Bats and Bluegrass Festival 2025
Purchase Tickets on Eventbrite
Experience the magic of the karst Ozarks at dusk!
Bats and Bluegrass returns July 19th to IRWP’s Watershed Sanctuary in Cave Springs. This year marks 20 years of conservation for the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, and we’re celebrating with live music from Sons of Otis Malone and Bouse, hands-on watershed education, nature hikes, scavenger hunts, nature journaling, and the seasonal emergence of Gray Bats from the Sanctuary's cave. Relaunched to a sold-out crowd in 2024, this signature event is a vibrant blend of local culture, conservation, and community.
We have some bites for humans served up by:
Wicked Wood Fired Pizza
Monster Food Truck
Partners for Bats and Bluegrass
Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalists
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission
Arkansas Department of Health
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Wild Birds Unlimited
Boston Mountain Grotto
Know the Flow, our friends at the U of A Cooperative Extension
Gearhead Outfitters
Post Pediatrics
Ozark Roots
City of Cave Springs
Sponsors of this Event
BBB Septic
Waste Management
Freese and Nichols
Grab your friends and family and join us for a day of music, nature, and bats!
VOLUNTEERS ENTER FREE, SIGN UP HERE: Bats and Bluegrass Volunteer Form - Volunteers will have access to an exclusive volunteer lounge with snacks and drinks, IRWP swag, and volunteer shifts end at 8 PM so you can also enjoy the emergence and music.
Join us at the IRWP Sanctuary in Cave Springs for our annual fundraiser event again on Saturday, July 19th, 2025!
If you want to play a key role in coordinating this event, please register to volunteer here!
Bring your lawn chairs and the whole family!
We sold out in 2024. Get tickets early to guarantee entry!
OUR SPONSORS
More on Bats and Bluegrass
Bats and Bluegrass has long been IRWP’s signature celebration—a uniquely Ozark event where conservation meets culture. For years, it brought our community together to experience the magic of a special summer evening of education, live music, and the stunning natural phenomenon of bat emergence. As IRWP focused on boots-on-the-ground watershed work, and later navigated the impacts of COVID-19, the event took a pause.
In 2024, we relaunched Bats and Bluegrass—and it sold out. As dusk settled over the Watershed Sanctuary, guests relaxed under the stars with bluegrass humming in the background. Suddenly, flickers interrupted the night sky: the endangered gray bats, emerging by the hundreds from the cave they use as a maternity site on the property. It was a breathtaking reminder of what we’re all here to protect.
We can’t wait to host you again in 2025. All proceeds from this event directly support IRWP’s overhead costs, including the care and maintenance of the Watershed Learning Center and Sanctuary—ensuring it remains a low-cost, accessible venue for environmental programming, partner use, and community gatherings for years to come.