For the fourth year the Cedar Rapids area is eagerly awaiting Indian Creek Nature Center’s popular, family-friendly pollinator event: Monarch Fest. Scheduled for Saturday, July 13th from 10am to 1pm, this free event is fun and educational for all ages.
This festival, organized by Naturalist Andria Cossolotto and a team of dedicated committee members, celebrates the journey these extraordinary butterflies make every year, traveling from Iowa to Mexico. While the festival is fun, it’s also an opportunity to learn about the hard work monarch butterflies do, as well as the importance of all pollinators, pollinator habitats, native plants, and the human impact on flora and fauna.
This year’s Monarch Fest features:
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- Five different children’s crafts
- Face painters
- Milkweed seed ball making for Ragbrai riders
- Vendors, including The Freeze ice cream truck
- Native, pollinator-friendly plants
- Caterpillar adoptions (Limited number each hour, one caterpillar per family)
- Butterfly releases in the Education Circle
- Fresh, hot popcorn for sale while you spend the day with us
- Signature Honey Lemonade for sale, featuring honey from Indian Creek Nature Center
This event is free and open to the public! Come for a short while, or stay the whole day!
Monarch Festival would not be possible without our volunteer planning committee or our festival volunteers. Indian Creek Nature Center welcomes volunteers and volunteer groups year-round. If you would like to learn more about getting involved in creating champions of nature, email Volunteer Coordinator Rachel Bailey at rachel@indiancreeknaturecenter.org.