Waterfowl Chesapeake - Chestertown Spy

Waterfowl Grant Program Open for Applications

August 13, 2021 by Waterfowl Chesapeake

Waterfowl Festival is excited to announce its fourth year of connecting financial resources with environmental needs across Delmarva through its “Community in Conservation” funding program. These grants, supported by proceeds from annual Waterfowl Festival weekend, offer non-profits and community entities the chance to receive monies for projects and initiatives at the intersection of conservation and community.

“Waterfowl Festival continues to be dedicated to supporting waterfowl habitat improvement by funding regional projects, large and small,” explains Margaret Enloe, Waterfowl Chesapeake Executive Director. “This annual grant program creates opportunities for supporting healthy populations of ducks, geese and swans and increasing people’s connection and understanding of their importance in the ecosystem. And we welcome applicants from all across the Chesapeake region.”

University of Delaware ecology students participate in a Waterfowl Hunter Education Course, a program funded by the Waterfowl Festival in 2019. Photo courtesy of the University of Delaware.

The Community in Conservation program is unique for its three-pronged approach that recognizes the importance and interconnected roles that science, education and restoration play in the effort to restore waterfowl populations and landscapes. Waterfowl Festival hopes that the broad emphasis on “community”, which draws on the long history of its annual event by the same name, will encourage organizations to think creatively about who they can serve and will help generate new ideas to bring people and regional conservation work, research and education together. In 2019, this program supported two initiatives: 1) Increasing winter food sources for diving ducks and 2) Building relationship between graduate students in environmental fields and hunters and landowners.

Interested organizations should submit a their Letter of Inquiry & Support online at https://waterfowlfestival.org/conservation/community-in-conservation by September 10, 2021. Requests must align with WC’s focus areas and make the connection between the project or initiative, the community of people engaged and waterfowl-related issues.

PROGRAM FOCUS AREAS

We will support:

Initiatives at the intersection of conservation and community – a broad new category meant to allow for new thinking, projects and applicants;
Education of current and future generations of enthusiasts, conservationists and educators;
Research and scientific work of graduate students, volunteer groups and non-profits that affect waterfowl populations; and,
Restoration & conservation projects to benefit waterfowl.

About us: Waterfowl Festival, Inc., is dedicated to the promotion and conservation of waterfowl and wildlife and their habitat within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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Waterfowl Festival Unveils Featured Artwork, “Wind and Waves” by Artist Bart Walter

July 10, 2021 by Waterfowl Chesapeake

“Wind and Waves” by Bart Walter

The Waterfowl Festival is proud to unveil the featured artwork for the 50th Anniversary Festival by Featured Artist, Bart Walter.

“Wind and Waves” is a bronze of two Canada geese taking flight while four Canvasback ducks look on. It features a unique, cross-section perspective that illustrates the movement of take-off and its resulting ripple effects from above and below the surface of the water. Canada geese and Canvasback ducks are two of the most beloved waterfowl species found in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“Wind and Waves” as well as his selection as the 50th Anniversary Festival Featured Artist, represents a homecoming for sculptor Bart Walter, who began his career at the Waterfowl Festival as a wood carver at the young age of sixteen. His early work was inspired by the wildlife and landscapes of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and “Wind and Waves” is a welcome return to the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“We could not have asked for a more beautiful and appropriate work to commemorate the 50th Waterfowl Festival,” said Kevin Greaney, Waterfowl Festival Board President. “Bart has been part of the Festival Family for many years and shares our belief that art inspires us to conserve the wildlife, habitat and heritage of the Eastern Shore. We hope ‘Wind and Waves’ finds a home in Easton as another important piece of public art, like its predecessor, Family Affair, that was created by Bart for the Festival’s 25th Anniversary in 1995.”

“Family Affair,” a bronze sculpture of a pair of geese and their hatchlings, resides at the front of the Waterfowl Building on South Harrison Street in Easton and is a beloved part of the historic downtown’s streetscape. Taking photos with “Family Affair” has become a rite of passage and part of visitors’ annual Waterfowl Festival traditions.

This is what Walter loves most about public art. “It’s the gift that keeps giving. It’s always out there and always speaking to the public, years and even decades later.”

