2026 Boomin’ and Bloomin’ Festival

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Volunteers are needed for a booth at the annual Boomin’ and Bloomin’ Festival at Attwater Prairie Chicken National Reserve in Eagle Lake (Colorado County). Contact Ken English if you wish to sign up for a shift. The festival is from 7:00AM to 2:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Why so early, you ask? It’s the best time for birders to spy a booming Attwater Prairie Chicken! Folks from around the world come to see the birds do their wild mating dance.

The Booming N Blooming Festival at the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Eagle Lake offers the chance to observe the unusual courtship ritual of Attwater’s prairie chickens in their native coastal prairie habitat. Held April 11-12, the event includes viewing tours to see the endangered ground-dwelling birds on their “booming grounds,” where the males inflate their bright yellow air sacs, hold their tails erect, stomp their feet, and charge at competitors. Birding tours, native plant tours, biologist presentations, and a children’s art contest round out the weekend.