The southeastern Minnesota town of Houston becomes the center of the owl world this weekend with the annual International Festival of Owls.  

It is an opportunity for people young and old to learn about the many different species of owls from around the world. 

Even before you get to either the Houston High School or the International Owl Center where most of the events are taking place, you’ll quickly get the idea you’re in owl country. 

“We have public owl sculptures. We have an international children’s owl art contest, which has taken on a life of its own, with amazing art. And it’s actually on some of the street banners around town also in addition to being in storefronts and at the high school and at the owl center. So, it’s just owl everything,” said Karla Bloem, who created the International Owl Center and the festival.  

There are events Friday through Sunday. Click here for a schedule of events.

One of the features at the festival is the live owl programs. On Friday, there are live owls on display at the Center. On Saturday and Sunday, there are several live owl programs at both the Center and Houston High School.   

This year, some of the owls shown during the programs are a Snowy Owl, Barred Owl, Eastern Screech Owl, and a Great Horned Owl. The Illinois Raptor Center is returning with some of their owls along with a Red-tailed Hawk and a Kestrel for a presentation this year.  

Beyond the popular live owl programs, there are plenty of activities for kids to enjoy, too.  

“We’ve got a boatload of things for kids to do. So, there’s kid’s crafts, there’s face painting, there’s a kid’s owl calling contest. We have nest box building, pellet dissections. We have a scavenger hunt around town. And then, we’ve got a lot of stuff for all ages, and adults, too.  

Two special programs are on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, David Lei and Jacqueline Emery share the story of Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl in New York City. On Sunday, Marjon Savelsberg from the Netherlands has a presentation about how she’s able to identify individual Eurasian eagle-owls by how they speak.   

As mentioned before, the town does embrace the owl theme. Besides the artwork, Bloem said that the places that serve food in Houston bring out specials over the weekend such as owl-faced burgers or pizza. The Lutheran Church in town has a Saturday morning pancake breakfast featuring owl-faced pancakes. 

Karla also talked about the latest fundraising efforts in getting a new International Owl Center in Houston.   

Find out more about the International Festival of Owls here.