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2025 PA Firefly Campout Fundraising Events
The PA Firefly Festival and Glow & Know Campouts are being combined into three PA Firefly Festival Campout events in 2025. In partnership with the Tionesta Lake US Army Corps of Engineers, the PA Firefly Festival will host three fundraising camping events at the Kellettville Campground on Thursday, June 26, Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 2025. The PA Firefly Festival (PAFF) organization has reserved the entire campground for the campouts. The campout events are fundraisers, and the proceeds support the PAFF non-profit organization’s mission to fund firefly research, provide educational outreach and promote conservation missions throughout Pennsylvania. More information about Kellettville Campground can be found at www.recreation.gov.
Each PA Firefly Festival Campout will be limited to a maximum of 64 campers (adults/teens) per night. Campers will be assigned one of the 16 reserved primitive campsites for one RV/camper + 1 tent, or 2 tents per site for ONE of the 3 nights (4 adults maximum per site). Children 5-11 years old are FREE. These events are neither intended nor recommended for children under 5-yo. Parents of young children are asked to consider this and make that judgment before entering the lottery. All meals, food and beverages will be the responsibility of the campers. There are two local restaurants nearby, and take-outs are available for lunches and dinners.
Each PAFF Campout is full of organized activities with plenty of free time to explore or relax in the pristine wilderness setting on the Tionesta Creek. Check-in begins each day at 2:00 pm. During each afternoon, there will be nature exhibits from State and private agencies set up in the Kellettville campground. Campers will also have options of:
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Guided interpretive hikes,
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Children’s activities like Bug Bingo, Creek Critters, and Leave No Trace Photo Scavenger Hunt with prizes for winners
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Nature Arts and Crafts
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Campers can also choose to strike out on their own adventures in the area to hike, kayak, fish and more
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PA Firefly Festival Merchandise
Each evening starting at 8 pm there will be the entertainment with singer-song writer, Matt Miskie, a traditional campfire sing-a-long, camp stories and marshmallow roasting followed by the Firefly Expert presentation. Small group guided firefly viewing begins at dusk.
The following morning, campers can join a guided bird walk with Seneca Rocks Audubon Members to look for some of the numerous species of birds in the area; or just enjoy a cup of coffee around the campfire and recount the evening’s experiences with other campers.
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Check out will be 12 noon.
The 2025 PA Firefly Festival Campout Lottery: Registrations for the PAFF Campouts will again be available only through the lottery selection. The lottery can be entered by anyone completing a FREE online Google Form (opening Jan 1, 2025). If you are interested in attending any one of the PA Firefly Campouts this June, you MUST complete the form before Sunday, March 30, at 9 am EDT in order to be eligible for the drawing.
You and your family members may apply separately for each campout, (6/26, 6/25 and 6/27), but you must apply only once per event (duplicate entries will be discarded). There are 16 campsites available each night; 4 adults maximum per site with a limit of 64 adults maximum for each event will be selected. A separate randomized drawing will be made for each event.
Lottery Winners Registration: Be sure to monitor your email closely the week of March 31. Email notifications to those names selected will begin on March 31. You will receive the link to the ticketing website, so you can register up to 4 adults/teens for the campout within 24 hours of that notification. Due to the high demand for firefly tours, you will be asked to register for only one campout. If you (or someone in your party) is lucky enough to be selected for more than one event, you will be asked to choose only one of the nights. All sites must be occupied and pull-out by noon the following morning. Only adults (or teens 12-18) need to be registered for the campout for $100 per person. Children 5 to 11 years old are FREE . Your registration fees include your site reservation and site assignments will be made for you based on your type of camping equipment.
Waiting List: Once all the registrations have been filled, we will make the announcement on the website and Facebook. Typically this takes about a week. We will keep the lottery list active as a WAITING LIST through the week before the events, because we often get cancellations. So, we will reach out if a cancellation occurs to those still on the list. PLEASE DO NOT BUY A TICKET ONLINE from someone "selling" their spots. We had several scammers last year. Once the events conclude, we neither keep nor sell your email contacts.
We hope that this new combination of festival and campouts will improve the experience for the patrons, while protecting the fireflies and the habitats. Your support and participation is appreciated.
