If indeed there was a “How to be a Kid” handbook, you better bet a whole section, er, chapter would be dedicated to the love of bugs and insects. Also included in such an instructional manual would be a suggestion to attend the annual interactive and imaginative Bug City event, which this year takes place Sat 8/14 at the Garfield Park Nature Center at Garfield Park Reservation.
Not necessarily for the faint hearted or common sense-minded adult, this one-day affair celebrates critters that often find themselves the target of a can of Raid or the exterminator.
“Bug City is a chance for us to celebrate and educate folks on bugs,” said Cleveland Metroparks Marketing and Public Relations Manager Bob Rotatori. “What they look like, why they’re important and even what they taste like. The interesting part is I’ve been associated with all 20 years of this event and previously it was called Bug Fest. We’ve switched the name to Bug City, where we’ve created more of these city districts, so to speak, where you’ll see entertainment in one section, an educational area in another section, etc.”
Kids attending the event receive a passport, with the idea being they spend the next few hours filling it up with stamps from different districts. If they partake in enough activities, they get a key to Bug City. Perhaps the one question that comes to mind is: Aren’t some people scared of 10, 12, 16 or 40-leg creatures?“The one thing I’ve always seen are the kids who don’t have the fear already built into them that are OK with touching the bugs, while the older kids, who have seen things on TV, get a little bit more squeamish about it,” Rotatori said. “I guess there are some inherent fears in people but I’ve seen young kids play with the millipedes and centipedes, and I’ve even seen a couple of people with the hissing cockroaches and things like that. That’s the great thing about this event, there are a good number of exhibitors that have both live and mounted bugs on display and they are really up close and personal with all of the folks coming to visit.”
Let’s stop right there and go back for a moment. What exactly are hissing cockroaches, which honestly sounds like the name of a punk rock band?
“I’m not sure why they do this but they have this capability to hiss if they are in fear of something,” Rotatori said. “The Zoo actually has a display of them and one of our exhibitors actually has his own hissing cockroaches too.”Averaging anywhere between 5,000 and 8,000 people annually depending on the weather, Bug City has roughly a dozen vendors this year. Among them is Michigan resident Gene White, who apparently is the Bobby Flay of insect culinary dishes. Rotatori said he’ll be cooking up mealworms, crickets, moth larvae and perhaps whatever else crawls under his feet.
“Ironically he actually works for an exterminating company,” Rotatori laughed. “He’s their educational specialist who educates people on bugs and how to remove them, maybe in a more environmental and sustainable way. He also does presentations on bugs.”
Other attractions at Bug City include touring the bug house, enjoying bug music, racing mealworms, viewing the butterfly and bee exhibits, playing bug bingo and riding the bug express train ($1/person). There’s also a bug parade where kids are encouraged to dress up as their favorite bugs.
“Bug City, it really is for all ages,” Rotatori said. “In all the years I’ve been there, I’ve seen grandparents with their grandkids or just folks coming out. I’m not sure it’s a date thing, but I’m sure young folks would have just as much fun with it too.”
Hmm, to be honest, it sounds like more of a “Fear Factor” kind of experience.
Rotatori laughed, “That could be.”
Bug City 20th Anniversary takes place on Sat 8/14 at the Garfield Park Nature Center in the Garfield Park Reservation in Garfield Heights, from 11AM to 4:30PM. For more information, call 216-341-3152 or visit http://www.clemetparks.com/events/bug_city.asp
Free-lance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio.
When he’s not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria.