The Great Lakes Bat Festival was an annual two-day event that started in 2002 and began in the Great Lakes region.[1] The festival later expanded to different state divisions, which included the Illinois Bat Festival,[2] the Indiana State University Bat Festival,[3][4][5] the Minnesota Bat Festival,[6] and the Wisconsin Bat Festival.[3] It was founded and organized by the Organization for Bat Conservation until the organization's dissolution in 2018.
Great Lakes Bat Festival | |
---|---|
Genre | Festival |
Frequency | Annually in September or October |
Location(s) | Great Lakes region |
Years active | 21–22 |
Inaugurated | 2002 |
Founder | Organization for Bat Conservation |
Attendance | Est. 2,000-3,000 |
Executive Director | Rob Mies |
Sponsor | Critter Catchers |
The goals of the Great Lakes Bat Festival were to highlight the diversity of life on earth, educate people on bats and explain the need for conservation.[7] The festival included live bat programs presented by the Organization for Bat Conservation, featuring bats from around the world.[8]
Evening events included demonstrations from bat researchers on various research techniques, such as radio-tagging and/or light-tagging.[9]
Locations
editThe festival was held at the Cranbrook Institute of Science Bat Zone in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan,[10] at the Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation in Terre Haute, Indiana,[11] at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[12] and at Iron Mountain, Michigan near Millie Hill Mine.[13][14]
No. | Year | Venue | Location | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2002 | Millie Hill bat cave | Iron Mountain, Michigan | [15] |
2 | 2003 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [16] |
3 | 2004 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [17] |
4 | 2005 | Iron Mountain, Michigan | [18] | |
5 | 2006 | |||
6 | 2007 | Indiana State University | Terre Haute, Indiana | [19] |
7 | 2008 | |||
8 | 2009 | Milwaukee Zoo | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | [20] |
9 | 2010 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [21] |
10 | 2011 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [22][23][24] |
11 | 2012 | Southfield Civic Center Arena | Southfield, Michigan | [25] |
12 | 2013 | Southfield Pavilion | Southfield, Michigan | [26][27] |
13 | 2014 | Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum | Ann Arbor, Michigan | [28] |
14 | 2015 | Cranbrook Institute of Science | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | [29][3] |
15 | 2016 | Macomb Intermediate School District | Clinton Township, Michigan | [30][31] |
16 | 2017 | Michigan Science Center | Detroit, Michigan | [32] |
17 | 2018 | Potter Park Zoo | Lansing, Michigan | [33] |
18 | 2019 | Belle Isle Nature Center (Detroit Zoo) | Detroit, Michigan | [34][35] |
Dissolution
editThe Great Lakes Bat Festival was dissolved in 2018 due to its organizer, Organization for Bat Conservation, ceasing operations. This was because of the termination of its co-founder, Rob Mies, as well as financial issues.[36]
Notable speakers and guests
edit- Jannell Cannon (Artist & Author of award-winning book Stellaluna)
- Fiona Reid (Artist & Author)[21]
- Bill Schutt (author of the critically acclaimed book Dark Banquet)[21]
- Dr. John Whitaker, Jr. (Indiana State University)
- Dr. Al Kurta (Eastern Michigan University)
- Dr. Tim Carter (Ball State University)
- Rob Mies (Organization for Bat Conservation)
- Bill Scullon (Michigan Department of Natural Resources)
- Mike Frayer (Milwaukee County Zoo)
References
edit- ^ "Organization for Bat Conservation". Bat Conservation Journal (Spring 2008).
- ^ Kording, Nan (2017-07-06). "Batty for bats". Illinois Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ a b c Linn, Morgan (2016-09-29). "Great Lakes festival crowd goes batty over bats | Great Lakes Echo". greatlakesecho.org. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Price, Will (2022-09-17). "Bat Festival makes return to Indiana State". MyWabashValley.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "ISUBatCenter | College of Arts and Sciences". www.indstate.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Blanchette, Aimee (2017-08-10). "Minnesota's first bat festival aims to prove that these flying critters aren't so creepy". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Hoffmaster, Eric; Vonk, Jennifer; Mies, Rob (2016-01-15). "Education to Action: Improving Public Perception of Bats". Animals. 6 (1): 6. doi:10.3390/ani6010006. ISSN 2076-2615. PMC 4730123. PMID 26784239.
- ^ "Want a Dream Pet? Join Pets 'n' Friends Today!". Pets 'n' Friends. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ "Bat Week Highlights with Amy Wray – Gratton Lab". gratton.entomology.wisc.edu. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Cranbrook Institute of Science, www.PureMichigan.org/Things-to-Do/Events "Great Lakes Bat Festival at Cranbrook Institute of Science."
- ^ "Great Lakes Bat Festival To Take Place at ISU in August". Indiana State University - ISU Newsroom. 2007-05-21.
- ^ "8th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival Flying Into The Milwaukee County Zoo". Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
- ^ Morscheck, Richard (2005-07-25). "E-M:/Fourth Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival". Enviro-Mich.
- ^ "Thousands Gather for 2005 Bat Festivals". The Spotting Scope. 11 (1). Fall 2005 – via Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
- ^ "Bats get a wingding". News-Press. 2002-04-04. p. 6.
- ^ "Future Meetings and Events" (PDF). Bat Research News. 44 (1): 81. 2003.
- ^ "Future Meetings and Events" (PDF). Bat Research News. 45 (1): 84. 2004.
- ^ Blake, Erica (2005-08-07). "Holy bat conservation!". The Blade. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Bat Conservation Efforts | Critter Catchers, Inc". www.crittercatchersinc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Zoological Society of Milwaukee (2013-07-26). "September/October 2009 Wild Things". issuu.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ a b c "Critter Catchers winging way into Great Lakes Bat Festival". www.crittercatchersinc.com. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Cranbrook Institute of Science's 10th annual Great Lakes Bat Festival features 12 species of bats". Mayuri Munot's ePortfolio. 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Critter Catchers at Great Lakes Bat Festival". www.crittercatchersinc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Great Lakes Bat Festival returns to Mich. museum". The Victoria Advocate. 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "OBC'S Annual Bat Festival". One Brick. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Proxmire, Crystal (2013-10-02). "Bat Festival Brings Fun & Learning to Southfield (video)". Oakland County Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Proxmire, Crystal (2013-09-21). "Annual Bat Festival at Southfield Pavillion Sept. 28". Oakland County Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ DeVito, Lee (2014-09-26). "13th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival comes to Ann Arbor". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Dunn, Patrick (2015-09-24). "Bat festival studies a species that used to be uncool". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "15th annual Great Lakes Bat Festival Sept. 17". FOX 2 Detroit. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Devlin, Eamon (2016-07-07). "Conservation in the bat zone | Great Lakes Echo". greatlakesecho.org. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Brennan, Mike (2017-09-08). "Michigan Science Center Offers Great Lakes Bat Festival Sept. 23". MITechNews. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Great Lakes Bat Festival – Bat Association of MSU". 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Great Lakes Bat Festival". Belle Isle Nature Center. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ "Great Lakes Bat Festival Comes to the Belle Isle Nature Center October 5". Detroit Zoo. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
- ^ Abdel-Baqui, Omar. "Popular Bat Zone faces shutdown after co-founder terminated". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2024-01-23.