Central Illinois Bat Festival

Join us at the third annual Central Illinois Bat Festival — a free two-part celebration of bats, bugs, and science! This year, we’re celebrating backyard bugs and bats!

Kicking off at 1pm at Anita Purves Nature Center, explore vendor booths, food trucks, kids art activities, face painting, and thrilling talks from top bat experts. Then, flap over to Crystal Lake Park at 5:30 kick things off with our costume contest of epic proportions for all ages. And when the sun sets, witness a live demonstration of bats’ echolocation, on a live bat acoustic walk to hear and see real bats hunting for bugs under the stars!

Expert Talks

• 1:30pm How to Help Bats in your own Backyard with Brittany Rogness
• 2:00pm Murder Mystery Bat DNA with Jordyn Chace 
• 2:30pm Starting a Pollinator Garden for Beginners with Ricky Gieser
• 3:00pm Nocturnal Networks: Why Moths Matter for Bats (and Beyond) with Claire Berdik
• 3:30pm Stump a Bat Biologist - bring your hard hitting questions about bats and see if our experts can answer them!

Guided Hikes

• 1:30 Bat Hike with Abby Pagels
• 2:00 Bugs and Birds with Ember Clodfelter
• 2:30 Insects and Plants with Sreelakshmi Suresh
• 3:00 Busey Woods plants and animals with Connor Ross

Costume Contest

Hosted by: Bat Factory

Dress as a bat, bug or create your own character related to bats and bugs in the backyard!

No advance registration is required. Simply come dressed and ready to check-in.

Check in for the costume contest is between 5:30 and 6:00pm at the upper pavilion in Crystal Lake Park. Contest starts at 6pm in the pavilion.

All ages are welcome to enter; judging will be held by age groupings via applause-o-meter for fun bat-themed prizes.