Audubon Acre's historic past and future will be celebrated at the Little Owl Music and Arts Festival on March 31 from 12-6 p.m.
The event will include a flying show with raptors by SOAR (Save Our American Raptors) with owls, hawks, an eagle, vulture and other birds of prey for festival guests in the big field. There will also be performing and visual artists from Chattanooga, such as Jerre Haskew of Cumberland Trio, Uncle Lightning, Ray Zimmerman, Marcus Ellsworth, Troy Underwood, Hara Paper and Jeff Pfitzer.
Participants will be able to eat, witness a contest for songwriters, enjoy the work of local artists, go on nature walks, paint faces and decide a city-wide schools' poster contest, all cradled in the beauty of natural and historical surroundings. The festival aims to share Audubon's role in the future, preserving natural resources, history, and native plant and animal life.
Audubon has an established role in history as one of the oldest settlements in North America. The property is located on the Trail of Tears. It became one of the first land trusts in the state of Tennessee, called the Cherokee Arboretum where The Trail was developed to interpret the forest in the context of native American culture and regional history. Audubon's 130 acres gives visitors a glimpse into the life of the people who once lived, hunted, and gathered in the forests, meadows, and along the banks of South Chickamauga Creek.
Little Owl Village, the festival's namesake, is believed to be the location of the first contact between local Native Americans and Spanish explorers, consistent with the journal accounts of members of the Tristan de Luna expedition.
For more information, contact Audubon Society President Bill Fisher at 892-1499 or bfisher@chaas.org. Keep up with the performance event and featured artists and vendors on Facebook and Audubon's official website at www.chattanoogaaudubon.org/