Marsh Madness 2023 Schedule
Learn more about our Festival Kickoff Activities and other Festival Exhibitions, below:
Marsh Madness Kickoff, Details coming
Friday February 24th Kick-off to be announced.
Saturday, February 25th, 2023, 8:00am - 4:00pm
Roy Clark Building, Humphrey's Park, Linton, Indiana
Marsh Madness 2023 will kick off on Friday, February 24th! Details will follow.
Saturday February 25th: Roy Clark Building, Humphreys Park
- Pick up maps for self-guided driving tours (7:30am - 7:00pm)
- Day-of tips where bird guides are posted
- Nature scavenger hunt with prizes
- Birds of Prey 11:00 presentation and 2:00 presentation
- "Wonderful Whooping Cranes of Indiana" presented by the International Crane Foundation
- Hands-on nature learning table
- Marsh Madness cool merchandise available
- Wilkes Food Truck on-site for breakfast and lunch (8:00am - 4:00pm)
Wildlife Art Exhibition
Updates coming for 2023!
Featured Artist Carol Kiser
Special Hours Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Carnegie Heritage and Art Center
110 East Vincennes St., Linton, Indiana
Originally from Shelbyville Indiana, I was born and raised amid cornfield, pastures, and tadpole laden ponds, inspired by summers filled with towering thunderheads, lightning bugs, and the beauty and mystery of the cycle of life. Greene County Indiana has always spoken to me, and I am glad I have made it my home. The natural beauty and richness of wildlife in this area, has inspired my artistic creations.
Nature, biology, animals as well as classic illustrators and painters from the mid 1800’s to the 1930’s are the muses that drive me. I have been a photographer/artist for over 40 years with disciplines in photojournalism for the Shelbyville News as a stringer then later full time in the late 90’s to 2004. I’ve also been a biomedical photographer at Indiana University Department of Anatomy, IU School of Medicine and Medical Media Methodist Hospital Indianapolis IN. Gaining my BFA from Herron school of Art and Design in 1979, I studied painting, printmaking and photography. I later branched out into the digital and graphic design world in 2000 at Ivy Tech State College.
Photography in the digital age provides new avenues to express one’s vision. An unknown digital artist summed it up rather succinctly: “A computer is to art what a typewriter is to a poem.” While most of my work has little or no manipulation other than what can be done in the conventional darkrooms of yesterday, I do re-imagine some of my photos as paintings. I may add a few layers and digitally paint in some more color or enhance clouds to make a scene as a painter might envision, or I may incorporate elements to create whole new worlds.
Carol Chueden Kiser
Artist/ Photographer
1898 E. Scotland Rd.
Bloomfield IN 47424
cjphotog@bluemarble.net
812-233-7244
www.sbii.zenfolio.com
Facebook: Stone Branch Images
Goose Pond Visitors Center New Exhibits
Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area
13540 W County Road 400 South
8:00am - 4:00pm
Marsh Madness 2023 would not be complete without stopping by the Goose Pond wetlands and our beautiful Visitors Center:
- Visitors Center inside exhibits open
- New aerial flyway and wetland functions displays
- Naturalists on hand to answer questions
- Enjoy beautiful panoramic views from the highest elevation in Goose Pond!
About The Marsh Madness Festival
The Marsh Madness Sandhill Crane Festival is a community-based event timed to coincide with the peak Sandhill Crane and waterfowl migration at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area in Greene County, Indiana. Festival headquarters are at Humphrey’s Park in the nearby city of Linton. The Festival takes place in early March. Events include a kick-off banquet, craft fair, live birds of prey on display, informational and educational presentations, bus tours, self-guided tours, kids activities, and much more.
The 2010 inaugural Festival was a huge success and provided a solid foundation for the future growth of the crane celebration. The Festival is put on by the Friends of Goose Pond in partnership with Goose Pond FWA and with the help of many civic organizations and businesses from Greene County and beyond. Numerous conservation organizations also contribute help.
The Festival vision statement from early grant applications reads: “Marsh Madness will be a destination for visitors from across the Midwest by celebrating the County’s richly abundant and inherently beautiful natural areas, the centerpiece of which will be the spring migration of waterfowl and cranes to Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. Interpretive programs and educational materials and artistic displays will inspire Festival goers while instilling in them a strong conservation ethic.”