Audubon Nebraska will hold its 2017 crane festival on March 16-19 in Kearney. The highlight is the largest concentration of Sandhill Cranes in the world. Over 500,000 cranes plus millions of snow geese and other waterfowl stop over in central Nebraska each spring.

For information on viewing the sandhill crane migration, call Audubon's Rowe Sanctuary, (308) 468-5282. See the festival's website for details on speakers and activities as they become available.

One of the nation’s longest-running wildlife festivals, ANCF began in 1971 in Grand Island as the “Spring River Conference” to raise awareness for the Platte River and its importance to the spring bird migration. It was geared for advocacy at the time and resulted in the formation of the Big Bend Audubon Society. The festival moved to Kearney when Rowe Sanctuary was purchased in 1974. Current festivals focus on wildlife and environment education in general, with family-friendly activities and famous field trips to crane blinds along the Platte River and bird migration stopovers in central and southern Nebraska. Roger Tory Peterson, Julie Zickefoose, Bruce Babbitt, and Jane Goodall are some of the well-known attendees from past celebrations.