Salamander Festival draws crowd to Homewood Senior Center

The 13th Annual Salamander Festival once again drew a crowd. Within the first hour of the event on Jan. 28, more than 300 people had already stopped by Homewood Senior Center to see salamanders and other creatures as well as learn more about nature.

Visitors learned from biologists at the festival about the different kinds of salamanders, frogs, turtles and other animals. They were also able to hold salamanders and snakes, snack on free popcorn, listen to live music from The Herb Trotman Band, learn more about the Alabama Wildlife Center, look at fossils and create nature crafts including fish rubbings, where a replica fish was used as a sort of stamp.

The annual event is hosted by Friends of Shades Creek, a nonprofit that works for the protection of and responsible development beside Shades Creek.