9 November 2007
Festival of Swans at WWT Welney
After the excitement of Super Whooper swan Blidfinnur flying into the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Welney, the staff are gearing up to celebrate with the Festival of Swans on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th November.
The Festival promises to be a feast of art and family activities to welcome back the 9,000 wild Whooper and Bewick’s swans that winter each year in the Fens. Local artist John Abbott will be artist in residence over the weekend painting views from the main observatory. Wildlife artist Steve Cale will talking on the ‘Art of Birds’ on Saturday at 2pm with photographer David Featherbe giving a presentation on Wildlife Photography on Sunday at 2pm. A selection of artists and artists will also be exhibiting their works for visitors to purchase.
Families can help make papier mache Whooper swans and follow the Super Whoopers on their journey by following the trail around the reserve. Local folk band ‘Eel Pie’ will be entertaining everybody in the Wigeon Café at 4pm on the Sunday and Elgoods brewery will also be bringing along their famous ‘Double Swan’ ale for visitors to sample and buy. Not forgetting the magic of the daily swan feeds at 3.30pmand the floodlit evening feeds at 6.30pm.
The whole weekend draws to a close on Sunday evening at 7.30pmwith the Festival of Swans Charity auction with professional auctioneer Nicholas Grounds. The auction will be raising money to protect the areas used by the Whooper swans during the winter and on their migration to ensure the future of these beautiful Fenland visitors is secure. Lots include pieces of art donated by exhibitors from the weekend, a tour of the Palaces of Westminster for up to 20 people donated by South West Norfolk MP Christopher Fraser, a tour of the Elgoods brewery, signed books and DVDs from celebrities including David Attenborough and Bill Oddie plus the unique opportunity to feed the Welney swans. For a full list of auction lots and the programme for the weekend please visit Festival of Swans.