The Department of Natural Resources and the Frank N. Anderson Foundation will host the 23rd annual Saginaw Bay Waterfowl Festival Aug. 4-5 at Bay City State Park’s Saginaw Bay Visitor Center. Festival activities run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. 

The weekend’s festivities include:

• A hunting and outdoor recreation expo featuring duck-call makers and outdoor outfitters from around the Midwest.
• The Michigan Duck and Goose Calling Contest, including divisions for various ages and skill levels, with the winner representing Michigan in the World Duck Calling Championship in Stuttgart, Arkansas, later this fall.
• A duck-calling clinic for adults and kids.
• A wildlife arts and crafts show and a wildlife carving show.
• The 2019 Michigan Duck Stamp Competition (see below).

Special guest exhibitors include wildlife taxidermist Wendi Johnson, wildlife carver Olga Nims, wildlife photographer Sandy Ross, and four-time winner of the Michigan Duck Stamp Competition, artist Chris Smith.

The festival also offers a variety of other family-friendly activities, including live animal presentations, canoe races and other contests for kids and adults, opportunities to learn from featured artists, retrieving-dog demonstrations and fun hunt trials, arts and crafts, an outdoor concert featuring a Michigan rock ‘n’ roll tribute by local band Sound Proof, and much more.

Educational opportunities include Michigan Department of Natural Resources presentations on topics such as endangered and invasive species, a waterfowl ID trail, and conservation information booths, where kids can earn a Junior Ranger patch by visiting selected booths.

A Recreation Passport is required for each vehicle that enters the park for the festival. Passports are $16 for those who have not gotten them with their vehicle registration and can be purchased at the park the day of the festival or at any state park prior to the festival.

As part of the Saginaw Bay Waterfowl Festival, the 2019 Michigan Duck Hunters Association Michigan Duck Stamp Competition will take place at Bay City State Park on Saturday, Aug. 4. All entries will be on display inside the Saginaw Bay Visitor Center auditorium starting at 3:30 p.m., and judging will begin at 4 p.m.

Open to all artists, the competition may feature original artwork representing specific waterfowl species. The first-place entry will win a $1,500 cash prize, second place $300 and third place $200.

A special youth contest, the Future Duck Stamp Artist Contest, also will be held in conjunction with this event. Young artists, age 17 and under, may submit original drawings (in any media) of a Michigan duck or goose composed on 9-inch by 12-inch paper. These drawings should be delivered to the Saginaw Bay Visitor Center by 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4.

Visitors also will be able to take part in special waterfowl art activities, such as drawing a duck with four-time Michigan duck stamp artist Chris Smith or carving a soap duck with the Tri-City Carvers. Visitors will be able to view displays, including the entire Michigan duck stamp collection.

Art and wildlife enthusiasts also will be able to view and vote on their favorite entries in a wildlife carving contest and wildlife photography contest. Entries are still being taken for both events, with divisions of competition including amateur, master and youth. There is no cost for entries. First-place ribbons and Michigan duck stamp prints will be awarded on Sunday to winning carvings and photos. To enter or for more information about either contest, email saginawbaywaterfowl@gmail.com or call 989-667-0717.

The Michigan Waterfowl Stamp Program began 43 years ago to raise money for wetland habitat restoration and habitat acquisition for waterfowl. A portion of every waterfowl stamp purchased goes toward Michigan wetland habitat restoration. Over a million dollars has been raised for waterfowl conservation projects since the first stamp was issued in 1976.