Buffalo Creek Watershed Association
Buffalo Creek Watershed Festival
May 22

The restoration of Dutch Fork Lake will be the theme of this year's annual Buffalo Creek Watershed Festival, to be held on Sunday, May 22 from 9:00 a.m. until mid-afternoon, at the former Dutch Fork Lake, near Claysville.

The festival, the Buffalo Creek Watershed Association's (BCWA) third annual, will feature a free kids' casting tournament sponsored by Cabela's. First and second place prizes will be awarded in age groups 7-11 and 12-15 years of age. Cabela's will also put on fly casting demonstrations. Hopefully the casting skills honed here will find use at a revived Dutch Fork Lake in the near future.

A petition for the restoration of Dutch Fork Lake will be circulated at the festival and sent to state officials, including Governor Rendell, to promote a timely reconstruction of the dam and the revival of the lake. The lake was drained last fall following destruction to the spillway caused by Hurricane Ivan. Another festival feature will be Bob Heyer and the Cabin Fever String Band. The popular Wheeling-based band will get the toes tapping with Old Time Mountain Music and will also accompany the youth meadow dancers of Bob and Kathy Tomlinson.

Three River Birding Club of Pittsburgh will hold bird walks throughout the day. Unlike last year's "walks," which were by canoe on the then-existing lake, this year's will actually be walks. Special presentations and activities will include eco-exploration/animal programs by the Oglebay Schrader Center and the Oglebay Good Zoo. Meadowcroft Village crafters and independent crafters and artists will give demonstrations, and historian William Garbarino will discuss area history. The BCWA will hold an adult fee-charge casting contest with prizes.

Organizations presenting educational displays will include the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Washington County Parks and Recreation, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Jose Taracido, Three Rivers Birding Club, Buffalo Valley Alliance, Wheeling Creek Watershed Conservancy, and Jacobs Birdhouses. The festival site will be at the main parking lot off Lake Road, where refreshments will be available and parking is free. Event times to be announced. For further information, contact Ted Flickinger at (724) 663-4292, or Kevin Barletta at (724) 484-0516.