Hummingbird
With many flowering plants starting to bloom this time of year, a tiny, beautiful flying wonder can make its appearance.
The ever-captivating hummingbird, with its unique ability to hover and fly like a helicopter, along with their iridescent, brightly colored plumage, is a natural marvel.
With the appropriate garden habitat and landscaping, you too can enjoy these tiny creations in your own backyard.
Stop by the Hummingbird Festival at Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City on Saturday to learn tips and ways to attract hummingbirds to your yard and create your own hummingbird sanctuary.
Jessica Budin, office manager for the Pioneer Florida Museum, said they started the event because they wanted to celebrate spring and inform visitors about Florida wildlife and what they can do to help preserve it.
Attendees will have an opportunity to hear at least five educational lectures during the festival about using native plants in your landscaping to attract butterflies, wildlife and of course, hummingbirds.
Visitors are also free to explore the museum’s own flowering hummingbird and butterfly gardens, along with their outdoor classroom kitchen garden.
Traditional crafters will present chair caning and basket weaving demonstrations during the festival. And you can learn how to construct your own bluebird nesting boxes.
The museum’s historic buildings and village will be open during the festival for visitors to check out, Budin said.
The museum grounds includes the “Old Lacoochee School,” a one-room schoolhouse; the John Overstreet House, a typical pioneer farmhouse built in the mid-1860s; the Trilby Depot, a train depot building built in 1896 and its 1913 35-ton Porter steam train engine; the “Enterprise Church” built in 1878 where weddings are still performed to this day; the C.C. Smith General Store, built in the 1920s; and the Mabel Jordan Barn, with its collection of early farm equipment, vintage buggies and carriages.
The Hummingbird Festival will be held Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the grounds of the Florida Pioneer Museum, located at 15602 Pioneer Museum Road, Dade City, just 1 mile north of downtown Dade City, off U.S. Highway 301.
The event includes live music, food and vendors selling plants to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, along with several craft vendors.
Admission fees to the festival are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors, $4 for students and free for children under age 5.
For more information, contact the Pioneer Florida Museum at (352) 567-0262 or visit www.pioneerfloridamuseum.org.
