It just brings people in from the outside and shows them what our culture is around here," Vance said. Vance says the festival is not only a large fundraiser tool for the school district and brings in more than 20,000 people, but a big economic booster for the community. "It's a very big deal for Avery County," Riverside Elementary Principal Whitney Baird Vance said. Flick, a name meant to represent both brown and black, means below average with some snow. If a worm has black strips, that means snow. The worm that gets up the string fastest predicts the winter season based on its colors. Each stripe representing the weather that week. It's an old celebrated folklore in the mountains that turned into a festival here in the 1970s when Jim Mortan was preparing a winter issue of a magazine and found the woolly worms.Īs the folklore goes, there are 13 body segments on a woolly worm and 13 weeks of winter. She was hoping her worm won, because her worm didn't have too much black. "I blowed on it real hard," Goforth said. Goforth is in fourth grade and says she practiced racing her worm at home to get ready for the big day. This year's winner at Riverside Elementary was Kenzie Goforth. most fun Ive ever had at any fair or festival was the first time I attended the Woolly Worm Festival in Banner Elk. It's a tradition that has been going on there for years. Their worms raced up the string for a chance to be the winner of the school. Students from Riverside Elementary School spent their day practicing Thursday. All proceeds are given back to the community to enhance our schools, children's programs, and to promote business and tourism in Avery County. It's a festival known countrywide, but locals also take time to prepare for the race. The 46th Annual Woolly Worm Festival is co-sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Banner Elk and the Avery County Chamber of Commerce. The woolly worm is said to predict the high country's winter weather Students practiced racing in school to get ready for the big event The Woolly Worm Festival was back in Avery County this weekend People headed in to race their worms up string. The Woolly Worm Festival was back for its 45th year. The race was on in Avery County this weekend.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |