Milton Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird Festival swimming back June 19

After being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Milton’s Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird Festival will be a go at the Milton Historical Society lot at 210 Union Street.

Put on by Milton Chamber of Commerce, the festival will be exclusively in downtown Milton this year in an effort to allow for better social distancing and to monitor attendance. The festival will not include shuttle buses to Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge due to COVID restrictions. Instead, proceeds raised at the event will go to the nonprofit Friends of Prime Hook, which helps provide education and maintenance at the refuge.

On April 5, Milton Town Council approved a request by the chamber to close off a section of Magnolia Street that Chamber Director Anne Brown said would enable greater social distancing. The chamber made a similar request for last year’s Bargains on the Broadkill in August. The chamber also said, in a memo to council seeking the road closure, that it seeks to incorporate music from Milton Theatre’s Quayside Stage in order to spark renewed interest in the festival.

The chamber has submitted and been approved for a health and safety plan with the Delaware Division of Public Health, and attendees will be expected to adhere to safety protocols including mask wearing and social distancing. There will also be hand sanitizer stations located throughout the festival area. 

Visitors are encouraged to take part in a virtual scavenger hunt on their own time that will take searchers to nature-viewing sites in the Milton area. 

For more information on the Horseshoe Crab and Shorebird Festival, visit historicmilton.com.