Last week, we attended the Woolly Worm festival in Banner Elk, NC. My parents treated both of my kids to their "own" woolly worms to race...Rapunzel was my daughter's and Woolly Woolly Jake was my son's. Yes, I said race. This money pit of a festival is based on the tradition that woolly worms can predict winter weather based on the darkness of their black stripes. It was hilarious. Ridiculous. Ludicrous. And yet, my kids loved it!
The idea is that you buy a woolly worm and compete in a heat with 19 other hopeful woolly worms and their "trainers." You put the worm on a special mark on the string, and when the leader says go, you start urging your worm up the string without touching the worm or string at all. Some people had straws and blew on the worms to get them moving. Others cheered loudly or fanned their worms. The chaos that ensued was beyond absurd. Even at the fastest possible speed, the race moved along at a...dare I say...crawl. (Pun intended, I suppose). The winning worm of each heat got $25 and the chance to return for a semi-final. Semi-final winners received $50 and a chance to compete in the finals for $1000! The winning worm was then analyzed to predict the winter weather.
Throughout the festival they had art booths, crafty items for sale, and plush woolly worms tacked onto all kinds of hats, clothes, scarves, etc. It was truly a money pit, but everyone seemed to be having a blast.
Even though this was beyond absurd, I am glad we were able to attend. While at one time I used to be ashamed to live in the region of the country that I do (I was Cajun born and raised), now I find contentment in the country traditions and festivals that surround us. Though silly, they are a part of the culture where my kids will be raised, and I hope they learn to take pride in their heritage. However, I hope they take pride in the legend of the woolly worm withOUT having to revisit the celebration. Once was enough for this mama!
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