Q-Tip: Visit Fallon Festival

The annual "Wings Over The Valley" Hunting Festival and Wildlife Carving Show is set to begin on Sept. 28 in Fallon.

That three-day festival will be held at the Fallon Convention Center, located at 100 Campus Way in Fallon.

"We want visitors to come to Fallon to hunt," says Rick Gray, executive director of the Fallon Convention & Tourism Authority, "And we're using the Wings Over The Valley hunting festival as a vehicle to do this."

"Those who grew up in Fallon and longtime hunters from Reno and Sparks know the duck hunting here is outstanding. We want to remind local hunters, educate new residents and attract out-of-area visitors to Fallon and Churchill County for the waterfowl hunting seasons," Gray said.

-- Included in the three days are such activities as:

Auctions and raffles.

Ducks Unlimited (DU) duck and goose calling contest ($5 entry fee). With a $100 first place prize for each of the DU contests.

Falcon demonstrations.

Fly casting demonstrations.

Fly tying demonstrations.

Hunter Education Course ($5 registration fee, plus pre-registration). Taught by volunteer instructors, certified by the Nevada Division of Wildlife.

Hunting skills/migration identification workshop.

Operation Game Thief, Nevada's anti-poaching program.

Outdoor displays.

Raffle for a Suzuki 50CC mini ATV.

Retriever dog demonstrations.

Tips for cooking over a campfire.

Wildlife Carving Show ($5 general admission). Will include the raffle of a $1,200 mourning dove, carved by Peter Kuane of Gig Harbor, Wash. Each admission will receive an entry to win a Yamaha "Big Bear" ATV 4X4. The ATV will be given away at 11 p.m. on Sept. 29.

Various vendor booths.

-- Other festival activities will include:

Bands from the Desert Oasis Music Festival.

Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast.

Lion's Club barbecue.

Parking lot dance concert by Rick Hays and American Steel.

Tour of the Stillwater wetlands.

Tour of Carson Lake.

-- All hunting seminars, displays, workshops and demonstrations are free of charge.

-- Festival hours are:

Friday: 1-5 p.m. (tour of the wetland hunting areas).

Saturday: 8 a.m. to Midnight.

Sunday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For information, call Rick Gray, executive director for the Fallon Convention and Tourism Authority at (775) 423-4556 or at (800) 874-0903.