Dallas County Conservation hosted their annual Prairie Awakening celebration Sunday evening, and by all accounts it was a huge success.

The festival attracted a large amount of attendees to the Kuehn Conservation Area for a few hours, and organizers believe it may have been the biggest event they’ve had. The audience was able to once again join Dallas Chief Eagle and take part in many of the festivities, which included: hoop dancing; traditional drum music; the release of birds and butterflies back into the wild; and a lesson on the spirit around the ceremonial bonfire. Four trees were also planted during the celebration, which Conservation Outreach Coordinator Ken Keffer says are physical and symbolic gestures. “This year’s whole theme was ‘Elders and Trees.’ And so it was a great connection about paying respects to our elders that have gone before us, and a way to look into the future. Those bur oak trees aren’t going to mature for 400 years, and so you’ve got that seventh generation making that connection that this event’s going to carry forward beyond our time!”

Keffer adds, Conservation was appreciative of the volunteers, staff, and participants that put on this year’s Prairie Awakening. Additionally, they want to thank the spectators, because as Keffer says, if no one shows up for the events there’s no sense in continuing them.