After beginning his career as a wood carver, Walter transitioned to working in bronze in the late 1980s after his work caught the attention of famed primatologist, Jane Goodall, at a chance meeting at a lecture. She commissioned Walter to make two chimpanzee sculptures that now reside at the Jane Goodall Institute in Arlington, Va.

A trained biologist, Walter prefers to sketch and sculpt in the wild and gets as close to his subjects as possible. Walter has sketched and sculpted chimpanzees and elephants in Africa, polar bears in the Arctic, penguins in the Antarctic and wild mustangs on the plains of Wyoming.

Walter’s work can be found around the world in private and public collections including the Ugandan Wildlife Authority Headquarters in Kampala, the private collection of King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia, the National Zoo in Washington, DC, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming.

“Wind and Waves” will be offered for sale exclusively at the 50th Waterfowl Festival in November. It will be available in limited editions in three sizes:

44” x 72” x 21”
16” x 26.5” x 8”
11” X 18” X 5.5”

For more information about “Wind and Waves” and to inquire about purchases and editions, please contact Kathy Dawkins, Waterfowl Festival Featured Artist Co-Chair, at [email protected].

For more information about Bart Walter and his work visit https://waterfowlfestival.org/bartwalter

About the Waterfowl Festival

Waterfowl Festival Inc. is dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art, and the celebration of the life and culture of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The 50th Festival will be held November 12-14, 2021 in historic Easton, Md. VIP and corporate sponsorship packages are also available. For more information, to volunteer, or donate, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call 410-822-4567.

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Sculptor, Bart Walter, Returns as Waterfowl Festival’s 50th Anniversary Featured Artist

April 1, 2021 by Waterfowl Chesapeake

Bart Walter

The Waterfowl Festival is thrilled to welcome internationally renowned sculptor, Bart Walter of Westminster, Maryland, back to Easton as the Featured Artist for its 50^th Anniversary this fall.

“We are proud to have Bart Walter join us for our 50^th Anniversary,” said Kevin Greaney, Waterfowl Festival Board President. “Bart has been part of the Festival Family for many years and shares our belief that art plays an important role in conserving the landscapes, habitats and heritage of the Eastern Shore.”

Walter’s artistic career has deep roots in Easton and with the Waterfowl Festival. He grew up in Baltimore and spent weekends and summers on the Eastern Shore hiking, hunting, fishing and canoeing where he developed his love of the natural world.

Walter first exhibited at the Festival in 1974 at the age of sixteen as a wood carver and became a loyal exhibitor for many years.

“Bird carving was odd to my friends in Baltimore City,” said Walter. “The Waterfowl Festival opened my eyes to other people my age who had similar interests in art and nature. I fell in love with the Festival, and my fellow exhibitors and Festival volunteers became my extended family. I am honored to be part of this ‘homecoming,’ to celebrate this significant anniversary with such a wonderful community of artists and volunteers.”

“Battle of Wills” by Bart Walter

When asked about the pieces and exhibitions of which he is most proud, Walter shares projects with both professional and sentimental significance. The first is the recent installation of “Battle of Wills” a 15.5 foot bronze bucking bronco at the entrance of the Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming. The second is his 1996 solo exhibition at the Musee de Vernon in the village of Vernon, France located across the River Seine from Giverny, where Claude Monet lived and painted his famous waterlilies and other impressionistic masterpieces.

His sentimental choices are “Wild Imaginings,” a bronze sculpture of a full-size lion and boy, at his hometown public library in Westminster, Maryland and “Family Affair” the bronze sculpture of a pair of geese and their hatchlings that resides at the front of the Waterfowl Building on South Harrison Street in Easton where his artistic career began.

“Family Affair” by Bart Walter

“Family Affair” was created in honor of the Festival’s 25^th Anniversary in 1995 and is a beloved part of the historic downtown’s streetscape. Taking photos with “Family Affair” has become a rite of passage and part of visitors’ annual Waterfowl Festival traditions.

This is what Walter loves most about public art. “It’s the gift that keeps giving. It’s always out there and always speaking to the public, years and even decades later.”

As the 50^th Anniversary Featured Artist, Walter will create a sculpture exclusively for the 2021 Waterfowl Festival. The work will be unveiled this summer.

