I found the coolest festival not far from us on Saturday! It was called Pollinators Festival and it took place at Gorman Nature Center near Mansfield, Ohio. Our population of pollinators (butterflies, bees, etc) is dwindling and they need us to help provide the kind of environment they require to flourish. Fran LeMasters, The Butterfly Lady, was there with her live butterfly exhibit and it was so awesome to see! You could walk inside the enclosure and see butterflies up close and personal! And even offer them a drink of watermelon juice from the end of a Q-tip.

Here’s a bunch of butterflies hanging out up on the “ceiling”.

And here’s a beautiful large Swallowtail butterfly. (Sorry, but I forget which kind of swallowtail she said it is.)

There were Native Plants for sale…native to Ohio which are the plants our pollinators need. (I limited myself to buying only 8. Haha!) There are plants that are native to each state and you can find the information about your state online. Google is a great place to start looking.

It was a wonderful warm summer day and I enjoyed just walking around looking for pollinators among the flowers that are growing at the center. Can you spot the Tiger Swallowtail butterfly?

The highlight of the festival for me was buying a few Monarch Butterfly chrysalis so we can watch them hatch into a beautiful Monarch Butterflies one day soon!

I’m glad to say they came with instructions!

So the excitement is building! Today the chrysalis looks a little lighter shade of green in some places and I can begin to see the shape of a wing inside.

I will post the progression as the chrysalis changes and the butterfly emerges. If you get the chance to take your kids to a butterfly exhibit, DO IT! I saw a lot of excited kids AND adults enjoying themselves learning about the life cycle of butterflies. I will post more about the Monarch butterfly’s plight soon and will be asking for your help to save them!