Nancy and Bob Smith on hand to crack the eggs for scrumptious omelets. Photo by Thelma Dangel.

CLEAR LAKE STATE PARK – The park is the setting for the annual Heron Festival and Wildflower Brunch on April 25 and 26, sponsored by Redbud Audubon Society and Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association (CLSPIA).

There is no entrance fee to the park to attend this two-day event.

Reserve now for the Wildflower Brunch from 9 a.m. to noon, on Saturday only, April 25.

Enjoy “create your own omelets,” prepared by CLSPIA members, with your choice of fillings, add a pastry, fruit and coffee, then enjoy at a picnic table in the great outdoors across from the Visitor Center. The cost is $15 per person.

Audubon sponsored 90-minute pontoon boat tours, with a naturalist aboard, start at 8 a.m. each day. Rides cost $15 per person.

Advance reservations are requested for both the Wildflower Brunch and the pontoon boat tour. Make reservations on-line at www.heronfestival.org or by phone at 800-525-3743.

However, there may be some tickets available the same day. A full schedule of activities and featured speakers for the weekend is also on the website. All other activities are free.

The award-winning Kelseyville High School Jazz Band will perform during the brunch from 9:30 a.m. To 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Lower Lake High School Jazz Band and Chorus will perform from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Visit the Nature Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. The Visitor Center Museum and gift shop will be open each day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy dioramas of Lake County’s natural and cultural resources. Join scheduled nature walks throughout the weekend.

Programs in the Visitor Center Auditorium start each day at 10 a.m. with keynote speaker Philip Greene on Saturday. Greene is an internationally known photographer of herons and egrets. His work focuses on the nesting cycle of herons, with special emphasis on mating behaviors, nest building and fledging.

At 10 a.m. on Sunday join keynote speaker Dr. Harry Lyons for his entertaining program, “Myths and Music of Clear Lake.” Lyons mixes biology, music and humor to tell the story of Clear Lake and its more than two million years of existence.

The two-day event schedule of all activities will be available at the park entrance.

Clear Lake State Park is located at 5300 Soda Bay Road, Kelseyville.

Leona Butts is a Clear Lake State Park Interpretive Association Board member.

An omelet in the pan with your selected fillings and almost ready. Photo by Thelma Dangel.