Make some tracks and join the Flint RiverQuarium Saturday, September 26, for an annual celebration of all creatures great and small at the Water, Wings and Wildlife Festival. This year’s event will have enhanced safety protocols in place, including cleaning and disinfecting, social distancing, and mask usage by all staff and presenters. Visitors are encouraged to wear masks as well. 

Water, Wings & Wildlife Schedule

Festival admission is included in the cost of regular Flint RiverQuarium admission rates. A few activities, as noted below, have additional fees. 

8:00 am – Butterfly Breakfast (First seating) (additional fee)

9:00 am – Butterfly Breakfast 2 (Second seating) (additional fee)

9:00 am – Discover SCUBA (additional fee)

10:00 am – Water, Wings & Wildlife Festival gates open

10:00 am - Discover SCUBA (additional fee)

10:30 am – Birds of Prey show

11:00 am - Discover SCUBA (additional fee)

11:00 am – Storytelling Performance by Lee County High School students

11:30 am – Southeastern Reptile Rescue show

Noon – Imagination Theater movie: Alligator Kingdom

Noon - Discover SCUBA (additional fee)

1:00 pm – Storytelling Performance by Lee County High School students 

1:30 pm – Birds of Prey show

2:00 pm – Imagination Theater movie: Alligator Kingdom

2:00 pm - Dive Show

2:30 pm – Southeastern Reptile Rescue show

3:00 pm – Discover SCUBA (additional fee)

3:00 pm – Storytelling Performance by Lee County High School students

4:00 pm - Discover SCUBA (additional fee)

4 pm – Butterfly Release 

Additional presenters in the Flint RiverQuarium Plaza all day:

• Albany Parks & Recreation Department

• Artesian Alliance

• Crisp County Extension Office

• Farmer Fredo with Flint River Fresh

• Living Wild with Turtleman Chris Adams

• River’s Alive

• SOWEGA Beekeepers

• And more!

Food Trucks

• Deb’s Cupcakes

• Foodie Pops

• Wood Fired Pizza 

Butterfly Breakfast

Events kick off with the Butterfly Breakfast, an event designed especially for children ages 2-5 and their parents, which will be held Saturday morning in the Skywater Room. After an adventure with the Butterfly Queen, which includes a light breakfast, butterfly story, craft, and song, participants will enjoy an exclusive visit to the mobile butterfly house filled with hundreds of fluttering butterflies. Two Butterfly Breakfast seatings are being offered this year: 8:00 am and 9:00 am. After breakfast, participants are free to enjoy the Water, Wings & Wildlife Festival and the Flint RiverQuarium exhibits. 

Due to COVID safety protocol, tickets are being sold by the table instead of individually in order to allow for groups to social distance. Tables of eight are $125. Flint RiverQuarium and Water, Wings & Wildlife admission is included with a Butterfly Breakfast purchase. Members receive a 10% discount. Space is limited and pre-paid advance ticketing is required. Tickets may be purchased online at https://flintriverquarium.regfox.com/butterfly-breakfast. 

Discover SCUBA

Participants will be able to get their fins wet in the Flint RiverQuarium Blue Hole and gain firsthand experience with everything SCUBA in an introductory class taught by staff from Adventure Dive Center. By the end of the lesson they will be swimming with the gentle giants of the RiverQuarium collection, the striped bass and Atlantic sturgeons.  

Participants must be over the age of 12 and those under 18 must have a parent/guardian present. No previous experience with SCUBA diving or equipment is needed. Participants must bring their own bathing suits, towels and change of clothes. All SCUBA diving gear, wet suits and flippers are provided. Water, Wings & Wildlife Festival admission is included with cost of Discover SCUBA lesson. Space is limited and pre-paid advance ticketing is required. Tickets may be purchased online at https://flintriverquarium.regfox.com/discover-scuba. 

The Flint RiverQuarium is southwest Georgia’s premier aquarium, featuring more than 1,000 animals that call the Flint River watershed home.  The Flint RiverQuarium is located at 101 Pine Avenue in downtown Albany, Georgia. Regular operating hours are Tuesday-Sunday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.