The Brackenridge Park Conservancy, in partnership with the Texas Butterfly Ranch, is proud to present the 2022 Monarch Butterfly & Pollinator Festival. The event  will take place Saturday, October 8 from 10a.m. to 2p.m. in the Pecan Grove at Brackenridge Park as part of a month-long celebration of pollinators. Festivities include the People for Pollinators Parade, a monarch butterfly migration obstacle course for kids, butterfly tagging, live bee hive demonstrations, and more. (Brackenridge Park Conservancy, 2022)

The festival is free and open to the public and brings together more than 20 community partners to educate the community on the importance of the monarch butterfly and other pollinators. Activities for the whole family will take place starting at 10a.m. with the Caterpillar Train launching from the train depot in the park. The train was transformed with the assistance of local landscape architecture firm MP Studios and the beloved and nostalgic San Antonio Zoo train will be converted to a monarch butterfly caterpillar for the month of October.

“Brackenridge Park is thrilled to host the 2022 Monarch Butterfly & Pollinator Festival. The Park means so much to the people, plants and animals in this city so we look forward to being a home to free and fun educational events like this.” – Lynn Osborne Bobbitt, Brackenridge Park Conservancy Director of Development and Special Events

Throughout the day, visitors can tag monarch butterflies with trained docents as part of the Monarch Watch citizen science initiative. Festival goers can also participate in the Forever Journey, a program started in 2020 that tags butterflies in honor of deceased loved ones.

“Just as San Antonio sits in the heart of the migratory flyway for monarch butterflies and other wildlife, Brackenridge sits in the heart of our city. It makes for an ideal roost for this year’s Festival.” – Monika Maeckle, Festival founder and director of the Texas Butterfly Ranch.

More initiatives from this year’s festival include a monarch migration obstacle course organized by Blooming with Birdie, butterfly bike rides with the Austin Bike Zoo, a birding tour of the park and adoption events for hundreds of trees provided by the San Antonio Parks Department and pollinator-friendly native plants made available by SAWS. 

The Brackenridge Park Conservancy has listened to and been a voice for those who use this cherished San Antonio park and its facilities. The organization operates under a long-term Management Agreement with the City that is administered by the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department. The only organization dedicated solely to protecting Brackenridge Park, the Conservancy raises funds for projects that benefit the Park, implements park-based programs and projects, advises City staff and elected officials, supports the evolution and implementation of plans for the Park, and acts as a forum for users to address common issues and build consensus.

The mission of the Monarch Butterfly & Pollinator Festival is to raise understanding and appreciation of the insect pollinators that make one of every three bites of our food possible, underscore our inherent interconnectedness, encourage the use of native nectar and host plants in gardens and landscapes, and reinforce San Antonio’s strategic role in the monarchs’ annual migration as the First Monarch Butterfly Champion City.