CLARENDON – Sitting on the White River’s banks in east-central Arkansas, Clarendon serves as a gateway to a wetlands area of some half-million acres known as the Big Woods. The woods are one of the nation’s most important sanctuaries for wintering waterfowl, and when black bears had nearly vanished from the rest of the state, the Big Woods remained their stronghold.

Including the more than 215,000 acres of the White River and Cache River national wildlife refuges, the Big Woods was designated in 1990 as a Wetland of International Importance under the 1971 Ramsar Convention, a treaty under which nearly 140 nations are working to identify, conserve and develop sustainable uses for significant wetlands.

On Saturday, May 21 Clarendon will celebrate that natural heritage as its downtown hosts the fourth annual Big Woods Birding Festival. A highlight of this year’s event will be a presentation by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Ithaca, N.Y. organization is known by birdwatchers across the U.S. for such programs as “The Great Backyard Bird Count” and “Project FeederWatch.” The presentation will begin at 11 a.m. in the courtroom of the Monroe County Courthouse.

Other bird-related activities will include a program by the Little Rock Zoo and guided bird walks. At 10 a.m. on the festival’s main stage next to the courthouse, the zoo will present “Birds of Prey,” showcasing several live hawks, owls, and a bald eagle.

Beginning at 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., the bird walks will depart from the festival information booth on Madison Street and travel the White River levee. Leading the walks will be expert birders Mel White, author of the American Birding Association’s “A Birder’s Guide to Arkansas,” and Lance Peacock, a Nature Conservancy ecologist. Participants are encouraged to bring binoculars. Last year, more than 50 species of birds were seen on the walks. White will also lead an afternoon butterfly walk.

Also on the festival agenda is an encampment by the Early Arkansaw Re-enactors Association portraying the “Mouth of Cache Expedition” of the early 1800s. The free encampment, located adjacent to the festival grounds, will feature a keelboat and an artillery duel along the banks of the White and Cache rivers. Clarendon was known as Mouth of Cache until 1837.

The festival will get under way with a free youth fishing derby from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Donald Branch Fishin’ Hole, a community fishing pond and park located on Ann Alden and Carla Drive.  The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will stock its waters with catfish prior to the event. Food and craft vendors, an art show and educational booths will open at 9:30 a.m. in downtown and will remain open until 3 p.m.

Boat rides will be offered on the White River (suggested donation), and live music will include “Bringing it Back,” an Elvis Presley tribute show from noon to 1 p.m., and The Bug Tussle Boys of Little Rock from 1 p.m. to the festival’s closing. A lawnmower tractor pull will be held near the festival.

Activities for children will include a rock-climbing wall, petting zoo, moon walk, dunking booth and duck pond, as well as free kids’ crafts and games. The Three Rivers Audubon Society of Pine Bluff will be sponsoring a booth where kids can make pinecone birdfeeders to take home, and Dr. Becky McPeake, wildlife specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, will be hosting a "fish printing" activity.

General festival admission will be free. To register for the fishing derby and the guided bird walks and to request more festival information, contact Clarendon City Hall by phone at (870) 747-3802 or by e-mail at clarendoncityhall@centurytel.net. More Clarendon information is also available at www.clarendon-ar.com.