Bridgeland’s Nature Fest – April 30th

Bridgeland’s April 30 Nature Fest Promises to be a Wild Adventure

Bridgeland roars into spring with the return of one of its most popular events, Nature Fest, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 30, in Bridgeland’s Oak Meadow Park.

Usually held in the fall, this year’s spring festival revives several event favorites — the high-jumping antics of the Houston Canine Frisbee Disc Club, armadillo races, the Houston Zoo Mobile and Birds of Prey — and introduces new entertainment, including The Great American Duck Races.

Audience members will be asked to release the fleet-footed ducks into individual racing lanes where the mallards will vie for top honors. The endeavor has gone swimmingly for owner Robert Duck, who first heard about duck racing in 1980 and, given his last name, thought it would be a kick to enter a local contest. He ended up winning thousands of dollars over the next dozen years and in 1999 committed to duck racing full-time, touring his feisty fowl around the country to race at festivals, state fairs and more. In addition to the races, Duck educates audience members about mallards and lets children feed them. Races will be held at 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 3:30 and 4:30.

Nature Fest visitors also will have a chance to take part in the entertainment during the 2 p.m. performance by The Drum Café, a high-energy troupe that uses the sounds and rhythms of Africa to motivate and inspire companies and organizations. The group is bringing approximately 250 drums so audience members can join in the fun and music.

Also on stage will be Birds of Prey and The Crocodile Encounter (a live reptile show), both with two performances, and the Rockit Bayou band. Other Nature Fest activities include a petting zoo, pony rides, baby camel rides, inflatables, a miniature train ride, a climbing rock wall, outdoor laser tag and instructional sessions in kayaking, photography, bird-watching, gardening and more. Festival-goers can take part in a living history treasure hunt along the wooded Cypress Creek Nature Trail, enjoy a tree-planting demonstration by The Tree Truckers and enter a raffle for a 6-foot live oak, a $900 retail value. Visitors also will have a chance to register to win annual family four-packs to the Houston Zoo and the Houston Arboretum and Nature Center as well as Texas Parks and Wildlife passes.

And now about the food
Feeding the crowd will be a caravan of cuisine-themed food trucks, a current craze among Houston foodies. These restaurants-on-wheels typically broadcast their locations via Facebook and Twitter, attracting crowds and creating buzz as fans wonder where their favorite strawberry balsamic cupcake or Asian beef fajita will land next. Trucks trekking to Bridgeland will be 3 Cajun Pigs, Bernie’s Burger Bus, Frosted Betty, Fusion Taco, Spork Grill and Papa John’s Pizza.

To learn more about the “on the move” eateries, visit www.3cajunpigs.com, www.berniesburgerbus.com, www.frostedbetty.com, www.fusiontacotruck.com, www.sporkgrill.com and www.papajohns.com.

Admission to Nature Fest is free; however, visitors can purchase a Nature Fest T-shirt for $5, with proceeds benefiting the Katy Prairie Conservancy, a land trust committed to protecting a sustainable portion of the Katy Prairie for the benefit of its wildlife and all Texans forever, and Bridgeland supports that initiative by helping to raise funds for the KPC and by spreading the word about the activities and tours the organization hosts throughout the year. The KPC already has conserved nearly 18,000 acres and offers monthly public tours, classes, children’s camps and other programs on its preserves. The Katy Prairie is considered an oasis for migratory birds, with more than 300 species of birds, 110 species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians, 400 species of grasses and wildflowers and thousands of insects and aquatic invertebrates. Visit www.katyprairie.org or e-mail info@katyprairie.org for more information.

Habitat for Humanity Northwest Harris County (NWHC) will run the arts and crafts tent, where children can enjoy four craft projects, including decorating a bird house, for a $5 donation. Proceeds will help raise funds for its mission of building affordable housing and promoting home ownership. Since 1989, Habitat NWHC has built more than 140 homes for needy families in suburban northwest Harris County. For more information about Habitat NWHC, contact Rachael Wright, 281.820.2307, ext 306 or rwright@habitatnwhc.org.

This is the fourth year Bridgeland has hosted Nature Fest, which has drawn nearly 12,200 people during the past three years. Plus, Bridgeland has been able to raise approximately $17,000 for the Katy Prairie Conservancy and Habitat for Humanity NWHC.

For details on Nature Fest, call 281.304.5588 or visit http://www.bridgeland.com/events/nature-fest. Also, keep up-to-date on Nature Fest and other Bridgeland events on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/Bridgelandcommunity and Twitter, http://twitter.com/BridgelandTX.

Photo Information
Nature Fest returns to Bridgeland from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday April 30. The annual event, which has attracted nearly 12,200 people during the past three years, has a bevy of nature-themed activities and entertainment, including the Great American Duck Races, Birds of Prey, The Crocodile Encounter live reptile show, armadillo races, pony and baby camel rides and much more. Providing food at this year’s event will be a caravan of gourmet food trucks, a current craze among Houston foodies.

About Bridgeland
The Bridgeland community is a development of the Howard Hughes Corporation, which owns, manages and develops commercial, residential and mixed-use real estate throughout the United States, including Las Vegas, Manhattan and Honolulu. As owner of Bridgeland and partial owner of The Woodlands, the Howard Hughes Corporation is one of the largest master-planned community developers in the Houston area.

About Katy Prairie Conservancy
The Katy Prairie Conservancy was founded in 1992 to conserve 50,000 acres of the prairie for the benefit of its wildlife and all Texans forever. Already nearly 18,000 acres have been conserved — land that is accessible to the public through open tours, field days, educational field trips and two ADA-accessible wildlife viewing platform that are popular with birdwatchers from around the world. For more information, visit www.katyprairie.org.

About Habitat for Humanity Northwest Harris County
Habitat for Humanity Northwest Harris County is a nonprofit ecumenical Christian organization that partners with the community and families to create affordable housing and help develop responsible homeowners and successful neighborhoods.