BentFest 2016 This Sunday at Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury

The Audubon Center at Bent of the River in Southbury will host BentFest 2016 on Sunday, October 2nd from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., rain or shine.

The family-oriented fundraiser for the non-profit Audubon Center will feature live birds of prey demonstrations, live music by the Jon Slow Band, craft beers by Veracious Brewery, games, live bird banding demonstrations, family activities along the Bent’s nature trails, picnicking in the meadow, river and nature walks, hay rides, gourmet food trucks, kids’ activities, and bird watching.

“We are delighted to welcome the Jon Slow Band which features original songs and covers of popular acoustic driven folk rock music. Influences on Jon Slow’s original music are The Who, LIVE, Joe Purdy, Colin Hay, David Gray, Counting Crows, Pearl Jam, Tom Petty, Dave Matthews, and the Beatles. His music is a mix of textured, melodic chord progressions, energetic strumming and his bottomless well of songwriting inspirations. Jon has played with Whirling Road guitarist Chris Peters and flute for Kid Rock’s second acclaimed CD, “The Polyfuze Method”, stated Leslie Kane, Audubon Center Director.

For the first time, the BentFest fundraiser for the Audubon Center will include a craft beer and game tent featuring local brews from Veracious Brewery in Monroe (www.veraciousbrewing.com). For the fall season, the Brewery will sell a pumpkin ale, dunkelweizen, and something for the lighter palate. In January 2016, Veracious Brewery was named one of the top 33 new breweries in the United States by “Beer Advocate” magazine.

BentFest 2016 activities will also include live birds of prey and waterfowl presentations by Ben Sonnenberg from the Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy (www.lrwc.net) at 1:45 and 3:00 p.m.; bird banding demonstrations from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. where a few lucky participants may be able to hold a wild songbird and set it free. The Bent also offers nature walks along this historic Pootatuck Road that was the original 1700’s road from Boston to Yorktown, Virginia; a bird-watching boulevard; and un-natural nature trail for hikes.

Family activities at BentFest 2016 will be featured along the Bent’s nature trails and will include Geocaching, Letterboxing, Scavenger Hunts, and an official PokéStop for anyone playing Pokémon Go! Additionally, there will be classic outdoor and table games with Audubon themes such as “Conservation Corn Hole” and “Ecosystem Jenga”.

During the fundraiser, the Audubon Center will introduce its own Native Plants for Birds program exhibit. Other exhibitors will include Wild Birds Unlimited, the Southbury Land Trust, and a “Cups of Kindness” lemonade stand from the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation and Animal Sanctuary in Newtown (www.cvhfoundation.org), among others.

Baked goods, coffees and teas will also be available for purchase inside the Bent’s historic 1800s barn. Initially introduced during the 2013 BentFest, the café was very well-received due in part to its location with the iconic historic barn. Visitors were seen sitting inside while enjoying refreshments and admiring the weather-worn wood and large beams of this 45 x 30 foot post-Civil War barn.

The Audubon Center’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats. Located along the Pomperaug River and bordering Little Pootatuck Brook, the Audubon Center at Bent of the River nature center and sanctuary is a private, not-for-profit organization that protects over 700 acres of numerous natural ecosystems, habitats, un-fragmented forest, grasslands, meadows, swamps and a portion of the Pomperaug River.

There are more than 15 miles of hiking trails throughout The Bent on varied and beautiful terrains. Many ecosystems can be found at The Bent including deciduous and coniferous forest, rocky ledges, grasslands, old meadows, vernal pools, red maple swamps, and river habitats. Audubon owns both sides of the Pomperaug River for almost one mile which is an undisturbed and wild environment where beaver, muskrat, river otter, and mink can be found, and Bald eagles regularly fish. More than 170 species of birds have been recorded and The Bent’s highly diverse eco-systems have been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Connecticut, protecting open land and wildlife over one square mile (http://bentoftheriver.audubon.org).

Sponsors of the non-profit 2016 Bent Fest event include Gager, Emerson, Rickart, Bower & Scalzo, LLC; Pediatric Associates of Western CT, LLC; Giuliano and Richardson; Southbury Printing Centre, Inc.; Union Savings Bank; Newtown Savings Bank; and Savings Bank of Danbury.

The non-profit Audubon Center is located in the Southbury hamlet of South Britain, off Route 172 at 185 East Flat Hill Road, 0.3 miles from corner of General Store and South Britain Congregational Church.

Admission to BentFest 2016 will be $10/car and attendees are encouraged to lower their cost per person while reducing their carbon footprint by carpooling. No pets permitted at this nature sanctuary.

Admission on October 2nd will be accepted at the gate in cash or check only. For information visit www.bentoftheriver.audubon.org or call 203.264.5098.

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Submitted by Bethel, CT

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