OTHELLO — This March marks the ninth year of the Sandhill Crane Festival in Othello. The festival begins on Friday, March 24 and runs through the weekend. However additional tours will be given for two Saturdays following the festival on April 1 and 8.

Every year beginning in early spring around 25,000 cranes migrate to the Columbia Basin. Dick Erickson, who works for the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, says the birds come through the Basin because they are attracted to the irrigation and the wildlife refuge.

The festival is comprised of a combination of wildlife tours and lectures. Friday afternoon kicks off with boat-borne bird tours on the Potholes Reservoir. There will also be trips to the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge and Lower Crab Creek along with two sunset crane viewing tours that evening. Friday evening will include a lecture on the Missoula Ice Age Floods that carved out the Grand Coulee area of the Columbia Basin.

Saturday will begin with eight different crane viewing tours and also a tour to view Washington ground squirrels. After the tours, Saturday will culminate with geologist Bruce Bjornstad of the Missoula Floods Institute giving a lecture as part of an evening banquet.

The festival wraps up on Sunday with wildlife tours of Lower Grand Coulee, Wahluke Slope and the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge. More boat trips on the Potholes Reservoir will be available on Sunday along with a crane viewing and burrowing owl trip.

All of the wildlife tours will include a guide and crane viewing tours will include an agricultural guide because of the crane habitat in Columbia Basin irrigates farmlands.

In addition to the adult tours being given all weekend, the festival has put together a children's program for children ages 5 to 12. The program will incorporate educational activities into the festival for child attendees such as various projects, talks and even crane bingo.

Bicycle tours to view cranes will also be available on both Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, the Reichert's Showhouse will screen "March of the Penguins" with a live introduction by University of Washington penguin expert Dr. Dee Boersma.

Erickson said that the festival is expecting 1,500 attendees this year as opposed to only 400 who attended the first year of its existence. "It fills the motels so the motels are happy," said Erickson of the boost in commerce the festival gives to Othello every year.

Marie Lotz said that there are already 225 people registered for the festival. For festival program and registration brochures call 1-866-SANDHIL or you can find the information online by visiting the festival's Web site at www.othellosandhillcranefestival.org. The Web site includes brochures, download-able registration forms and information on any changes to the festival program.