Charlie & Debbie
March 16th, 2022
I’ve always said the most fun I’ve ever had at any fair or festival was the first time I attended the “Woolly Worm Festival” in Banner Elk.
Literally, you have people drinking, eating, and gambling at the speed of a fuzzy worm (see above pic) racing up a string. Just thinking about it now, I start laughing. Totally, preposterous fun. However, Banner Elk’s pride and joy are just the tip of the crazy festival iceberg.
Come to Nederland, Colorado, for this event featuring coffin races, costumed polar plunges, icy turkey bowling, and even a frozen T-shirt contest! Sounds like fun, but also sounds REAL cold (not my jam). Still too cold in March in Colorado for me.
Grab up all your kin folk and head to Pikeville, Kentucky for this celebration of Appalachian culture. Featured events include: a cornhole tournament, quilt show, hillbilly music, food and local crafts.
Ever wonder who makes-and where-Duct Tape? The answer is Shurtape Technologies in Avon, Ohio (suburb of Cleveland). Each June the locals pay homage to their hometown product that none of us can live without.
EASILY, my favorite name for a festival, this takes place in Crystal Falls, Michigan. People come from all over the world to pay homage to the world’s largest, oldest living organism, a 200,000-pound shoestring mushroom occupying 38 acres of land and dating back anywhere from 1,500 to 10,000 years. Food, fun, and falderal abounds.
What better way to honor the bovine that drive the Wisconsin dairy industry than with a party set around cow chips. There’s a cow chip parade and or course the spectacle of watching competitors vie for the state’s cow chip toss record-live from Prairie du Sac.
Lest you think cow chips are the only things that can be flung at a festival. Welcome to Lowville, New York and September’s Cream Cheese Festival. In addition to the “Flinging Cream Cheese Toss,” you can paint murals with the spread, participate in an all-you-can-eat contest and even take a bite from the world’s largest cheesecake.
Coarsegold, California is where you’ll find this celebration of arachnid-inspired poems, music, crafts, and events. Some of which include a hairy legs contest, a tarantula hat dance, and a tarantula derby. And since Halloween is right around the corner on the calendar, the festival also features trick-or-treating and pumpkin decorating
And since we opened this by mentioning the Tar Heel State’s contribution to this list, if you’ve never seen a woolly worm race, here ya go. And make plans to head up to Banner Elk in the fall. You won’t regret it for a second!
