Changes Being Planned for 13th Annual Snow Goose Festival

The committee planning next February’s 13^th Annual Snow Goose Festival in Lamar agreed there will be some modifications on the events being offered for the three day event.  With the departure of two key members from the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife, Linda Groat and John Koshak, the committee felt this would be the time to review what has been working and what hasn’t over the past dozen years and streamline the presentation set for February 19-21 next year.

Topping the list of activities is securing a keynote speaker for the event which has a direct bearing in the number of people who usually attend.  Several names were mentioned, mostly birding authors, and their schedules will be sought out for availability.  Funding the event, especially for effective publicity and advertising follows on the list.  Shawna Hodge, Lamar’s Main Street Coordinator, said last year’s event got a lot of mileage from television ads directed to the Front Range audience.  Nature oriented publications such as Smithsonian and Audubon have been used in past years, directed specifically to birding enthusiasts. Koshak, though retired from the Parks and Wildlife Department will still be involved in planning next year’s event.  He told committee members there are 26 different birding festivals held in Colorado each year, and perhaps some of them would partner with the Lamar group to advertise their events as a group, cutting back on marketing expenses.

Vincent Gearhart is coordinating the February event and has participated in the Festival in years past.  He said the committee will review how well the tours in the past did for attendance and Pat Palmer felt that only one bus would work to take visitors out to the southern attractions such as Two Buttes, which had the most sign-ups last year.  There will probably be a change of venue in Lamar to headquarter the event, and most likely fewer vendor displays.  Rick Manzanares, Executive Director of Canyons and Plains said he’d contact organizers at the Colorado Tourism Office for information on publicizing the event this year and Rick Gardner and Travis Black from Parks and Wildlife said there would be some funding from DPW to help defray costs.  The committee agreed that volunteer organizations, especially area schools, should be notified about their need for assistance as well as from the general public.  Gearhart and Palmer met with the Lamar Chamber Board last week to outline their plans and inquired if chamber members could offer their services.

By Russ Baldwin