Great Lakes Bat Festival

The Great Lakes Bat Festival was an annual two-day event that started in 2002 and began in the Great Lakes region.[1] The festival later expanded to different state divisions, which included the Illinois Bat Festival,[2] the Indiana State University Bat Festival,[3][4][5] the Minnesota Bat Festival,[6] and the Wisconsin Bat Festival.[3] It was founded and organized by the Organization for Bat Conservation until the organization's dissolution in 2018.

Great Lakes Bat Festival
GenreFestival
FrequencyAnnually in September or October
Location(s)Great Lakes region
Years active21–22
Inaugurated2002 (2002)
FounderOrganization for Bat Conservation
AttendanceEst. 2,000-3,000
Executive DirectorRob Mies
SponsorCritter Catchers

The goals of the Great Lakes Bat Festival were to highlight the diversity of life on earth, educate people on bats and explain the need for conservation.[7] The festival included live bat programs presented by the Organization for Bat Conservation, featuring bats from around the world.[8]

Evening events included demonstrations from bat researchers on various research techniques, such as radio-tagging and/or light-tagging.[9]

Locations

The festival was held at the Cranbrook Institute of Science Bat Zone in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan,[10] at the Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation in Terre Haute, Indiana,[11] at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,[12] and at Iron Mountain, Michigan near Millie Hill Mine.[13][14]

No. Year Venue Location Ref
1 2002 Millie Hill bat cave Iron Mountain, Michigan [15]
2 2003 Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills, Michigan [16]
3 2004 Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills, Michigan [17]
4 2005 Iron Mountain, Michigan [18]
5 2006
6 2007 Indiana State University Terre Haute, Indiana [19]
7 2008
8 2009 Milwaukee Zoo Milwaukee, Wisconsin [20]
9 2010 Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills, Michigan [21]
10 2011 Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills, Michigan [22][23][24]
11 2012 Southfield Civic Center Arena Southfield, Michigan [25]
12 2013 Southfield Pavilion Southfield, Michigan [26][27]
13 2014 Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum Ann Arbor, Michigan [28]
14 2015 Cranbrook Institute of Science Bloomfield Hills, Michigan [29][3]
15 2016 Macomb Intermediate School District Clinton Township, Michigan [30][31]
16 2017 Michigan Science Center Detroit, Michigan [32]
17 2018 Potter Park Zoo Lansing, Michigan [33]
18 2019 Belle Isle Nature Center (Detroit Zoo) Detroit, Michigan [34][35]

Dissolution

The Great Lakes Bat Festival was dissolved in 2018 due to its organizer, Organization for Bat Conservation, ceasing operations. This was because of the termination of its co-founder, Rob Mies, as well as financial issues.[36]

Notable speakers and guests

References
  1. "Organization for Bat Conservation". Bat Conservation Journal (Spring 2008).
  2. Kording, Nan (2017-07-06). "Batty for bats". Illinois Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  3. Linn, Morgan (2016-09-29). "Great Lakes festival crowd goes batty over bats | Great Lakes Echo". greatlakesecho.org. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  4. Price, Will (2022-09-17). "Bat Festival makes return to Indiana State". MyWabashValley.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  5. "ISUBatCenter | College of Arts and Sciences". www.indstate.edu. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  6. Blanchette, Aimee (2017-08-10). "Minnesota's first bat festival aims to prove that these flying critters aren't so creepy". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  7. Hoffmaster, Eric; Vonk, Jennifer; Mies, Rob (2016-01-15). "Education to Action: Improving Public Perception of Bats". Animals. 6 (1): 6. doi:10.3390/ani6010006. ISSN 2076-2615. PMC 4730123. PMID 26784239.
  8. "Want a Dream Pet? Join Pets 'n' Friends Today!". Pets 'n' Friends. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  9. "Bat Week Highlights with Amy Wray – Gratton Lab". gratton.entomology.wisc.edu. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  10. Cranbrook Institute of Science, www.PureMichigan.org/Things-to-Do/Events "Great Lakes Bat Festival at Cranbrook Institute of Science."
  11. "Great Lakes Bat Festival To Take Place at ISU in August". Indiana State University - ISU Newsroom. 2007-05-21.
  12. "8th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival Flying Into The Milwaukee County Zoo". Archived from the original on 2009-08-13. Retrieved 2018-11-12.
  13. Morscheck, Richard (2005-07-25). "E-M:/Fourth Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival". Enviro-Mich.
  14. "Thousands Gather for 2005 Bat Festivals". The Spotting Scope. 11 (1). Fall 2005 – via Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
  15. "Bats get a wingding". News-Press. 2002-04-04. p. 6.
  16. "Future Meetings and Events" (PDF). Bat Research News. 44 (1): 81. 2003.
  17. "Future Meetings and Events" (PDF). Bat Research News. 45 (1): 84. 2004.
  18. Blake, Erica (2005-08-07). "Holy bat conservation!". The Blade. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  19. "Bat Conservation Efforts | Critter Catchers, Inc". www.crittercatchersinc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  20. Zoological Society of Milwaukee (2013-07-26). "September/October 2009 Wild Things". issuu.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  21. "Critter Catchers winging way into Great Lakes Bat Festival". www.crittercatchersinc.com. 2010-02-15. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  22. "Cranbrook Institute of Science's 10th annual Great Lakes Bat Festival features 12 species of bats". Mayuri Munot's ePortfolio. 2011-07-03. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  23. "Critter Catchers at Great Lakes Bat Festival". www.crittercatchersinc.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  24. "Great Lakes Bat Festival returns to Mich. museum". The Victoria Advocate. 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  25. "OBC'S Annual Bat Festival". One Brick. 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  26. Proxmire, Crystal (2013-10-02). "Bat Festival Brings Fun & Learning to Southfield (video)". Oakland County Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  27. Proxmire, Crystal (2013-09-21). "Annual Bat Festival at Southfield Pavillion Sept. 28". Oakland County Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  28. DeVito, Lee (2014-09-26). "13th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival comes to Ann Arbor". Detroit Metro Times. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  29. Dunn, Patrick (2015-09-24). "Bat festival studies a species that used to be uncool". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  30. "15th annual Great Lakes Bat Festival Sept. 17". FOX 2 Detroit. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  31. Devlin, Eamon (2016-07-07). "Conservation in the bat zone | Great Lakes Echo". greatlakesecho.org. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  32. Brennan, Mike (2017-09-08). "Michigan Science Center Offers Great Lakes Bat Festival Sept. 23". MITechNews. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  33. "Great Lakes Bat Festival – Bat Association of MSU". 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  34. "Great Lakes Bat Festival". Belle Isle Nature Center. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  35. "Great Lakes Bat Festival Comes to the Belle Isle Nature Center October 5". Detroit Zoo. 2019-09-26. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  36. Abdel-Baqui, Omar. "Popular Bat Zone faces shutdown after co-founder terminated". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
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