American shad were celebrated at the first Brandywine River ShadFest in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday, July 31, 2021. Shad are beginning to see increased attention across the eastern United States as a symbol of healthy rivers. The major impediment to their success is the presence of obstructions, especially dams. This event was promoted as a way to increase awareness of American shad in the Brandywine River and bring attention to the need to remove dams from the area.
The day began at 9:00 AM with the ShadRun 5K race through Brandywine Park. The main part of the event began at 10:00 AM and ran until 3:00 PM with a free lunch at 12:00 PM! We arrived right at 10:00 AM and checked in at the booth, making sure to purchase one of their awesome t-shirts!
There was a wide variety of activities for children and adults, including live music by the Diligents. The most exciting activities for my kids were the Kids Fishing Lessons, Seining Demonstration, Fish Printing, and Shad Obstacle Course. The other booths were also great, including face painting, stream bug storytellers, and the interactive watershed model.
Our first stop was at the stream bug storytellers put on by Stroud Water Research Center. The kids were excited to see all of the small “bugs” that were collected from the river that morning and learn about their life histories.
Our next stop was at the fish printing station. Kids were provided models, paint, and free t-shirts to make their own, customized souvenir from the event! Fish printing is also known as gyotaku, the traditional Japanese art of applying ink to a fish to create a visual record.
Next we visited several educational booths to learn more about the watershed and species that inhabit it. The were some surprised looks when my 5-year-old was able to identify all of the fish during one quiz. He really made me proud!
The obstacle course was the favorite activity of the day! With 5 different stations each representing a part of the American shad life history, there were plenty of challenges for the kids who attempted it. And every child the completed the course received a prize – either a popsicle or a bag of goldfish crackers!
We reserved a fishing lesson slot for 11:00 AM. Each instructor worked with one child, helping to bait the hook, cast, and demonstrate the proper technique to reel (and help untangle as kids sent lines over eachother). We decided this was a little too ambitious for the two-year-old to try, so we took him around to a few more booths.
After enjoying the included lunch of hot dogs or hamburgers, potato chips, and watermelon we went to a few more booths before make our way out of the park. It was a hot day and the kids got tired after having so much fun in the sun.
Despite being pulled together with short notice, in my opinion the Brandywine River 2021 ShadFest was a smashing success! It brought together educational materials and activities in a way that the whole family could enjoy and learn something. I’ve attended other events in the past that promised to be conservation-oriented gatherings to learn about local ecosystems, only to arrive and find them to be cash grabs with no educational value. The disappointment when you only see booths selling overpriced nick-knacks and candles without even pretending to be aligned with the stated goals of the event is crushing. You won’t find that at ShadFest.
This free event was made possible by a large group of sponsors: Brandywine Conservancy, Delaware Nature Society, University of Delaware Water Resources Center, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Sea Grant Delaware, Brandywine Shad 2020, Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife, Stroud Water Research Center, The Nature Conservancy, Brandywine Red Clay Alliance, Upstream Alliance and the Urban Water Federal Partnership.
