The Southern
Swing
I am very excited about my upcoming
‘Southern’ Swing to visit my many friends and fans down South. So as I
prepare for my Fall migration I would like to take this opportunity to invite
you stop by for some fun presentations or to have your books autographed. If you
don’t have any of my books yet they will be available at all of the locations.
West Virginia Monarch
Butterfly State Festival August 23rd thru
24th.
The tour starts off August
23rd thru 24th at the 2008 West Virginia Monarch Butterfly
State Festival. This will be two days of butterfly fun. There will be a Walk-in
Butterfly pavilions open, Butterfly conservation discussions, Butterfly
gardening, Butterfly World & Butterfly King films, Butterfly host &
nectar plants for sale, live Butterfly kits for sale, unique Butterfly gifts
& novelties for sale (most are hand-made by West Virginian artisans),
caterpillar petting zoo, and a 2008 Monarch King & Queen contest. There will
also be educational games about butterflies and a Butterfly costume parade and
photo contest. If you ever wondered how Monarch butterflies are “tagged” before
migration you learn how to do that also through demonstrations. All these winged
beauties will be accompanied by the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra who will
also be at the Snowshoe Mt. Festival.
The 2008 West Virginia Monarch Butterfly State Festival will run from 4pm Friday August 22nd thru 4pm August 24th For more information please visit their website at
http://www.wvmonarchfestival.
On Saturday September 5th I
wing my way from West Virginia to the ‘Second Annual Butterfly Symposium’ at
Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Any reason to
visit Callaway Gardens and the Day Butterfly Center is a good one but the
Butterfly Symposium makes this a great reason to be there.
At the symposium you can choose four
45-minute sessions during from the 12 speaker topics and 4 field identification
sessions being offered. You will have the opportunity to talk with experts
in their field and take a closer look at some of Georgia’s pollinators while
learning various techniques and tips. You can also get involved in citizen
science projects! You will also have the opportunity to purchase Monarchs Across
Georgia T-shirts and My Monarch Coloring Book illustrated by Claire Howard,
photography by Eagle Eye Images and Nature in focus, The Family Butterfly
Book by Rick Mikula, and field identification guides by David Wagner and
Giff Beaton. Rick Mikula and Claire Howard will be signing their books
during the lunch hour. This will also include admission to Callaway
Gardens that includes the Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center, Day Butterfly
Center, Sibley Horticultural Center, Mr. Cason's Vegetable Garden, Callaway
Brothers Azalea Bowl, Overlook Garden, Discovery Bicycle Trail, Pioneer Log
Cabin, Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel, nature trails and daily programs.
What more could you ask for? For more information concerning this day of
butterfly please visit http://www.monarchsacrossga.
First Annual
Flutterfest Butterfly Festival West Point Georgia.
Sunday September 7th I will have the great privilege of being at the First Annual Flutterfest Butterfly Festival at the Oakhurst Farm in West Point Georgia from 11 am - 5 pm. This is an event that you won't want to miss! The day will be filled with fun for all ages, including educational activities, crafts for children, workshops on butterfly gardening, and interactive demonstrations. Flutterfest is where the fun takes flight in Georgia! There will be live butterfly releases at 1:00 PM & 3:00 PM in the butterfly garden located by the covered bridge. You will have the opportunity to observe and interact with the beautiful delicate butterflies in their natural surroundings. Flutterfest offers you a unique experience that is sure to be memorable. Don't forget your cameras!
Bring your family and friends for a picnic on the lawn or have a seat on the dock by the lakeside and enjoy your lunch. There will be food and drinks for purchase and entertainment for you to enjoy throughout the day. All activities and events are free with the $7 gate admission. In addition you will have the opportunity to shop for unique butterfly gifts, books, and plants. And of course I will be honored if you allow me to autograph any of my books for you. For more information please visit http://oakhurstfarm.org/
From September 19th thru the 21st I will be at Oviedo Butterfly & Nature
Art Show and the Butterfly Encounter at Lukas Nursery near Orlando. This will be
my second time at this festival and I cannot wait to return. The Butterfly
Encounter is a unique atrium that is comprised of room after room of gorgeous
butterflies on the wing. Lukas nursery is the largest nursery in Florida with
the most unbelievable plants for sale. BUT the real secret here is that it is
also one of the best place in Florida to photograph live butterflies. Since they
sell the best butterfly attracting plants in Florida they get a tremendous
amount of butterflies visiting the blooms. I used up an entire 1gig flash card
photographing some of the most beautiful butterflies I ever saw and did not have
to move more than a few yards to do so. All you have to do is stand there and
they will come to you. On Friday the 19th there will be a night light
trap session with none other than Charles Covell. So it will be the perfect
opportunity to have your copy of ‘Moths of Eastern North America
autographed.’ Mr. Covell and I will be doing several autograph sessions through
out the weekend. Whether you like Butterflies, nature art, beautiful plants, fun
filled butterfly presentations or just enjoying a great day out please visit
with us at Butterfly Encounter. For more information please visit http://www.
On September 28th I fly back
to Chestnut Hill Nursery and Garden Center in Brodheadsville PA for a day for
fun and lectures. Autumn is the reason the Pocono Mountains of PA exist. Fall
foliage, crisp mountain air and migrating Monarchs, what more could anyone want.
I will be there all day signing books and teaching everyone how to enjoy
butterflies as a family activity. This will also be my second time at Chestnut
Hill and I look forward to seeing everyone again. To see the times and
scheduled activities planned please visit http://www.chnursery.com/
Costa Rican Convention and Country tour November 3rd through the 14th !
There is not enough bandwidth to explain
how amazing and special Costa Rica is. Beautiful butterflies, amazing flowers,
unbelievable birds, incredible food, and day after day of fantastic field trips,
this convention has it all. The banquet and butterfly auction are always a
highlights of ever convention but this year is especially special because Our
Keynote speaker this year is the very esteemed Phillip DeVries, author of "The
Butterflies of Costa Rica". It is a dream of mine just to meet Mr. DeVries
but to get to actually hang out with him, sell my clothes I went to
heaven.
The schedule of activities include,
visiting volcanoes, hummingbird gardens, coffee plantations, and some of the
best butterfly breeding facilities anywhere. The schedule is too extensive to
write about here so please visit http://www.butterflybreeders.
If you would like to know more about any
of the events please feel free to e-mail me at butrfly@epix.net
Rick Mikula