The Black Hills Parrot Welfare and Education Center in Belle Fourche is having its biggest fundraiser of the year. This weekend’s Parrot Festival is geared towards raising money to care for the nearly one-hundred exotic birds at the facility – many of which are homeless and in need of care.
Greg Poulain is the Director of the Welfare and Education Center. He says the Parrot Festival is also an opportunity to see many exotic birds – like one from Angola, Africa.
“We’ve added some educational birds to our program – the most notable one is we have a Red Crested Turaco now. This bird is very, very unique – it’s one of the only, well it is the only bird on the planet that has actual red and green pigment in their feathers. Other birds that look like they’re red and green are actually an optical illusion – it’s a refraction of light,” says Poulain.
Poulain says money from the fundraiser goes towards operating and medical expenses. He says the event includes raffles, live music, a silent auction, as well as a display of raptors like owls and hawks. The Parrot Festival runs this Saturday and Sunday and is open to the public.
