- 27th annual Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival
- $1,000,000 event for the Port Aransas Tourism Bureau
- People traveled from all across the country for this annual festival
The 27th annual Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival is held from Feb. 22 to 25 in Port Aransas, TX.
People travel from all across the country and from Canada to attend this annual event.
Whooping Cranes are an endangered species, and about 550 of the remaining Whooping Cranes migrate down to South Texas for the winter—That's why the annual festival is held in Port Aransas.
"We work all around the world with all fifteen crane species to save those species, as well as protecting the habitats that they depend on and working with the communities that they live among," Irvin Louque with the International Crane Foundation said.
The reach of the annual Whooping Crane Festival is huge in the city of Port Aransas.
“It comes at a perfect time, right? February is a light month for us in tourism. The weather can be good or bad. We’ve lucked out this year to have tremendous weather, and we’re also having record-breaking crowds," Brett Stawar, President and CEO of the Port Aransas Tourism Bureau said. "So you’ve got a couple thousand folks actually purchasing tickets, and they’re staying here for several nights. You know, so it’s easily a $1,000,000 economic impact on our community.”
People traveled from Wyoming, New Mexico, Missouri, Minnesota, and even Canada for the festival.
“The Whooping Cranes are the rarest birds in North America. They’re very large, and they’re just so spectacular, and it’s been just such a blessing to have them here," Lee Ann Stephenson from Riverside, Wyoming, said.
This year is Lee Ann's 12th year traveling from Wyoming just to volunteer at the festival. Many people are dedicated to conserving the Whooping Crane species.
“They are still endangered, but the population is growing and continuing to grow," Irvin Louque said.
A full list of this weekend's Whooping Crane festivities can be found here.
The Port Aransas Tourism Bureau will start planning for next year's festival right after this year's event is over.
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