A bald eagle was on display during Eagle Days in January 2020 at the James P. Davis Hall at Wyandotte County Lake Park, 91st and Leavenworth Road, Kansas City, Kansas. The event is scheduled this year for Saturday and Sunday at the Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Schlagle Library and the Davis Hall at Wyandotte County Lake Park. (File photo by Steve Rupert)
The annual Eagle Days will take place Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 15 and 16, at Wyandotte County Lake Park, 91st and Leavenworth Road.
The annual event is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, according to a news release from the Board of Public Utilities, which is one of the event sponsors.
Events will take place at the Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Schlagle Library at the lake, and also at the James P. Davis Hall at the lake. There are some changes to the event format this year due to COVID-19 protocols.
The free family-oriented program will provide those who attend with an opportunity to see eagles and birds of prey at each location. There are educational programs in connection with the viewing. Birds of prey from Operation WildLife Rehab Center will be on display.
Hours for Saturday are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. Masks will be required.
Spotting scopes will be available outside for birdwatching around the lake. Visitors should bring binoculars and cameras to take advantage of the scenic views and beautiful winter landscapes.
According to information from the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library, the program will offer 15-minute live bird viewing this year with species such as owls, hawks and a bald eagle instead of a one-hour formal presentation.
Each guest will need a free ticket to view the live birds at both the Schlagle Library and Davis Hall, according to library information. The ticket will allow a 15-minute time slot to take pictures, ask questions and enjoy watching the birds of prey indoors. There will be different bird species at both buildings and those who attend may reserve a time slot at both buildings.
Those who arrive without a reservation ticket will have to wait until there is a vacancy, according to the library information. While they wait, people may participate in crafts, wild bird spotting stations and outdoor activities.
Those who attend may re-enter the live bird viewing area more than once during the event as long as there are spots open, according to library information.
Eagle Days at Wyandotte County Lake are offered in partnership with Operation WildLife, the Mr. and Mrs. F.L. Schlagle Library; the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities; the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library; Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools; the Unified Government; and Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City.
An exhibition chronicling the lives of contemporary migrant farm workers will be on display at Kansas City, Kansas, Public Library now through Dec. 17.
“In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte” features photojournalist David Bacon’s evocative, powerful photographs alongside moving oral narratives from migrant farm workers.
The exhibition, fully translated into both English and Spanish, gives viewers a reality check on the food they eat and the lives of the people who harvest it.
Traveling with migrant workers as the fruit and harvest season moves from the Mexican border to Washington state, “In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte” sheds light on some basic questions: How much do we know about the lives of the people who feed us? Where do they live? How does it feel to do some of the hardest repetitive labor imaginable? And, what answers do farm workers themselves have to end their poverty and endless migration?
To complement the exhibit, the library will have a Zoom program appearance by Suzanne Gladney, attorney and director of the Migrant Farmworkers Assistance Fund, for a virtual program discussion on Migrant Workers: Past, Present, and Future. This will take place over Zoom on Nov. 15. More information can be found on the library’s website at kckpl.org.
Photographer, journalist, and activist David Bacon has spent over three decades documenting the lives of migrant workers, building upon his previous work as a union organizer. The exhibition is based upon the book of the same name, recently published by University of California Press. As Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center, writes, “Bacon captures the humanity of workers who work each day in demanding physical labor, in the hot sun, and for poverty wages. This is one of the few publications that captures the authentic stories of California farm workers, through their own voices and with the images of their living and working conditions.” Bacon is also the author of The Children of NAFTA, Communities Without Borders, Illegal People, and The Right to Stay Home.
“In the Fields of the North / En los Campos del Norte” features the works of David Bacon; is produced in partnership with the California Rural Legal Assistance, the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations, and History San José; and is touring the U.S. through Exhibit Envoy.
Exhibit Envoy provides traveling exhibitions and professional services to museums throughout California. Exhibit Envoy’s mission is to provide institutions with diverse and meaningful traveling exhibitions to strengthen their communities. For more information, visit www.exhibitenvoy.org.
