Heritage Art Awards Highlight Original Waterfowl Compositions

The genesis of the Waterfowl Festival was initiated some 50+ years ago by a number of individuals who shared a common belief in the beauty of abundant waterfowl thriving in their habitat throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and nearby coastal bays…spanning more than 64,000 square miles and encompassing parts of six states – Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia – and the entire District of Columbia.

Artwork featuring various waterfowl plus waterfowl habitat areas, vistas, etc., has always been a very important theme for the Waterfowl Festival. In recognition of the Festival’s 50th Anniversary, the Waterfowl Festival has received a generous contribution of $5,000 to be used solely for cash awards for original waterfowl compositions [e.g., waterfowl and/or scenes depicting waterfowl & their habitat] to be judged and ultimately displayed and offered for sale at this year’s Festival. Artists submitted their intent to participate in the award program and their winning pieces will be displayed at Premiere Night this Thursday. Winning pieces will be displayed with ribbons in the artists’ booths after Thursday’s announcements.

Artwork submitted will be judged on the following criteria —Visual Appeal (attractiveness & creativity of the composition, regarding spatial balance, lighting and harmony of subject(s) and background); Anatomical Details of Species (level and accuracy of detail in all aspects of the anatomy and coloration of the chosen waterfowl species); Habitat Accuracy (appropriateness and detail depiction of the waterfowl species habitat) and General Rendering (inter-relationship, accuracy and depiction of all individual and collective elements of the composition.)

Awards Include

• 1st place winner will receive a cash award of $2,500 plus certificate and ribbon;
• 2nd place winner will receive a cash award of $1,500 plus certificate and ribbon;
• 3rd place will receive a cash award of $1,000 plus certificate and ribbon

WF Announces App for On-The-Go Festival Information

We’ve been working hard to get the Waterfowl Festival App ready for you! Download it now so you’ll have the schedule, venue information and a lot more at your fingertips. Scan the QR code with your phone or search for Waterfowl in the App Store and Google Play Store.

Get info about:

• Schedule
• Gallery Listings
• Venue Information
• Tickets
• Special Event Information

Retrospective Film Celebrates 50 Years of the Waterfowl Festival

Those who came together to create the first Waterfowl Festival in 1971 were lovers of everything the Eastern Shore had, and still has, to offer. They saw a heritage to celebrate and preserve; natural resources, waterfowl and wildlife worth conserving (before conservation was even a thing to do); and a community that cared enough to do something about it. Our name, “Waterfowl Festival,” is our history; a history of care and appreciation for our migratory ducks, geese and swans and our natural world; a history of dedication by the
people who live here.

With the hospitality that can only rise when given from the heart, every year our volunteers, partners and supporters create
our showcase. It is, and always has been, the best of the Shore and beyond — world-class art featuring wildlife and Chesapeake Bay culture, classic sporting heritage, unique historic collections of waterfowl decoys and artifacts, conservation activities and regional cuisine. All for the benefit of waterfowl-related conservation. We are so pleased you have joined us to celebrate our 50-year journey!

Premiere Night VIP Ticket Packages Now Available

Art LaMay Poster Created for 2021 Festival

We are thrilled to announce that painter Art LaMay, who has been an exhibitor for almost ALL of the Festival’s 50 years, has produced a unique piece of art, entitled “Looking Back” to be sold as a limited edition poster at the 2021 Festival.

 

LaMay did a painting for the official Waterfowl Poster from 1987 until 2010 (see them all here). Once a Featured Artist was selected each year (sometimes not a painter) the Festival decided that the poster would feature that artist each year. We are indebted to him for his many years of support of the Festival!

Posters of his piece “Looking Back” for 2021 will be a signed and numbered limited edition! Only 300 will be sold and each one will be will signed and numbered.

Unframed posters will be $35 and a limited number of framed posters will be available for $135.

Waterfowl Grant Program Open for Applications

Waterfowl Grant Program Open for Applications Non-profits of all kinds encouraged to connect people and environment

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.”

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 documentation 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.

With this focus on connecting our financial resources to local environmental needs we now support projects in these four WC priority areas:

1. Initiatives at the intersections of waterfowl conservation and community
2. Education programs on Delmarva focusing on current and future generations of conservationists, enthusiasts and educators
3. Research and scientific work of graduate students, volunteer groups
   and non-profits on Delmarva
4. Restoration and conservation of projects that benefit waterfowl and
   regional habitat enhancement in ways that connect with larger bay habitat
   restoration goals