Like no other event on the Eastern Shore, the Waterfowl Festival is a celebration of both the season and of life on the shore. Mention Easton to most non-locals, and they may not know much about the town, but they know it’s the home of the Waterfowl Festival. And for the last 50 years, the second weekend in November has been the date when all the planning and hard work comes together. Well, sort of 50 years. Labeling 2020 as the year that “none of us can remember, but one we’ll never forget,” Executive Director of the Waterfowl Festival, Margaret Enloe-North, says, “what I learned, from a festival perspective, is that it takes a global pandemic to stop this event from happening.”
She doesn’t have to worry this year. It’s happening and in a big and traditional way. Not that that was always going to be the case. When the organization started talking about the 2021 celebration, given everything that didn’t happen last year, they considered downscaling and modifying it. “We couldn’t do it,” says Enloe-North, “it just wasn’t going to have the same feel or the same resonance. It came down to our focusing on what we’re good at and what we know. So we stuck with what is mostly predictable and what we could control. We are thrilled this year to bring everything back that everybody loves. We’ll have our Tasting Pavilion, the Beer Wetland; we have the Diving Dogs competition, the retriever demonstrations, and look for a rocking Sporting Pavilion out at Easton Elk’s Lodge… all the favorites are back.” And some new additions.
As to what’s new, the organization is looking forward to hosting the featured artist, Bart Walter, a world-renowned sculptor. The group has been in talks with him for the past three years, as he no longer exhibits at shows. But his presence is an important one for the history of the festival. In honor of the 25th anniversary, he created Family Affair, the sculpture in front of the Waterfowl building. His homage to the 50th celebration is titled Wind and Waves. A video of the making of this sculpture is available here.
Speaking of special festival art, this year’s official festival poster is by painter Art LaMay, who happens to have been an exhibitor for each of the past 50 years! Appropriately entitled Looking Back, there will be 300 signed and numbered limited edition posters for sale, as well as some framed and unframed prints.
Other new features to look for include the partnership with Delmarva Birding Weekends https://delmarvabirding.com/waterfowl-festival-nov-11-14/ that will present a special birding tour along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway in Dorchester County and one exploring the historic sites in Easton that shaped the life of Frederick Douglass. If you’re looking for artists doing the carving this year, they will now be integrated across the art venues instead of being in one area.
Not new, but something that only happens once every five years is the duck and goose World Waterfowl Calling Championship. Says Enloe-North, “Basically, this is the pinnacle prize in goose calling, and if you win, you must retire from further competitions. Five years ago, we did a live stream, and I believe we had 70,000 viewers!”
As always, the weekend’s festivities begin with the Opening Night Ceremonies. This year besides the incredible food and open bar, there will be a decoy and art auction. “Historically, we’ve auctioned off mostly what’s called ‘miniature decoys,’” says Enloe-North. “These are usually decorative and palm-sized. But this year, we have had some fabulous offerings from artists and other exhibitors who are have donated some fabulous items. There will be a lot of important art and collectibles.” Also, look for Art Awards being given out for a Sporting and Heritage Art contest. Tickets for opening night were available as of this writing.
Of course, the Waterfowl Festival is not just a fun event for the family; it is also an essential component of Talbot County’s economic growth and recovery. A study conducted by Rockport Analytics, titled Economic & Cultural Impact of the 2019 Waterfowl Festival found that the three-day event brought in over 15,000 people, who spent nearly $3 million on various goods and services in Talbot County. “From that 2019 economic impact study,” says Enloe-North, “we also learned that attendees are equally split male and female, and that about half of our visitors come from at least 50 miles away.”
Given those incredible numbers, would it surprise you that there are only four paid staff members in the organization? They are not alone, of course. To make it the event it is, there are now 85 community partners and over 40 corporate sponsors. As with every year, Enloe-North is inspired and in awe of how it all comes together, calling it miraculous how the event just seems to come together seamlessly. “In actuality, there’s an incredible amount of work on the back end to make that happen, and I think we’ve got it down to a pretty solid science. But here is the important part: We are a nonprofit; if we don’t have the community support and don’t have the sponsor support, it’s virtually impossible for us to do this event. This is not a small-scale thing.”
The Waterfowl Festival has created a fantastic retrospective video on the history of the past 50 years below or available here. Tickets are available online now. https://waterfowlfestival.org
Val Cavalheri is a recent transplant to the Eastern Shore, having lived in Northern Virginia for the past 20 years. She’s been a writer, editor and professional photographer for various publications, including the Washington Post.
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