Crafts, music, creative learning among highlights of Jan. 28 Salamander Festival

The salamanders will be there — will you?

The upcoming Salamander Festival is set for Jan. 28 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Homewood Senior Center.

“We will have real salamanders that kids can see and touch,” said Michelle Blackwood of Friends of Shades Creek. “We will also have some other animals like fish, frogs and turtles that come from Shades Creek.”

The day will also feature music, activities and creative learning for kids and adults alike. Biologists will be on hand to answer questions, and The Herb Trotman Band will play again this year.

“We’ll have free crafts for the kids, and there will also be dancing,” Blackwood said. “We’ll also have people talk about our rivers and streams and what lives in them and how to protect our watersheds. It’s so important to protect that wildlife and their habitat. There are a lot of things that they do for us that we don’t even appreciate, and they do it for free.”

Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the Cahaba River Society will also have displays, and at 4 p.m., a storyteller will tell a tale about salamanders.

The only cost at the event is a $1 charge for a plate of food at the chocolate fountain.

Before the start of the festival, there will be a guided nature hike around the park at 2 p.m. at the door of the Senior Center.

The Homewood Senior Center is at 816 Oak Grove Road. For more information, go to shadescreek.org.