Kentucky's Can't-Miss Woolly Worm Festival All Set for October

As we continue to bake in a heatwave that has conveniently coincided with the first official week of summer, I'm ready to skip ahead and think about fall and even winter. It's a little early for me, but triple-digit heat indices will do that to you.

Frankly, I wish all festivals would move to October, but then we'd be bored for 11 months out of the year. Again, the heat's getting to me, and I may not be entirely clear at times. But October is my jam, and when the summer stifles, I start looking for woolly worms to give me hope. It seems I've found them, and it looks like they are a cause for celebration and have been, on an annual basis, for some time.

The Woolly Worm Festival

Travel to Beattyville, Kentucky, on October 24th and 25th and celebrate the impending arrival of winter at the 38th annual Woolly Worm Festival.

When you get there, you'll find plenty to do, like, for example, enjoying woolly worm races. This event finds our favorite insect prognosticators racing up strings to determine which worm will be the official predictor for the coming winter. By the way, there's also a Woolly Worm Festival in North Carolina. Maybe you can hit both.

What to See at the Annual Woolly Worm Festival

Lots of vendor booths featuring a variety of food options, artisan crafts, jewelry, and the works of local authors are part of the fun. The annual gala also includes a car show, live entertainment, a pet show, and a parade. Organizers are still booking vendors, so there's no official schedule yet, but here's the itinerary from last year.

It's a massive festival, known in recent years to draw more than 100,000 attendees. Hey, you don't have to twist my arm to hang out outside in October. And when it's coupled with a celebration of woolly worms, of all things, how can anyone resist?