Hudson’s second annual RiverFest celebration will be held July 12-17. Several free educational activities that encourage people to get out and enjoy the St. Croix River are scheduled Saturday through Thursday.
Saturday morning “Ragamuffin” a life-size raccoon puppet (with teacher Dianne Gasch inside) will tell tales of the riverbank. Mary Moriarty Davis will lead young children’s programs featuring the river on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Hudson Area Library.
Monday through Thursday Liz Malanaphy will lead middle-schoolers in the “Just Add Water” class at The Phipps Center for the Arts. Art will be combined with activities on the Hudson waterfront. The class costs $199 and runs from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Students can learn more and register on the Phipps Center’s website.
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Monday morning, July 14, Danny Thompson from Cabela’s will demonstrate knot tying, fish identification, rod and reel combos and the latest in fishing tackle trends. Mentors from the St. Croix County Sportsmans Alliance and other groups will loan tackle for kids to fish from the shore of Lakefront Park.
Monday evening at the Carpenter Nature Center - Wisconsin Campus, just south of Hudson, Jennifer Vieth, Executive Director of CNC, will lead a prairie bird walk. Missy Sparrow, Wisconsin DNR biologist, will talk about native and invasive plants found there and nearby. At various RiverFest venues throughout the week, join Carpenter Nature Center staff to learn about the wildlife in the St. Croix River Valley and meet live animal ambassadors, including birds of prey.
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Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, “musselman” Dan Kelner of the Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will discuss the ecology of mussels (clams) and identification using local examples. His professional duties, and those of Byron Karns, aquatic resource manager with the National Park Service, St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, and their St. Croix Dive Team, will put them in the Hudson area conducting long term monitoring on an important mussel bed including many state and at least one federally endangered species. Joined by mussel biologists from the Minnesota DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, they will step onto the beach at the end of the old tollway dike to demonstrate their work and equipment.
Also Tuesday and Thursday afternoons the St. Croix Sailing School staff will show their dinghys and answer questions about sailing. Some of the more advanced students will get a few boats out on the water, weather permitting.
Wednesday morning, July 16, join a member of the St. Croix Valley Bird Club for a bird walk from the Hudson Lakefront bathhouse upstream to the old railroad depot site. Wear comfortable walking shoes and bring binoculars and a field guide if you have them. Beginner bird watchers are welcome.
The armature sculpture of “Scrappy,” the splashing bass mascot of RiverFest, will be decorated with a new covering of litter picked up during the River Clean-ups in the parks along the banks of the St. Croix River in Hudson and North Hudson. Scrappy will be in various parades this summer and on display at Lakefront Park during the Thursday evening concert.
RiverFest partner organizations and volunteer groups with outdoor themes have been invited to exhibit displays before and during the concert.
Details of many activities are still being developed; so visit www.stcroixriverfest.org to get the latest RiverFest schedule of events and details. RiverFest is a collaboration of area organizations and individuals that work together to offer a variety of opportunities for families to enjoy the St. Croix River. RiverFest is possible through local grants and sponsorships. A list of partners and sponsors is available on the website.