It’s full steam ahead for the Beaver Festival, and things are impressively taking shape. We have 17 nonprofit displays participating, two remarkable retail additions, two art projects, four Worth A Dam event areas, and four musical groups lined up.
| National Park Service | Green Sols Water |
| Naval weapons Open Space | Wild Bryde Jewelry |
| Native Birds | Beaver Book Signing |
| CCC Clean water program | |
| LINDSAY MUSEUM | WAD Membership |
| P.L.A.N. (Badgers petaluma) | WAD Silent Auction |
| TEAMS in Training | Beaver Information |
| Open Space Bird & Bee Boxes | Beaver Tours |
| Friends of Alhambra Creek | Beaver Art Tiles |
| California Native Plant Society | Beaver tail bookmarks |
| Elle Falahat | |
| West County Toxics Coalition | Alhambra Valley Band |
| Parents for a safer environment | Jeff Campbell Bag Piper |
| Noah’s Wish Foundation | Teachers of the Year |
| Bay Area Ridge Trail SF | Muir Station Jazz Band |
| Phillip Ciaramataro |
It’s a piece of work, I can tell you. Herding cats indeed. Remind me not to be a wedding planner.
I heard a rumor today that the beavers were named East Bay Animal Family of the Year, so I went looking.
BEST URBAN WILDLIFE PHENOMENON (2008 AND 2009)
The Beaver Family in Alhambra Creek
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Escobar St. between Estudillo and Castro Streets, Martinez |
Forget New York’s rats and the wild parrots of Telegraph Hill. Martinez has beavers running in the streets. Almost literally. In the seat of Contra Costa County, government employees, drunk-tank refugees, disgruntled jurors, and old-time “Martizians” wander the downtown streets by day. Although businesses are mostly shuttered after 5 p.m., it’s only then you can catch a glimpse of the beaver family that’s made its home in Alhambra Creek, which runs through the center of the town where Joe DiMaggio was born. When the city council announced it would be killing the beavers to help alleviate a preexisting flood threat their dam made worse, a candlelight vigil was held on the behalf of the beloved semiaquatic rodents, and amnesty was their reward. The city has now sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into beaver-related maintenance, and the beaver brood is, somewhat laughably, Martinez’s main tourist attraction. The family has a dedicated blog, advocacy group, Wikipedia page, and many YouTube videos. Catch a glimpse of the playful nocturnal critters in person at dusk, when they leave their lodge and splash about in the creek.
