If you go
› What: 28th Sandhill Crane Festival› Where: Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Birchwood› When: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 19-20› Admission: Free› For more information: 615-781-6500› Directions: Take exit 25 off I-75 in Cleveland, Tenn. Travel north on Highway 60 through the town of Birchwood. Approximately 1.7 miles north of Birchwood, turn right onto Shadden Road. Go one mile and turn right on Blythe Ferry Road. Take next left on Priddy Lane and follow signs.
Sandhill cranes prepare to land at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Birchwood.In the early 1990s, eastern sandhill cranes began stopping at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge on their way to and from their wintering grounds in Georgia and Florida. Thousands of birds now spend the winter at the confluence of the Hiwassee and Tennessee rivers, making the viewing of this phenomenon a January tradition for birdwatchers.
To capitalize on this influx of visitors to the Birchwood community, the Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival was begun 28 years ago. The 2019 festival will take place Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 19-20, at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and Birchwood Community Center. This 28th festival is hosted by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, which has managed the refuge for more than 60 years, and by the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park.
The festival not only celebrates the thousands of sandhill cranes migrating through or spending the winter around the refuge, but also gives an opportunity to focus attention on Native American heritage of the area.
No public parking is available at the refuge. Visitors may catch a free shuttle bus from the community center to Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and the park. The bus will begin running at 8 a.m. both days. Wildlife and birding experts will be on-site at the refuge to provide visitors with an educational experience by sharing information and viewing scopes.
For guests wishing to make a day-trip of their visit, breakfast will be available for purchase at the community center beginning at 7 a.m. each day. Lunch will also be sold and the cafeteria will be open throughout the event.
Vendors will be at the Birchwood Community Center beginning at 8 a.m. Special programs and a children's craft booth will be ongoing throughout each day. Music will be performed by TWRA Multimedia Division Chief Don King, Second Nature and Tanner Hillis.
The American Eagle Foundation will present its popular live raptor show. Show time is 2 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Jamie Feddersen, TWRA Waterfowl Program leader, will present "Migration of North American Sandhill Cranes to Southeastern Tennessee" at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Visitors will find Native American folklore specialists at the nearby Cherokee memorial. They will present performances, artifacts and objects used in everyday life by Native American inhabitants of the Hiwassee River area.
The Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge comprises about 6,000 acres. The Birchwood Community Center is 3 miles from the wildlife-viewing site at the refuge. The Cherokee Removal Memorial is found just to the side of the refuge near the Tennessee River.