Taking a ride in a horse-drawn sleigh is one of the many fun activities at the Audubon Center and Sanctuary’s Snowflake Festival on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (Photo by Jeff Tome)

JAMESTOWN, NY – No matter the weather, the Audubon Center and Sanctuary’s 2012 Snowflake Festival offers something for everyone.

The Saturday, February 4 event will have a variety of activities and opportunities from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

A new feature of this year’s Snowflake Festival will be guided walks with an Audubon naturalist at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Horse-drawn sleigh rides will be offered in the afternoon.

Outside activities also include snowshoe demonstrations by Evergreen Outfitters, cross country skiing on more than five miles of trails, snow sculpture building, and the Fluvanna Boy Scouts Troop #169’s outdoor cooking demonstrations and free food samples.

Among the opportunities to enjoy animals will be wildlife rehabilitator Paul Fehringer’s presentations with his live birds at 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Amtilia Outreach will show rescued reptiles and amphibians, hissing cockroaches and a tarantula. The Chautauqua County Humane Society will have cats available for adoption, and Audubon will have its own collection of turtles, snakes, fish, and frogs.

Outdoors, Siberian huskies will give scooter and kick sled demonstrations, and alpacas will be in a petting pen. Festival goers can also get a behind-the-scenes tour of Liberty, Audubon’s resident non-releasable Bald Eagle.

Indoors, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Jamestown Audubon Society Photography Club, Jamestown Community College Earth Awareness Club, Southern Tier Astronomical Recreation Society (STARS), the Warren County and Chautauqua County Master Gardeners, and WNY Energy $mart will all have displays.

Providing information or products for sale will be BeautiControl with 50% discounted skin care products, Braymiller Builders, Dun Roving Farm & Alpaca Store, Invisible Fence Brand of Erie, Williamsville’s Teddy Heads, and Audubon’s own Nature Store.

Also indoors will be bluebird house building, children’s crafts, and yarn spinning demonstrations.

The great food offerings will be both meat lovers and vegetarian chili, grilled Kielbasa and hot dogs, fudge brownies and other baked goods, hot chocolate, fresh fruit, kettle corn, cotton candy, apple chips and more.

Admission to the Snowflake Festival is only $5; children under 12 are free. Sleigh rides are $5 for ages 13 and over and $2 for 5-12 year olds; $5 covers materials for building a bluebird house. Proceeds support Audubon’s environmental education programs. A reminder: there is no ATM on the Audubon property.

Festival sponsors include United Refining Company, WNY Energy $mart Communities, Herbs R-4-U, Carroll Rod & Gun Club, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Gary’s Carstar, Lena’s Pizza, Randy Ordines, James M. Smith-CLU, Dun Roving Farm and Alpaca Store, Franklin’s Honey & Apples, Phil-N-Cindy’s, and Teddy Heads.

The Audubon Center and Sanctuary is at 1600 Riverside Road, off Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren. Winter hours are 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Mondays and Saturdays, and 1:00 - 4:30 p.m. Sundays. The trails and Bald Eagle viewing are open dawn to dusk daily.

For more information, call (716) 569-2345 or visit jamestownaudubon.org.