PRESS RELEASE
CONTACT: Becky Brashear, CFE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2002

Butterflies return to spotlight in special fair exhibit !

Frederick, MD—Butterflies play an important role in our environment as pollinators. Visitors to the 141st Great Frederick Fair can once again experience the beauty, grace and enchantment in the life of the Monarch butterfly. The fair runs Sept. 12-20, 2003.

The national award-winning Butterfly House exhibit will be open in the Farm and Garden Building, Building 14A, Saturday through Saturday, Sept. 13-20. Visitors will see Monarch butterflies emerging and stretching their wings for the first time, as well as learn how caterpillars and butterflies live, what they eat and how they contribute to our environment.

Visitors can be part of the endangered species’ tracking program when monarchs will be tagged and released before the annual migration to Mexico. Hands-on tagging and release demonstrations will take place each day at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. as weather permits beginning Sunday, Sept. 14 through Saturday, Sept. 20.

This educational exhibit was developed for the fair and is hosted by local butterfly gardening authorities Jim and Teresa Gallion of Wildlife Gardening Adventures in Walkersville, MD.

The screened and Plexiglas exhibit is a "must see" and includes hands-on educational opportunities such as life cycle, milkweed, nectar, tagging, release and migration. Literature will be available for a wide variety of topics on butterflies and butterfly gardening, tagging, environmental issues and habitat.

There will also be multi-media opportunities, including a computer station with Monarch butterfly information and a video presentation on the migration. The Gallions and other knowledgeable experts will be on hand to answer questions and interact with visitors during their visit. The exhibit will also feature plant materials donated by Tammy’s Garden in Walkersville, MD.

The Butterfly House, an extension of the fair’s nationally recognized City Street, Country Roads Agriculture Education Awareness Exhibit, is designed to educate the public on traditional and non-traditional agriculture.