NYPA Press Release

For Immediate Release: 09/18/26

Contact: Jill.Winters@nypa.gov | (315) 764-6679

NYPA’s Hawkins Point Visitors Center to Host Wildlife Festival

MASSENA – Take a trip on the wild side! The New York Power Authority (NYPA) will hold its annual Wildlife Festival Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at NYPA’s Frank S. McCullough Jr. Hawkins Point Visitors Center in Massena.

The admission-free event will feature fun activities for the entire family with exhibits of live animals, nature displays, arts, crafts and entertainment. Activities include bounce houses, a petting zoo with farm animals, electric train rides, craft projects, wagon rides and a birds of prey display.

Representatives from the Nicandri Nature Center and Reptiles Forever will be back at the Wildlife Festival as well as Her-patology, the reptile and amphibian educator, and many others.

The annual event is one of the many ways that NYPA supports local initiatives and organizations that strengthen the ecological resilience of New York’s natural resources. That includes responsible stewardship of more than 100,000 acres of land and 524 miles of waterways across the State and a statewide community greening funding opportunity that supports healthier, cooler and more resilient neighborhoods.

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About Hawkins Point Visitors Center

Hawkins Point, the admission-free visitors center for the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, offers many hands-on exhibits on electricity, energy, the environment and area history. Visitors can hop aboard a bicycle generator and turn pedal power into electricity or have a hair-raising experience with static electricity using the Van de Graaff generator.

The Visitors Center also features an audio-visual terrain map that charts the course of the mighty St. Lawrence River between Ogdensburg and Massena. A wood-carved map detailing Jacques Cartier’s exploration of the St. Lawrence River is also on display at Hawkins Point. Visitors can also enjoy panoramic views of the project’s power dam. A community room is also available for public use.

Admission is always free; school groups and community organizations are welcome. For more information or a full calendar of events, call (315) 764-6679 or visit www.nypa.gov.

About NYPA

NYPA is the largest state public power organization in the nation, operating 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. More than 80 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.