The PA Firefly Festival in Forest County is officially sold out. More than 2,500 entered the lottery for tickets to the annual celebration and education experience and 150 were selected.

The demand to attend the Festival was so extraordinary a lottery system was instituted several years ago to prevent overcrowding of the activities and prime firefly habitats.

The 15-acre Kellettville Firefly Farm near Tionesta, home of the Festival, is dedicated to the preservation of firefly habitat and surrounded by private and public forest.

The PAFF has been monitoring and keeping data on firefly activity in this area for eleven years.

The Farm offers year-round lodging options and firefly experiences at other times, not just during the Festival.

Live Stream Music/Presentation

While the PA Firefly Festival is sold out, on June 28 and 29 starting at 7:15 p.m. a live stream will be available via the Festival Facebook page of music by singer/songwriter Matt Miskie. 

You can also watch a slideshow presentation by firefly expert Don Salvator on the Secret Lives of Fireflies at 8:30 p.m.

Click Here for more information.

Lights Out For Lightning Bugs!

 Forest County residents and campers in the Allegheny National Forest Region are reminded June is Lights Out For Lightning Bugs Month! promoted by the US Army Corps of Engineers Tionesta Lake, the Pittsburgh Dark Skies Association.

Click Here for the latest Festival newsletter.  Click Here to sign up for your own copy.

Learn more about firefly conservation, creating a firefly-friendly yard, current research and much more at the PA Firefly Festival website and visit them on Facebook.

Resource Links:

-- Chesapeake Bay Journal - Ad Crable: Will Fireflies Fade From Summer Nights?

-- Firefly Populations At Risk Due To Climate Change, Urban Development [PaEN]

[Posted: June 6, 2024]

6/10/2024