“27th ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE GREAT SWAMP”

“27th ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE GREAT SWAMP”
Hosted by FRIENDS OF THE GREAT SWAMP (FrOGS)

Friends, supporters, members, and all residents in the surrounding communities are invited to join FrOGS for a weekend celebrating the awesome beauty, incalculable value, and prominent benefits of the Great Swamp. Each year this premier event is full of fun, educational, and inspirational activities for the whole family. The “27th Annual Celebration of the Great Swamp” will take place on Saturday and Sunday, October 21 and 22, 2022, at Christ Church on Quaker Hill (17 Church Road, Pawling, NY). The Celebration will be open from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm on Saturday and Noon until 4:00 pm on Sunday. Admission is free to all.

The event will feature educational exhibits as well as many hands-on activities for children, who will receive a Game Pack booklet and a “Passport to Fun” to document their travels through the event. Activities will include Master Falconer Jim Eyring’s popular “Birds of Prey” demonstration (both days). Exhibits include a hands-on watershed demonstration table, live swamp animals, a macro-invertebrate display (insects, worms, crayfish), a clay animal sculpting table, and a matching animal-to-habitat game. The drawing for a Kayak Raffle and other prizes will occur Sunday afternoon.

A highlight of the Celebration is a juried Art Show and sale. Last year, the Art Show featured more than 60 artists with over 100 works of painting, drawing, collage, and photography competing for cash prizes. It has been considered to be the finest autumn show of painting, plein air work, collage, textile art and photography in the Lower Hudson Valley. Colorful and inventive interpretations of the plants and animals of The Great Swamp created by students from local schools will greatly enliven the show. There will also be a vendor section with local arts and crafts for sale, including pottery, silk and woven scarves, and jewelry.

This annual event celebrates the Great Swamp, a 6,000-acre wetland stretching 20 miles through a valley at the eastern edge of the Hudson Highlands, from Dover in Dutchess County to Brewster in Putnam County. Although one of the largest freshwater wetlands in the state and called one of New York’s “last great places”, it remains mostly unknown to people who live beyond the watershed’s borders. FrOGS hosts the Celebration to bring attention to the value of the Great Swamp and to encourage its conservation as a source of clean water, a site for recreation, and a home for diverse and rare wildlife.

The Fall Celebration is FrOGS’ major fund-raising event of the year. The money raised will be used to further educational efforts, produce newsletters, undertake water quality testing, monitor rare species, and promote and protect the Great Swamp. For more information on the Great Swamp and FrOGS, the schedule of events for the “27th Annual Celebration of the Great Swamp”, or other upcoming events such as hikes and paddles, visit www.frogs-ny.org.