2027 Special Events

Wednesday, January 20th, 6:00PM – 7:00PM

• Location: Jamaica Room
• Max No. Participants: 90
• Cost: Included with Festival Registration

Join us as we kick off the 28th Annual Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival with a special film screening celebrating the beauty of our natural world, the incredible diversity of birds and wildlife, and the importance of conservation.
Gather with fellow nature enthusiasts for an inspiring evening of storytelling, discovery, and connection as we set the stage for an unforgettable festival!

Film title and details coming soon. Stay tuned!

Thursday, January 21, 6:00PM – 7:00 PM

• Location: Jamaica Room
• Max No. Participants: 90
• Cost: Included with Festival Registration

The Beasts of Birdin’ are bringing their show to the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival! Join the family behind Beasts of Birdin for a lively, interactive show celebrating birds, birding, and the great outdoors! With more than 300,000 YouTube subscribers, this family of young birders brings their popular birding podcast to the stage for an entertaining mix of fascinating bird news, stories from the field, and their signature Bird ID Challenge, where audience members can test their bird knowledge and compete alongside the hosts. Fun, educational, and designed for bird lovers of all ages, Beasts of Birdin LIVE! brings a fresh, youthful perspective to the world of birdwatching.

About the Hosts: The Fremont Family | Beasts of Birdin’
Based on their family farm outside Nashville, Tennessee, the Fremont family is behind Beasts of Birdin, a popular birding show with more than 300,000 YouTube subscribers. What began as a shared love of birds and the outdoors has grown into a family adventure that includes birding expeditions, educational videos, a regular podcast, and live performances at birding festivals across the country. With a special enthusiasm for helping young people discover birding, the family combines field experience, humor, and a genuine love of nature to make birdwatching accessible and entertaining for all ages.

Fri. Jan. 22, 6:00- 7:30 pm; $65

• Location: Jamaica Room
• Max No. Participants: 80
• Cost: $65
• Ticket Includes: Keynote Presentation, Buffet Dinner & Desserts

Keynote Reception: Author and scientist Hilary Flower presents, “The Bird That Saved Itself: The Everglade Snail Kite Story”
Author and scientist Hilary Flower tells the surprising story of the Everglade Snail Kite—a bird once on the brink of extinction that rebounded by adapting to an invasive species and thriving in human-altered habitats. Flower shares highlights from her fieldwork and research across Florida, introducing the people and places shaping the kite’s comeback. Blending ecology, personal journey, and conservation insight, her talk offers a hopeful look at how species can persist and even flourish in a changing world.

Book Signing Opportunity! Hilary will have copies of her books available for purchase and will be signing books immediately following her presentation. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet Hilary and take home a signed copy!

About Hilary Flower
Hilary Flower is professor of environmental studies at Eckerd College, where she teaches about wetlands and global environmental change and researches how climate change and sea level rise affect the Everglades. Her first book just debuted in March: The Kite and the Snail: An Endangered Bird, Its Unlikely Prey, and a Story of Hope in a Changing World, published by the University Press of Florida. She is currently working on a book about flamingos in Florida.

Jan 23 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

FREE for ages 8-17 and their guardian

Click to view details.

Sat. Jan. 23, 6:00 – 7 PM

• Location: Jamaica Room
• Max No. Participants: 90
• Cost: Included with Registration

About Sahas Barve
Sahas Barve is the Program Director of Avian Ecology at Archbold Biological Station. Before joining Archbold, Sahas worked on acorn woodpeckers in California and Himalayan birds in India with a stint at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural history. Sahas is an avid birder and hopes to see at least 6000 species in his life.