Marsh Madness 2024
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Friday February 16th, 2024, Kick-off event Linton Elks Club, Linton Indiana
Doors open at 5:00pm Full Buffet Dinner at 6:00pm
Silent and Live Auctions
Saturday, February 17th, 2024, 8:00am - 4:00pm
Roy Clark Building, Humphrey's Park, Linton, Indiana
Marsh Madness 2024 will kick off on Friday, February 16th! Linton Elks: Tickets $30 and include Saturday events.
Saturday February 17th: Roy Clark Building, Humphreys Park; Tickets $5 at the door or bus stop
Schuele will be updated as planning continues.
- Pick up maps for self-guided driving tours (8:00 am to 4:00 pm)
- Day-of tips where bird guides are posted.
- Nature scavenger hunt with prizes
- Amy Kearns Owl Pellet activity 11 am
- Carissa Lovett bat presentation 12 pm
- Snake presentation 1 pm
- Birds of Prey 10 am and 2 pm
- Hoosier Herpetological Society "live reptiles and amphibians on display"
- International Crane Foundation information table
- Hands-on wildlife learning table
- Marsh Madness cool merchandise available
- Wilkes Food Truck on-site for breakfast and lunch (8:00am - 4:00pm)
- Building Squirrel Feeders 10:00 am to 2:00 pm West Shelter House
- First buses leave at 8:30 am Last bus leaves at 3:00 pm
- Owl Pellet activity with Amy Kerns-10:00 Girl Scout Cabin
- Arts and Craft Vendors 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Roy Clark Building, Linton Park: Go to vendors for information.
Saturday February 16th: Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area Visitors Center 9am to 5pm
- Master tracker program
- Intl Whooping Crane Foundation Presentation -12:30 pm
- Hope the Whooping Crane 9:30am and 1:30 pm
- IWF/DNR trail dedication ceremony 10:00 am to 11:00 am
- Nature trail walking tours
- Whooping Crane foundation outreach table
- Inside spotting scopes
- Bus stops on guided wetland tour-2 buses with guided DNR guides
Wildlife Art Exhibition
Carnegie Heritage and Art Center
Featured Artist Bruce Neckar
Reception and brief talk 10:00 am
Refreshments
Art Gallery Exhibit
Kids' origami crane craft activity from ICF
Stream DVD "Story of a Wetland"
Special Hours Saturday, Feb. 16, 2024: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Carnegie Heritage and Art Center
110 East Vincennes St., Linton, Indiana
Bruce Neckar, an American fine artist was born and raised in Noblesville, Indiana.
Neckar was an Honors Graduate, and earned his B.A. from Ball State University
in 1971. While at Ball State, Neckar was a Graduate Teaching Assistant to
Thomas Minkler. Minkler was a well-known artist and printmaker, and served as
the Chair of the Art Department and a Master Printer. Minkler served as an
inspiration and mentor to Neckar.
Neckar is the recipient of multiple local and national awards, including Best
Publication National Design Award from the Kansas Graphic Guild; Special
Contribution to Graphic Design, Indiana Society of Architects; Evansville
Regional Fine Arts Best of Show; Central States Regional Premium Award, Best
Drawing Category; Swope Gallery, National Exhibition, Terre Haute, Indiana,
and many more. He also has had several pieces of work purchased for private
and museum collections, internationally and has been involved in numerous
group, and one-man exhibitions.
For many years, he was the Creative Director, Art Director, and Senior Designer
for a large Mid-western print firm. Neckar has also developed and assisted in
workshops and lectures. He opened the Neckar Gallery in 1980, located in his
hometown, Noblesville, Indiana.
Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, and Jasper Johns are artists that Neckar sights
as influences, but his greatest influence is nature itself, and is most often the
subject of his work--though he does not consider himself to be a "nature artist."
Neckar has a strong affinity for nature conservancy, and belongs to many nature-
oriented organizations. Active in local and national environmental issues, Neckar
also serves as the Artist in Residence for Casting For Recovery Indiana, a
not-for-profit organization devoted to the physical therapy and support of breast
cancer survivors.
A lifelong musician, Neckar is also a founding member of the Poison River Boys,
a bluegrass group that has performed all over central Indiana. He lives in
Noblesville, Indiana, with his wife, Karen, also an artist, along with his dogs.
Goose Pond Visitors Center Exhibits
Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area
13540 W County Road 400 South
8:00am - 4:00pm
Marsh Madness 2024 would not be complete without stopping by the Goose Pond wetlands and our beautiful Visitors Center:
- Visitors Center inside exhibits open
- 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 late February. Events include a kick-off banquet, craft fair, live birds of prey on display, informational and educational presentations, bus tours, self-guided tours, kid's 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.”