Bee and Butterfly Festival 2020

The Dickinson County Nature Center is excited to announce that Dee’s Bee & Butterfly Festival is set for September.

“Although this year will not be the same as previous years, I am excited to keep the tradition of celebrating our pollinators alive through this modified event,” said Bryanna Kuhlman, environmental education coordinator.

Instead of a one-day festival, this year’s event will be spread out over four days. Families are asked to sign up for a time slot when they would like to attend the event: 4-5 p.m., 5:15-6:15 p.m. or 6:30-7:30 p.m. Sept. 1-4. Simply go to Signup Genius at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4DACA922A1FFCE9-beeand  and select your preferred time. Each time slot is limited to six groups.

During Dee’s Bee & Butterfly Festival, participants will be able to visit several stations — a self-guided storybook walk, a photo opportunity with Sweetie the Bee and the ever-popular monarch tagging area.

Tagged monarchs will be released on their migration to overwinter in Mexico, a part of the University of Kansas Monarch Watch program. Those who tag a monarch will receive a certificate with their monarch’s gender and tag number, and they can check next spring to see if their monarch is collected by Monarch Watch citizen scientists.

“We are excited to continue to offer our monarch tagging program that families look forward to all year,” said naturalist Ashley Hansen.

Participants will also receive an activity bag to take home filled with supplies for bee and butterfly crafts as well as a honey stick.

Dee’s Bee & Butterfly Festival will be held outside the Dickinson County Nature Center in Kenue Park, and participants can enjoy the beautiful area while they go through the event stations, as only one group per station at a time is requested. Families may even bring food and drinks to enjoy in the park during their time slot.

“Enjoy your time outside learning about the importance of bees and butterflies,” Kuhlman said.

To keep staff, volunteers and festival-goers safe, safety precautions will be implemented. Participants may wear masks if they choose, but all festival hosts will be wearing masks. There will also be hand sanitizer available at each station.

Please make sure to register your entire group and do not invite extra guests to help keep the event limited to a safe number of people.