Marsh Madness Festival 2026
Next year's festival will be held February 20th-21st, 2026 at the Linton Elks Club, Humphreys Park, and Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. We'll see you there! Saturday only $5, all kids free. Both days $30, the 2-day ticket can be purchased on this site in the shop. Saturday only tickets can only be purchased at the event.
Friends of Goose Pond is proud to present the 16th Marsh Madness Sandhill Crane Festival, celebrating the spring migration of sandhill cranes, whooping cranes, and numerous waterfowl to the Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area, a 9000-acre wetland complex south of Linton, Indiana.
Marsh Madness features a variety of cultural, educational, and wildlife conservation-oriented experiences. There’s something for everyone: migrating cranes and waterfowl, wetland driving tours, educational exhibits at the Goose Pond Visitors Center, wildlife art display, and family and kid’s nature activities.
- Festival Kickoff Linton Elks Club, Linton, IN, on Feb. 14, 2025. Doors open at 5pm. Dinner buffet, silent and live auction.
- Saturday February 15, 2025, Roy Clark Building, Humphreys Park. 9am to 4pm.
- Saturday February 15, 2025, Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area Visitors Center 8:30 am to 4 pm.
2025 Fundraising Update from Kalli Dunn, Property Manager, Indiana DNR
Grasslands and pollinator plantings are essential habitats for Indiana’s wildlife. Each year, staff across the Indiana Division of Fish and Wildlife and at Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area focus on restoring, establishing, and maintaining grasslands and wildlife plantings to provide habitat for wildlife. Pollinator plantings are essential to supporting migrating songbirds and insects such as monarch butterflies in the summer. Other wildlife plantings include clover, wheat, and sorghum. These provide essential cover and winter food supply for a variety of wildlife including birds, quail, turkeys, and more. Fundraising efforts at this year’s marsh madness will go towards purchase of seed for these plantings.
The acquisition of Busseron Creek Fish and Wildlife area is a once in a generation acquisition completed by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Nearly 4000 acres of intact wildlife habitat acquired all at once is almost an impossibility for the DNR and this was made possible through partnership with the Conservation Fund and several other organizations. The acquisition is the second largest ever made by the DNR.
Busseron Creek contains a portion of the old Minnehaha Fish and Wildlife Area which was lost by the Department in 2016 when the landowner did not renew our lease and the property was closed. Minnehaha had been operated for 30 years as a Fish and Wildlife Area and remains a significant part of local history. People are very excited about this acquisition and the now permanent protection of this wildlife habitat. Fundraising at this year’s Marsh Madness will go towards preparing this property to open later this spring.
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.”