13th Annual Mare Faire and Fennel Festival - MARE ISLAND PRESERVE, AUG 13-15

Contact: Myrna Hayes, President/Executive Director,
Mare Island Heritage Trust & former Volunteer Preserve Manager
CELL PH: (707) 249-9633
EMail: myrnahayes@mac.com

13th Annual Mare Faire and Fennel Festival
Free public event offers guided outings, tours and gatherings
[Edited to fit.]
[VALLEJO], CA – Friday, August 13, Saturday, August 14 and Sunday, August 15, 2021 the 13th Annual Mare Faire and Fennel Festival will take place at the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve and other locations throughout Mare Island in Vallejo. No cost or preregistration required to attend the guided walks and tours and other activities. The free event features guided hikes, tours, historic walk and talks, ...

To kickoff the three day event, Fairfield resident Bill George, considered the “unofficial photographer of the Mare Island Preserve”, will guide a photography walk in the Preserve Friday morning, August 13, from 8:30am-10:00am.

Another Friday morning outing will be guided by Myrna Hayes, co-founder of the Mare Island Preserve, and its manager for more than a dozen years. Ms. Hayes will lead an exploration of fennel forests and explain their unique role in providing food and forage for native insects and domestic bees and migrating songbirds. She will meet interested public Friday, August 13 at 10:30am at the Mare Island Preserve “Gate Park”, a shady spot in the road, just before the main gate of the Preserve located at Correa Ct. and Azuar Dr.

A listing of links to Facebook Live programs given at the February 2021 Virtual San Francisco Bay Flyway Festival is provided in the Schedule of Outings and Activities.

A guided birdwatching outing in the Mare Island Preserve will be given Saturday morning, August 14, 9:30am-11am by Wally NeVille, field guide from the local Napa-Solano Audubon Society.

One of the most exciting offerrings of the weekend will be a Bug Bioblitz conducted by local Vallejo resident and Entomologist, Marcus Griswold and his team of fellow “bug” enthusiasts and experts. The public will be guided in the field how and where to look for bugs and taught how to use the App, INaturalist.org in documenting the specimens found throughout the Island.

From 12noon to 4:00pm on Saturday, Aug 14 and 12noon-3:00pm on Sunday, Aug 15, a sampling of fruits and vegetables dusted with fennel and dill pollens and blends, will be available to the public at the Mare Island Preserve “Gate Park” outside the Preserve entrance gate. The only two agricultural pollens that have flavor, are used in cooking, cheesemaking and other culinary purposes, as well as health and wellness as teas and other remedies.

A gathering is scheduled Saturday evening August 14, from 6:00-9:00pm at the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve Entrance Gate Park, Correa Ct at Azuar Dr. on Mare Island in Vallejo. There will be a small BBQ for individuals to prepare their own food on. Cold refreshments will be offered for a requested donation.

It is likely that osprey will still be in the area and soar and call overhead the small park area outside the gates of the Preserve. Park Users and Osprey enthusiasts have taken to parking and gathering outside the Preserve gate due to the 5:00pm closure of the main Preserve by the City of Vallejo public works department. Osprey and other wildlife take advantage of the “hunting hour” till dusk.

Tours on Mare Island include the opportunity to visit the last remaining WWII Landing Craft Gunboat (LCS-102) berthed at Berth 6 at the corner of A St. and Nimitz Ave. It is open for tours Saturday, Aug 14, 9:30am-3:30pm. Donations are appreciated.

Saturday and Sunday, 9:00am-12noon the public is invited to visit the Vallejo People’s Garden, behind 1055 Azuar Dr. at the corner of Oscar St. for demonstrations and informal tours.

...

Visit the Mare Island Shoreline Heritage Preserve Facebook page for a detailed schedule. Dogs are allowed in the Mare Island Preserve on leash.