Grand Coulee Dam Area Balde Eagle Festival

The annual Balde Eagle Festival will take place again in February, even though the main sponsoring
organization officially backed off last year.

The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerc board decided last year the festival, although
acclaimed educationally, wasn’t successful enough at stirring up local commerce. Originally
intended to be a three-year experiment, the festival lost chamber backing after its seventh year.

But the educational components of the festival will live on, thanks to urging of educators and the
willingness of a local National Park Service employee to coordinate the schools that show up for
several high-quality educational activities.

Janice Elvidge, an education specialist with the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, said Monday
the shows will go on, program presenters are lined up and schools are signing up to come.

Elvidge said she needs a few volunteers to help at the several sites where programs are presented to the
fourth through eighth graders that typically come from several schools in the region.

She said sponors would also be welcome to help with expenses she estimates will come to less than $1,000.

Elvidge can be contacted at her NPS office at 633-9188, extension 12, or through email at Janice_Elvidge@nps.gov

<== Return to Balde Eagle Fesitival Home Page.

Eagle festival will stick to education