The fourth annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival takes place September 10-14, 2015, in Steamboat Springs and Hayden.

The festival includes five days of mostly free events and the Bud Werner Memorial Library is festival headquarters.The detailed 2015 Yampa Valley Crane Festival schedule is available here.

Below is a quick guide to festival events for Friday. Note that most events are free some activities, including crane viewing shuttles and events with limited space, will require advance registration and a nominal, non-refundable registration fee. These events are noted in the schedule and online registration opens on August 1, 2015.

Friday at the Yampa Valley Crane Festival:

3 – 4:30 p.m.
Guided bird walk with Ted Floyd, author, birder extraordinaire, and editor of ABA’s Birding magazine, and members of the Yampa Valley Birding Club. Meet at the Lake Catamount parking lot at 2:45 p.m. Bring binoculars if you have them. Open to anyone interested in learning about birds.

4 – 8 p.m.
Crane yard art display and silent auction on the Library Lawn. Come bid on a crane or family of cranes to take home to grace your lawn. All cranes have been decorated by talented local artists and VIPs and all proceeds benefit the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition.

5 – 7 p.m.
Wine and cheese reception and Gallery Show with nature photographer John Fielder. The reception is co-hosted by the Steamboat Springs Arts Council  and will be held at the Eleanor Bliss Center for the Arts at the Depot in Steamboat. Cash bar benefits the Arts Council.
** Advance registration and $5 non-refundable fee required.

6 – 8 p.m.
Family activities, dessert, and crane viewing at the Yampavian Ranch in Hayden. Adults must be accompanied by at least one child. Activities include a crane calling contest, a campfire sing-along, and crane viewing. S’mores and beverages will be provided. Please bring a camp chair. Space is limited so please register early.
REGISTRATION IS FULL FOR THIS EVENT!

All day
Educational crane displays outside Library Hall.

About the Yampa Valley Crane Festival
The Greater Sandhill Crane is an iconic species of the Yampa Valley. Returning in the spring, cranes nest and raise their young in wetland areas throughout the valley. In late summer and early fall, hundreds of cranes from the Rocky Mountain flock join the local birds to rest and feed before continuing their journey south. The festival includes daily crane viewings, expert speakers, films, art exhibits, workshops, family activities and more. All community activities and events are free unless otherwise indicated in the program, and the Bud Werner Memorial Library will be home base for many of these talks, films and events.

Learn more about the festival at www.coloradocranes.org.