Celebrate darters, bikes and sunshine at the Darter Festival

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Darter Festival Birmingham Alabama
The Nature Conservancy in Alabama’s Jacqueline Gray Miller will be joining nature (and darter) and bike enthusiasts at the Darter Festival, Sunday April 9th at MAKEbhm

Gotta bike? Yes
Perfect springtime weather? Check.
Love Darters? Of course!

Tomorrow, April 9th, our friends at Birmingham Southern College’s Southern Environmental Center are holding their annual Darter Festival at MAKEbhm in Avondale.  This year, they are doing something unusual for Birmingham.

They are offering a  bicycle valet service to benefit Bici Coop.

17632175 10104665665326151 546320451895867666 o Celebrate darters, bikes and sunshine at the Darter Festival
The annual Darter Festival kicks off on Sunday, April 9th, 2pm to 6pm at MAKEbhm

From the Southern Environmental Center’s Roald Hazelhoff:

“Besides great food, craft beer and live music, this year’s Darter festival will also offer a VIP bicycle parking option for those folks wanting to leave their car at home. Proceeds will support Bici Coop’s bike maintenance programs in the Birmingham area.

According to Bici Coop website, – “the Bici Bicycle Cooperative is a community bike shop in the “Dirty south.” Our goal is to create easy and equal access to cycling by providing affordable bicycle maintenance, services, and education, and being a forum for shared bicycle knowledge, activism, and community.”

Along with the special bicycle valet service, the Darter Festival is a family friendly, festive way to support the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve, home to the vermilion darter, a small fish that is only found in the Turkey Creek.

Vermilion darter Birmingham Alabama
Vermilion Darter, one of the rarest darters in the world can only be found in Jefferson County’s Turkey Creek

Good People Brewing Company is also providing it’s specially brewed batch of Darter Ale  and there will be live music by Future Primitives and Dead Fingers.

So, think about leaving the car at home on Sunday. Ride your bike, “raise a glass” and toast the vermilion darter and Turkey Creek and support two good causes – darters and bikes.

 

 

Pat Byington
Pat Byington

Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.

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