“Given Bart’s international acclaim and popularity, we are very grateful for his gift of time and incredible talent in support of our 50^th year,” says Waterfowl Chesapeake Executive Director Margaret Enloe. “Our partnership has been years in the works. We offer this announcement with excitement and some hope for a fall Festival where everyone has renewed excitement for friendships, community and the beauty of our natural world”.

For more information about Bart Walter and his work, please visit www.bartwalter.com. For more information about the Festival’s Featured Artist program, please contact Waterfowl Festival offices at 410.822.4567 or [email protected].

About the Waterfowl Festival

Waterfowl Festival Inc. is dedicated to wildlife conservation, the promotion of wildlife art, and the celebration of the life and culture of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The 50^th Festival will be held November 12-14, 2021 in historic Easton, Md. VIP and corporate sponsorship packages are also available. For more information, to volunteer, or donate, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org or call 410-822-4567.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Waterfowl Festival Creates New Virtual Art Gallery for 2020

October 15, 2020 by Waterfowl Chesapeake

To connect fine art buyers to the artists they love, Waterfowl Festival has gone online for 2020, creating its first ever Waterfowl Festival Virtual Art Gallery. The web-based showcase launches November 1 and will bring the Festival “home” to art lovers, giving them the opportunity to explore and purchase exclusive carvings, sculpture, paintings and photography. While the new online gallery can’t replace the in-person thrill of the traditional Festival, it will support artists by encouraging interest in their work in their home studios and helps provide them with a much-needed way to continue to earn their living during this challenging year.

“Obviously we would prefer to be holding the Festival in person, “ said WF Board President Kevin Greaney. “However, these difficult times have offered us the time to create this new opportunity to use our website to support our artists while providing a small revenue stream for us. We want folks to be excited about what we are planning for 2021 and at the same time remember the impact that the lack of a Festival in 2020 is having on the local economy”.

Marsh by Mary Veiga

The Virtual Art Gallery will be online at www.WaterfowlFestival.org and will include artists who were juried into the 2020 show. Each artist is submitting 3-5 pieces that can only be found in the Gallery. Visitors can shop from the comfort of home and when they make a purchase, the artwork will be shipped directly to them from the artist themselves. Online sales will benefit both the artist and Waterfowl Festival’s mission and future. The Gallery will change often, as pieces are sold, so buyers should check in often! Pieces will be updated as sold and updated throughout the year as we get closer to the 50th Festival in 2021. Buyers will find works of art at all price points and can make online purchases through the Festival’s new secure, safe e-commerce system.

As of October 12, over 35 artists have signed up to participate in the Virtual Art Gallery, including: Photographers Heather Orkis, Cal Jackson and Tony Masso; Sculptors Ken Newman, Fred Boyer and Ronnie Wells; Carvers Al Jordan and Tom Horn; Painters Linda Besse, Keith Whitelock, Sara Linda Poly and Sandy Alanko to name a few. Painter Richard Clifton, who recently won the Federal Duck Stamp Contest for 2020-2021 will also be participating and offering up some of his colorful waterfowl paintings for sale.

Says Greaney, “By engaging our art buyers online and providing an exciting virtual experience for art collectors, we will keep the Festival moving forward toward a terrific 50th Festival next fall!”

Visit https://www.WaterfowlFestival.org/waterfowl-festival-announces-virtual-art-gallery for more information or email [email protected].

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50th Waterfowl Festival Postponed Until 2021

June 15, 2020 by Waterfowl Chesapeake

For the first time in its history, the iconic Waterfowl Festival® that draws 15,000+ people to Easton, Maryland each year will not be held this November – at least not in its usual form. Instead, the Festival, along with conservation partner Waterfowl Chesapeake, will devote their energies to developing some new plans for this fall, including virtual programming that brings people together to celebrate the Eastern Shore heritage, culture and bird life. The 50th Festival will be held in its traditional style in November 2021.

“All of us want the Festival to take place as usual,” said Festival Board President, Kevin Greaney, “but uncertainty about the future means we must rethink how we are going to safely host an event, especially one of this size”. He explains, “Our strength is in the relationships we have and the face-to-face experiences we offer for artists, vendors and visitors. All our people – and especially our volunteer leaders and supporters who make Festival possible – need to feel confident and safe. So instead of a big event, we are planning for other programs that can still create connections and celebrate our community.”

