Hairy legs? Perfect! Webs are being woven near the south entrance to Yosemite National Park for the free 22nd Annual Tarantula Festival. Get ready for tarantula derby, arachnid races, costume parades, hairy legs (men and women), pizza eating, pumpkin cake and scream-off contests. Also enjoy spooky poetry and crafts as the Tarantula Festival creeps back into Madera County at Coarsegold Historic Village on Saturday, October 26th.
Also known as the Tarantula Awareness Festival, it’s a very special day with family fun for all ages in a great community setting.
“Having an event like this brings out not only the tarantulas but the community, as well, to learn about the spiders. I attended last year, and it was loads of spooky fun. I definitely shy away from tarantulas, but I managed to pick a few up. They are hairy and harmless!” said Therese Williams, Public Relations and Media Director for Visit Yosemite | Madera County.
The annual festival celebrates neighbourhood tarantulas who emerge from their burrows each fall to find a mate then hunker back down for the winter. The spiders’ emergence serves as a forecast for cooler temperatures, rain in the coming weeks and a reason to celebrate for local townsfolk. Tarantulas began appearing, and starring in locals’ social media feeds, last week.
“While this is a local favorite, we also have people from all around the world come here and enjoy this truly unique event including Australians, Europeans and Asians as we promote it worldwide over our social channels and website,” said Williams.
.jpg){kind=tracking}