Come to Wild River State Park on Saturday, May 20, and youíll get in free. The parkís annual Open House Day coincides this year with its 23rd annual spring special event, Seegwan. You can help plant a prairie, see a live specimen of Minnesotaís largest species of snake, listen to a master storyteller and a bluegrass band, go on a bird hike, take out your frustrations by yanking European buckthorn out by the roots, and much more.

Seegwan provides a full day of family fun and hands-on learning about preserving and restoring some of Minnesotaís rarest landscapes: prairie and oak savanna. Youíll also be able to buy native plants to take home to make your own yard more beautiful and attractive to butterflies and birds. Your purchase will help support Friends of Wild River State Park, the organization which sponsors Seegwan and the parkís annual Candlelight Ski and special summer guest presentations.

The parkís 23rd annual Seegwan, A Celebration Of Spring, will take place on Saturday, May 20, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Programs will begin at various locations in the park, as listed below. All programs are free and open to the public.

This yearís Seegwan features storyteller Robert Gasch III back-to-back with Pocahontas County Bluegrass as a wrap-up for the dayís activities. Gasch will tell stories of the pioneer farming days, when tallgrass prairie and oak savanna made way for potatoes and cows. Pocahontas County Bluegrass will get your feet tapping and hands clapping with their lively music. These evening programs begin at 6:30 p.m. at the parkís campground amphitheater. They will be relocated indoors to the visitor center if the weather is poor.

The annual bird hike begins at 7:30 a.m. at the river access parking lot by the parkís main boat landing. Dayle DeClercq of the Wild River Audubon Chapter will lead the hike. If you have binoculars, bring them. Expect to see a variety of spring arrivals from further south.

Interested in starting a butterfly garden or using native wildflowers in your yard? The Friends of Wild River State Park will have a native plant sale from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the parkís trail center as a fund-raiser to support educational/naturalist programs. A variety of plants will be available, and youíll be able to pick up free handouts on landscaping with native plants and restoring native prairie.

Winning photos from the Friends of Wild River wildflower photography contest will be on display as well, and youíll be able to pick up a copy of the rules for the 2006-2007 contest. Grand prize is $100, and the best wildflower photo by a child (age 12 or under) will win $50, and there will be first-place awards of $25 in several categories.

While youíre at the trail center, you can also get involved in a matching exercise to improve your skill at recognizing native prairie plants and do a simple study comparing a prairie restoration with a site where nature has been allowed to take its own course. Kids earn an award for completing the study.

If you like snakes or want to know more about them, take in the ìBIG Snakesî talk at the trail center at 11 a.m. Park Naturalist Dave Crawford will share some tips on the snakes found in this area, and bring along a live bull snake (almost six feet long) for you to look at up close and touch ñ if you dare.

After lunch, two opportunities for hands-on learning and helping restore the parkís rarest habitats ñ prairie and oak savanna ñ will begin at the trail center. At 1 p.m. you can test your strength by helping pull European buckthorn thatís taking over a former oak savanna, and try your hand at thinning out aspen trees that are crowding out oaks and wildflowers.

ìHelp Bring Back a Prairieî beginning at 2:30 p.m. at the trail center, lets you be one of the people who are replanting the prairie landscape that used to occupy a large part of the park over a century ago. Youíll get to help plant a part of the almost $50,000 worth of seed collected in the park by volunteers last year. Every acre of prairie restored helps bring back more wildflowers and butterflies, as well as more meadowlarks, bobolinks, and other birds that are becoming increasingly rare in Minnesota.

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