Waterfowl Festival brings thousands to Easton

EASTON, Md. – On Sunday, thousands of people celebrated all things waterfowl at the annual Waterfowl Festival in Easton.

“Everybody walking around is excited,” said the President of the Waterfowl Festival, Kevin Greaney.

“They feel like it’s a festival among the people, the crowds are huge, so it’s really a community event,” said Greaney.

The festival is a chance for people to dive deeper in the rich history of waterfowl hunting on the shore.

“That was a way of life,” said the Carving Exhibit Chairman, Bruce Perry, “The hunting, the fishing, the crabbing, all of that, and that’s how a lot of people made their living.”

“A lot of that way of life is still going on not in the magnitude that it used to,” said Perry.

Organizations across Delmarva came out to the event with hopes to raise awareness about the huge impact waterfowl has on people including veterans.

“Particularly with waterfowl, it’s sort of like a comradery thing,” said Nick Cahall at the Fallen Outdoors Team Delaware, “It’s kind of about being a brotherhood or sisterhood if we have sister veterans that join us.”

“They talk about things that maybe they wouldn’t talk about with family or friends that are outside of the veteran community,” said Cahall.

But, ultimately, the festival is a chance to give back through conversation efforts across the Chesapeake region.

“So people I think, feel good about coming, buying a ticket, buying food, going to the different venues, but knowing that it’s going to a good cause,” said Greaney.

Organizers say this event has generated more than six and a half million dollars for different conservation efforts across the shore.

They say this event would not have been possible without the help of hundreds of volunteers.