The 2nd annual Mountain Monarch Festival will celebrate the monarch butterfly during its migration and bring attention to the species’ declining numbers. Gorges State Park lies along the monarch’s migratory route. The butterflies can be seen in late September each year flying over the park’s visitor center on their way south to the high-elevation fir forests of Mexico’s Neovolcanic Mountains, where they overwinter until early spring. The festival will offer educational programs and exhibits featuring the monarch butterfly, including monarch-themed children’s crafts, live music, a food truck, a festive photo board, local art for sale and a Monarch Migration Passport to lead families through monarch-themed activities. Monarch butterflies have two sets of deep orange and black wings and a wingspan of three to four inches. The migratory subspecies of the monarch was recently added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “red list” of the most threatened species on Earth and is now listed as endangered. Those who wish to help monarchs return to healthy population levels can plant locally native milkweed and nectar flowers in their yards and support efforts to reduce pesticide use. The Mountain Monarch Festival is sponsored by Friends of Gorges State Park and organized in partnership with Monarch Watch, N.C. Cooperative Extension Service, and N.C. Department of Commerce. Admission, music, and programs at the festival will be free. The park requests that those who plan to attend register by clicking here. The festival will be held rain or... Read More