Salamander Festival set for Jan. 25

The 16th annual Salamander Festival is set for Jan. 25 at Shades Valley Community Church.

The Friends of Shades Creek group will host an outdoor hike starting at 2 p.m. before the festival begins at 3 p.m. The event is free of charge, with snacks and drinks at the site for sale.

Friends of Shades Creek President Michelle Blackwood said this event helps children and adults learn about the natural world around them.

“The Salamander Festival is unique in that kids and adults can learn about and actually touch real salamanders,” she said. “The spotted salamander is the star of the show and our icon, but at the Salamander Festival, we learn about other critters sharing the streams and forests that we people live close to.”

Blackwood said biologists from Samford University, Birmingham-Southern College and UAB will be in attendance to answer questions about salamanders and more.

There will be many returning favorites to this year’s festival, with crafts, a snack plate and microscopes. The free crafts will include a chance to create a salamander with clay.

Local group “Over the Hillbillies” will provide additional entertainment for people who attend the event, and Blackwood said there will be dancing.

Blackwood said many people do not know how close salamanders are to citizens of Homewood.

“The spotted salamander needs both wetlands and a healthy forest to survive,” she said. “They live in the forest burrows most of their lives but need wetlands to mate and reproduce. We have both in Homewood, next to Homewood High School. This is rare in urban areas.”

For more information on the Salamander Festival and the Friends of Shades Creek, visit shadescreek.org.