldwell is a native Oregonian, whose work interprets animals. Caldwell has said that one of her proudest moments was winning best of show in the Columbia Flyway Wildlife Show.
The public is invited to attend the show and enjoy many activities throughout the weekend. The 2018 Washington Federal Junior Duck Stamp Competition winning entries will also be on display during the event and through the month of September in the second floor gallery of Water Center. Always fun is the judging of miniature wood duck decoys in the fountain pool from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, and the trading of mini-bufflehead drake decoys starting at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Families are especially encouraged to attend from 1 to 3 p.m. Sat., Sept. 8, when the Water Center presents a special Second Saturday, offering children a chance to paint a little wooden bird or feather of their own while learning about different bird species. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
For Water Center information and directions, see www.cityofvancouver.us/watercenter or call (360) 487-7111. For more details about the Columbia Flyway Wildlife Show and Competition, see www.columbiaflywaywildlifeshow.com.
Overlooking the Columbia River, the city of Vancouver’s Water Resources Education Center offers exhibits, events and educational programs designed to teach us all how to be excellent stewards of water resources and how to use water wisely. The Water Center, a division of the City’s Department of Public Works, is also caretaker of one of the metropolitan area’s few remaining natural Columbia River riparian areas, nearly 50 protected acres of adjacent wetlands providing feeding, nesting and resting habitat for more than 120 species of fish and wildlife. The Water Center is part of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve.
The Water Center’s general hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. From Interstate 5 or Interstate 205, take state Highway 14 to Exit 1. Turn south under the highway, then east at the Columbia Shores intersection onto Columbia Way and head east about 3 miles to the Water Center.
More information is available on the Internet at www.cityofvancouver.us/watercenter or by calling (360) 487-7111.
