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 Monday. 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.

Monday at the Yampa Valley Crane Festival:

6:15 – 8 a.m.
Sunrise crane viewing with festival keynote speaker Paul Tebbel at a location to be announced. Shuttles will depart the Stockbridge transit center in Steamboat promptly at 5:45 a.m. and return at approximately 8:45 a.m.
** Advance registration and $5 non-refundable fee required for shuttle.

10:30 a.m.
Little Crafters Storytime with Children’s Librarian Sarah Kostin in the Storytime Room. Children, ages 2 to 5, are welcome with a parent or caregiver. Listen to a story about cranes and stay for a craft based on that story.

Noon – 1 p.m.
“Yampa Valley Cranes” presentation in Library Hall by Van Graham, the wildlife biologist who is an expert on “our” cranes.

Noon – 2:30 p.m.
Last chance to purchase festival merchandise.

1:30 – 2:15 p.m.
Screening of the film Cranes of the Rockies in Library Hall. This film focuses on the Rocky Mountain Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes and was produced by Colorado videographer Michael Bennett.

6 – 8:15 p.m.
Sunset crane viewing with wildlife biologist Van Graham at a location to be announced. Shuttles will depart the Stockbridge transit center in Steamboat at 6 p.m. and return at approximately 8:15 p.m.
** Advance registration and $5 non-refundable fee required for shuttle.

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.