Hundreds of butterflies fill skies during Oak Grove festival | VIDEO

The 14th Annual Oak Grove Butterfly Festival drew an estimated crowd of around 16,000 for the release of close to 1,600 Monarch butterflies.

Clarksville NowThe 14th Annual Oak Grove Butterfly Festival at Oak Grove's Memorial Walking Trail on Sept. 2, 2023. (Lee Erwin)

OAK GROVE, KY (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Oak Grove’s Memorial Walking Trail Park was filled Saturday with a crowd estimated at close to 16,000 people, as well as around 1,600 Monarch butterflies for the 14th annual Oak Grove Butterfly Festival.

There was not only the release of the butterflies, but also a Butterfly House with live butterflies provided by Milkweed and Honey Farm.

There were activities for the whole family like a zip line,  craft stations, face painting, inflatables, a bubble zone, food trucks and dozens of vendors.

Initially, plans were to release 2,000 butterflies, but with the situation with Hurricane Idalia in Florida, where the butterflies originate, only 1,600 were available for the release in Oak Grove.

Traci Cunningham, Executive Director of the Oak Grove Tourism Commission described this year’s Oak Grove Butterfly Festival as remarkable, amazing, and spectacular, and for 2024 they are hoping to have more butterflies than ever before.

Video by Wesley Irvin

For more events like this, check out the Summer Fun Guide or visit the Clarksville Now events page.