By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer

PELHAM— Residents looking to take care of holiday shopping while also supporting a great cause can do so at the Alabama Wildlife Center’s Holiday Craft and Bake Sale Dec. 12.

The annual event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Veterans Park off Valleydale Road, featuring handmade gifts, delicious homemade dishes and desserts, live raptors, refreshments and photos with Santa.

“It really is a great way for people in our community to take care of their holiday shopping and support a great cause at the same time,” said Doug Adair, executive director of the Alabama Wildlife Center.

In addition, Adair said the sale can make holiday entertaining much easier with an assortment of smoked hams, turkey breasts, homemade casseroles, cakes, pies, cookies, jams, jellies, honey and more.

The gift items include handmade wreaths, birdhouses, holiday decorations, wooden toys and more. Adair said there is a wide range of handmade and homemade, nature-themed crafts available.

“All these items are donated by supporters of the Alabama Wildlife Center, so it’s a great way for supporters to get involved and get to share their delicious homemade goods and their wonderful crafting skills,” he said.

Santa Claus will be at the event from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., allowing families to have pictures made with him. The educational ambassadors of AWC, the non-releasable raptors, will also be at the event.

Volunteers with AWC will present several Birds of Prey shows during the event. The newest ambassador, a red-tailed hawk, will do a flight demonstration over the park.

The family friendly event will give families the opportunity to create their own bird feeder to take home with them, so they can enjoy seeing the native birds in their own yards.

“That’s a really fun and enjoyable event for the whole family,” Adair said.

Fundraising events like these are vital to the operations at the wildlife center, according to Adair. They are in the midst of tremendous growth of the education programing and are on track to reach 40,000 people from Huntsville to Dauphin Island.

The center also provides top quality care to avian patients each year. This year, the center will serve about 2,000 birds, including two bald eagles that recently checked-in.

The growth in educational programs and delivering care to the patients requires a lot of funds, and as a nonprofit organization, the Alabama Wildlife Center is required to raise the operational costs they need.

For more information about the AWC’s Holiday Craft and Bake Sale, visit Facebook.com/events/1516276865354214.