Planning for the town-wide Festival begins annually each February with many commitments already made by June. By this time each year, the fine artists have been selected and the Featured Artist has been announced. The annual featured art piece, whether a painting or sculpture, has been completed and art buyers are beginning to take interest. Most of the three hundred vendors, exhibitors and artists have been invited and have made travel plans and commitments. Until now, the Festival’s forty volunteer Committee Chairs have kept all of these processes moving forward for this year, however, much has also been on hold and still remains to be done due to COVID-19.

“We’ve surveyed many of our stakeholders and what we heard overall is that they share our desire to have the Festival,” explained Greaney. “And simultaneously, they – especially our huge corps of leadership and weekend volunteers who make the Festival work — are still very concerned about the fall and a resurgence of COVID19. So, next year, we will host the 50th Festival with the vitality, hospitality and excitement that people have come to expect, along with a few surprises.”

Since 1971, Waterfowl Festival has seen incredible change and overcome challenges – from the internet to the Great Recession – and weathered it all because its strength comes from the dedication, support and love of the Eastern Shore community. It continues to be a cherished annual tradition and the Eastern Shore’s “Homecoming” which now hosts its fourth generation of dedicated families and guests.

“I applaud the Waterfowl organization for its forward thinking and flexible leadership,” says 2019 Featured Artist Nancy Tankersley. “As an artist, it is very disappointing to see yet another event cancelled, but this 50th anniversary is so important that it deserves 100% attention and shouldn’t be overshadowed by the risks of going forward with a physical event. I think the possibilities in virtual offerings are great, and a way for the artist to keep working and creating new work. If a collector is familiar with an artist’s work, they will feel comfortable purchasing online and will continue to support the Waterfowl Festival in this way.”

The Festival has made significant contributions to waterfowl conservation projects over the years and generates millions of dollars for the local economy annually. In 2019, the Festival visitors who travelled to Easton for the Waterfowl weekend generated almost $2.6 million in annual economic impact to Talbot County through shopping, lodging and travel.

“This has been a tough time for everyone, full of difficult choices,” said Margaret Enloe, Executive Director for Waterfowl Chesapeake. “This decision can feel like a step backward, however we see it as an opportunity to try new things, to grow and change. I have every confidence that we will emerge stronger and better. I expect that the 50th Festival in 2021 will be an even more incredible community celebration of the arts and our Eastern Shore heritage, one more vibrant than we could’ve ever imagined.”

To keep abreast of Waterfowl Festival related activities for the fall as they unfold, visit www.waterfowlfestival.org.

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Waterfowl-Related Education Programs Receive 2018 Funding

November 30, 2018 by Waterfowl Chesapeake

This year Waterfowl Chesapeake has chosen two conservation education programs on Delmarva as the focus of its 2018 Community in Conservation Match Campaign. “We are excited to offer a dollar for dollar match, up to $5,000, for two great ways to connect students with waterfowl issues,” says Executive Director Margaret Enloe. “We raised just over $1200 during Festival weekend through the generous support of artists and Festival guests. If we reach our goal by December 31, our community will help fully fund University of Delaware’s (UD) experiences for grad students and the Ward Museum’s program for Talbot County kindergarteners.”

UD’s field program “Promoting Waterfowl Hunter Education for New Adult Students” is aimed at better connecting today’s graduate students with tomorrow’s careers in Waterfowl Ecology. Many graduate students studying in this field have never had the experience of hunting. Yet these young adults are likely to become the future leaders in environmental resource management, with positions in academia, state agencies or federal service – all of whom must work with landowners and the hunting community. How can they communicate with the hunters and landowners if they have never had the experienced the sport? The program includes certification, education on waterfowl identification, policy, habitat management, value structures associated with hunting, hunting dog training, and cooking wild game. The program ends with a voluntary opportunity to engage in a one-on-one mentored waterfowl hunting experience. Overall, the experience is designed to help them be the best leaders in conservation they can be.

The Ward Museum’s program will offer classroom visits and field trips for Talbot County kindergarten students to experience the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. While this opportunity is already successful in several other Shore counties, it will be a new program for students here. The curriculum supports MD State Department of Education’s Environmental Literacy Standards. It also meets the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) requirement for kindergarteners, which ensures that school children have hands-on, action-based learning experience that engage core concepts of watershed health and environmental impacts. And what better way for local children to understand the natural world than through lessons about our waterfowl!?

