Jamestown, N.Y. – To bring you a safe, enjoyable winter experience, for 2021 Audubon Community Nature Center is transforming its annual Snowflake Festival into Snowflake Daze.

On Saturday, February 6, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., or Sunday, February 7, noon-4:30 p.m., you can explore the winter landscape, learn about some activities that embrace the snow, and engage in some hibernation-friendly hobbies and crafts.

Sign up for an hour-and-a-half time slot when you will be able to choose what interests you most and move through a series of activities from scavenger hunts to a backyard fire to bird feeder making. Then visit the Blue Heron Gift Shop and the Nature Center exhibits after your session. 

Franklin’s Honey and Apples will be at the Nature Center on Saturday with their popular kettle corn and cotton candy. Audubon will have s’mores kits available for sale and use over the backyard fire. A child-sized cardboard village will spark imaginative play in the backyard along with ice bowling, group skis, and other outdoor games. A self-guided nature hike will help you understand what is happening in the natural world.

Most demonstrations and activities are outdoors, so be sure to dress for the weather.

Face coverings are required for all participants ages 3 and up for indoor programs and for outdoor programs during which participants cannot maintain six feet between family groups.

The fee is $8 for adults, $6 for Nature Center members and children 3-15, and free for 2 and under. Space is limited to 20 for each time slot. 

Paid reservations are required by Thursday, February 4. You can register by calling (716) 569-2345 during business hours or going to AudubonCNC.org and clicking on “Register for Upcoming Programs.” Call for availability after the deadline.

Audubon is grateful to the Snowflake Daze sponsors that make this event possible: Northwest Investment Services, Kwik Fill, Orkin Pest Control, and Courier Capital, LLC. An additional thank you goes to Audubon’s Community Partners: Curt and Susie Westrom, Bob and Kathy Frucella, Carnahan-Jackson Foundation, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Holmberg Foundation, Hultquist Foundation, Jessie Smith Darrah Fund, Lenna Foundation, Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, Bush Industries, Inc., Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Hal and Mary Conarro, Jan Simons Boyle, Metallic Ladder Manufacturing Corp., Univera Healthcare, and Whirley-DrinkWorks!

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. The first floor of the Nature Center building, including the Blue Heron Gift Shop, live animals, and the 2020 Nature Photography Contest winning photographs, is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Because not all of the building is accessible, admission is by donation only.

You are welcome to visit the 600-acre nature preserve from dawn to dusk daily. While practicing safe social distancing measures, you can hike, snowshoe, or cross country ski the six miles of trails and view Liberty, Audubon’s non-releasable Bald Eagle. 

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345, visit AudubonCNC.org, or find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook.

Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.

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