Bear Creek Festival


First SATURDAY of every OCTOBER from 11 AM - 4 PM

At North Mountain Park
620 N Mountain Ave, Ashland

2011 Photo Gallery

On Saturday, October 1, the North Mountain Park Nature Center hosted the 3rd Annual Bear Creek Festival from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm at 620 North Mountain Avenue in Ashland. This event was a celebration highlighting Bear Creek Watershed Exploration Month, a calendar of events, classes, presentations and work parties sponsored by various organizations throughout the valley in September and October — Learn more. Their shared vision was to raise awareness about the Bear Creek watershed, increase the community's understanding of local watershed issues and engage citizens in stewardship activities.

A Silent Auction was held with this year! Proceeds to benefit a habitat restoration project on Bear Creek Greenway at Ashland Pond on Saturday, October 29. (Learn more about the October 29 work party.)

The Bear Creek Festival is a free, annual event and includes hand-on experiences offered by many local and regional organizations and sustainable farms. Participants can enjoy a variety of fun outdoor activities such as: mask-making, fly-casting, Native American demonstrations and learn to become better stewards of the local watershed. Live entertainment takes place throughout the day and a wholesome and delicious food concession is provided. Exhibitors and participants are asked to help make the Bear Creek Festival a Zero Waste event.

A colorful mosaic compass rose was dedicated in the Demonstration Gardens at North Mountain Park Nature Center during the Bear Creek Festival on Saturday, October 1. The purpose of the mosaic is to help orient students and park visitors to the cardinal directions and to provide a beautiful, interesting interactive point of entry to the Demonstration Gardens which feature a variety of habitat friendly and earth friendly themes. The mosaic incorporates graphic representations of local native plants and animals as well as some of the region's dominant geographic features. Community members assisted in the mosaic's creation during an August, 2011 workshop led by mosaic artist Susan Springer. The mosaic elements were designed and individually created in the Ashland studios of Illahe Studios and Gallery. The mosaic will be used in a variety of educational programs for students and community members as well as a focal point and public art piece.

Many Thanks to Our 2011 Major Sponsors…
Bureau of Land Management — Medford, OR District , Ashland Parks Foundation and Ashland Parks & Recreation Department — Learn about sponsoring the 2011 event.

On behalf of the Bear Creek Festival Planning Committee and the North Mountain Park Nature Center and Ashland Parks' staff, we thank you and for contributing to the success of the festival by volunteering your time, enthusiasm and skills. It was wonderful to witness so much joyful learning, adventuring and thoughtful exchange of ideas in the park throughout the day.

The Bear Creek Festival 2011 Planning Committee

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