Waterfowl Chesapeake’s Community in Conservation Program includes using restricted proceeds from the Waterfowl Festival to offer non-profits and community entities the chance to receive monies for projects and initiatives at the intersection of conservation and community. “While we also support large restoration projects,” explains Enloe, “these small grants are a simple way for us to bring people and local conservation work together.”

Waterfowl Chesapeake hopes that the broad emphasis on “community” will encourage organizations to think creatively about who they can serve and will help generate new ideas to bring people and regional conservation work, research and education together on waterfowl-related issues. The matching campaign each year gives people a way to make a difference locally. “In the event that we exceed our match campaign goal, any additional funds are earmarked for next year’s worthy waterfowl projects.”

Find out more about the program or making a contribution at www.waterfowlchesapeake.org or by calling 410.822.4567.

About us: With a focus on communities, stewardship and the waterfowl-related resources and heritage on Delmarva, Waterfowl Chesapeake: Connects financial resources from the Festival and environmental needs in communities, Serves as a neutral convener for events, forums and discussions leading to solutions, and Engages and educates communities about the benefits of healthy waterfowl populations and habitats.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Kent’s Carvers and Clubs Exhibition at Waterfowl Festival

October 26, 2018 by Waterfowl Chesapeake

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s newest waterfowling exhibition will travel to the 48^th annual Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Md. on November 9-11, 2018, before returning to CBMM’s Waterfowling Building through March 2019. Festival ticket holders can see the exhibition at Easton High School.

Kent’s Carvers and Clubs: Guides, Gunners and Co-Ops shares the stories of Maryland’s Kent County carvers and hunting clubs through a collection of decoys, oral histories, historic photographs, and other artifacts.

In the Rock Hall area of Kent County, virtually every young man grew up learning to hunt waterfowl in the early 1900s. That intimate knowledge of birds, their habits and their habitat translated into a marketable skill as gunning became the pastime of the wealthy. Rich photo documentation from the 1930s and 40s illustrate the camaraderie of the well-to-do business and professional men who flocked to Kent’s gunning shores to spend icy mornings in booby blinds, awaiting the arrival of ducks and geese and warm evenings by the club woodstove, where they feasted on local delicacies.

Two duck hunters take aim from a “booby” blind on the lower Chester River, c. 1950. Photo by A. Aubrey Bodine © Jennifer B. Bodine, courtesy of aaubreybodine.com.

Oral history excerpts reveal the stories of hardworking guides, who found vital supplemental seasonal income. Captain John Glenn fashioned hand-chopped decoys from his Piney Neck home, “Decoy Farm,” and began to work with other local carvers to supply a wide variety of stool. While the “Rock Hall School of Carvers” was likely influenced by the work of Susquehanna Flats decoy makers, Kent carver Charlie Joiner learned directly from legendary Havre de Grace carver R. Madison Mitchell, and befriended the Ward brothers of Crisfield, developing his own distinct and notable style.

“Kent County’s bountiful waterfowl population and picturesque shorelines drew gentlemen hunters from the cities to organized gunning clubs, especially along the shores near Rock Hall and Eastern Neck,” said CBMM Collections Manager Jenifer Dolde, curator of the exhibition. “Knowledgeable local men served as guides, savvy property owners leased their land for clubs, and skillful Kent carvers created co-ops to craft decoys for the rigs of neighbors and club members.”

“Kent County has an enduring waterfowling culture—one that continues to flourish in the fields, necks and islands of the deeply-rural region,” said CBMM Chief Curator Pete Lesher. “We’re grateful for the support of this exhibition to be able to explore this important part of Chesapeake history with our guests.”

Kent’s Carvers and Clubs: Guides, Gunners and Co-Ops is generously sponsored by Judy and Henry Stansbury, and the world’s leading decoy auction firm, Guyette & Deeter. Entry to the exhibition is free for CBMM members or with general admission. Kent’s Carvers and Clubs will travel to the Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Md.November 9-11, 2018, and return to CBMM’s Waterfowling Building through March 31, 2019.

To learn more about the Waterfowl Festival, visit waterfowlfestival.org. For more on CBMM, visit cbmm.org.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

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