Salamander Fest to spotlight creepy-crawlies

Visit the Homewood Senior Center on Jan. 30 to take a look at the often-hidden animals that share Homewood’s neighborhoods.

The annual Salamander Festival,which began 12 years ago, is timed to roughly correspond with the annual migration of spotted salamanders into vernal pools near Homewood High School to mate and lay eggs. 

Friends of Shades Creek member Michelle Blackwood said the festival lasts from 3 to 5:30 p.m. The free event will include the chance to see and learn about salamanders, fish, frogs and turtles. The Alabama Wildlife Center will also bring some of its education birds of prey for a demonstration.

The Herb Trotman band will provide entertainment, and the festival will include kids’ nature crafts, a chocolate fountain, dancing demonstrations and a chance to view tiny creatures through a microscope. The Friends of Shades Creek will also name their Volunteer of the Year, and there will be the annual telling of the story of the salamander.

Prior to the festival, there will also be a nature walk around Patriot Park at 2 p.m. to see animals and plants that inhabit the area. The rest of the festival schedule is as follows:

3:45: A presentation about birds from the Oak Mountain Wildlife Center

4:00: A welcome from Friends of Shades Creek and the City of Homewood and awards ceremony

4:15: The salamander migration story

4:30: Dancing and bluegrass music from the Herb Trotman Band

For more information, visit shadescreek.org.