Great Lakes Bat Festival


The Great Lakes Bat Festival was an annual two-day event that started in 2002 and began in the Great Lakes region. The festival later expanded to different state divisions, which included the Illinois Bat Festival, the Indiana State University Bat Festival, the Minnesota Bat Festival, and the Wisconsin Bat Festival. It was founded and organized by the Organization for Bat Conservation until the organization's dissolution in 2018.
The goals of the Great Lakes Bat Festival were to highlight the diversity of life on earth, educate people on bats and explain the need for conservation. The festival included live bat programs presented by the Organization for Bat Conservation, featuring bats from around the world.
Evening events included demonstrations from bat researchers on various research techniques, such as radio-tagging and/or light-tagging.

Locations

The festival was held at the Cranbrook Institute of Science Bat Zone in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, at the Indiana State University Center for North American Bat Research and Conservation in Terre Haute, Indiana, at the Milwaukee County Zoo in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and at Iron Mountain, Michigan near Millie Hill Mine.
No.YearVenueLocationRef
12002Millie Hill bat caveIron Mountain, Michigan
22003Cranbrook Institute of ScienceBloomfield Hills, Michigan
32004Cranbrook Institute of ScienceBloomfield Hills, Michigan
42005Iron Mountain, Michigan
52006
62007Indiana State UniversityTerre Haute, Indiana
72008
82009Milwaukee ZooMilwaukee, Wisconsin
92010Cranbrook Institute of ScienceBloomfield Hills, Michigan
102011Cranbrook Institute of ScienceBloomfield Hills, Michigan
112012Southfield Civic Center ArenaSouthfield, Michigan
122013Southfield PavilionSouthfield, Michigan
132014Ann Arbor Hands-On MuseumAnn Arbor, Michigan
142015Cranbrook Institute of ScienceBloomfield Hills, Michigan
152016Macomb Intermediate School DistrictClinton Township, Michigan
162017Michigan Science CenterDetroit, Michigan
172018Potter Park ZooLansing, Michigan
182019Belle Isle Nature Center Detroit, Michigan

Dissolution

The Great Lakes Bat Festival was dissolved in 2018 due to its organizer, Organization for Bat Conservation, ceasing operations. This was because of the termination of its co-founder, Rob Mies, as well as financial issues.

Notable speakers and guests