STANWOOD — Annual February festivities are back with new locations to explore during the Great Northwest Glass Quest and new tours and talks for bird enthusiasts during the Port Susan Snow Goose Festival.
The glass quest starts Friday and continues until Feb. 21. During the 10-day quest, plastic clue balls are hidden at businesses and parks around Stanwood and Camano Island. Anyone who finds a clue ball can trade it in for a handblown glass float created by local artists Mark Ellinger and his son, Marcus.
It’s the seventh annual glass quest and about 45 businesses are participating this year, coordinator Gayle Picken said. Some hide clue balls at their businesses and others sponsor them at local parks. Real estate companies can hide the balls in open houses they host during the 10-day quest.
“That is the nice thing about the quest is each business has its own spin to put on it,” Picken said.
Several new locations have been added to this year’s guidebook, which is available online at thegreatnwglassquest.com or at participating local businesses.
Church Creek, Lake Goodwin and Wenberg parks are new this year, as are two recently opened businesses in Stanwood: Gather Market and Salt and Thistle.
Also new this year is an interactive online map that can direct people to the nearest glass quest location from their tablet or smartphone. That can be found at explorecamanoisland.com.
Clue balls are replenished throughout each day of the glass quest so people have a fair chance no matter when they go questing, Picken said. There are more than 325 custom glass floats to win.
“We just encourage everyone to explore somewhere new, a new park or new business,” Picken said. “Just go in with the mindset that this is an adventure and be ready to explore.”
A week after the end of the glass quest, the Port Susan Snow Goose Festival begins. The festival, which is Feb. 27 and 28, has new attractions and returning favorites in store for its 11th year.
A new bus tour of Camano Island bird watching spots is planned, with a guide offering advice on the best times to see birds at Cama Beach State Park, English Boom and Iverson Spit, among other locations. Cama Beach also is hosting some activities this year related to the festival, said Laura Byers, a volunteer planner for the event.
Vasiliy Baranyuk is back to speak this year about his studies on the behaviors and migrations of snow geese. That’s always a well-attended talk, Byers said. Other popular presentations include one about swans, shorebird identification and wildlife photography. Sarvey Wildlife Center also is scheduled to be there with birds of prey for people to see up close.
The glass quest gets a short revival this year during the Snow Goose Festival, when clue balls will be hidden at the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center both days of the event. The Floyd, at 27130 102nd Ave NW, is the headquarters for the festival. People can pick up maps there for self-guided bird tours.
“People come from all over the country to bird in our back yard,” Byers said. “So if people want to understand the attraction, this is a chance to learn more about it.”
Organizers ask that visitors be respectful of private property when they are bird watching or taking photographs. Flocks of snow geese often gather on farmers’ fields and people shouldn’t pull over on the side of narrow roads, park on private drives or trespass in the fields to see them.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
