Marsh Madness Festival 2024
Next year's festival will be Friday Feb. 16th at the Linton Elks Club and Saturday, Feb. 17th , 2024 at Humphreys Park and Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area. Thanks for your participation!
Friends of Goose Pond is proud to present the 15th 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. 16, 2024. Doors open at 5pm. Dinner buffet, silent and live auction.
- Saturday February 17, 2024, Roy Clark Building, Humphreys Park. 9am to 4pm.
- Saturday February 17, 2024, Goose Pond Fish and Wildlife Area Visitors Center 9am to 5pm.
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.”