Woolly Worm Festival, Banner Elk NC, Contest, October

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The Final Winner
Noah Jens is the human's name (9 years old)
Wilbur is the worm's name
They are from Chapel Hill, NC - Click Here To See Their Pics

On Saturday We Had Forty Three Heats; 6 Semi-Finals; and 1 Final Race; For a Total of 1,124 Worms.
On Sunday We Had 25 Heats; 4 semi finals; and 1 Final Race; For a Total of 480 worms.
There Was a Total of 1,604 Worms Racing; and that many human trainers.

The most commonly used name for a worm this year was "Speedy"
Other top names include, "Fuzzy", "Lightning", "Woolly", "Willy", "Wormy", & "Flash"

The forecast for the 13 weeks of winter 2009 - 2010
- Week 1 - Flurries
- Week 2 - Cold With Flurries
- Week 3 - Snow
- Week 4 - Flurries
- Week 5 - Cold
- Week 6 - Cold
- Week 7 - Cold
- Week 8 - Light Flurries
- Week 9 - Below Average Cold
- Week 10 - Below Average Cold
- Week 11 - Snow
- Week 12 - Flurries
- Week 13 - Flurries

Click Here To See Pics Submitted by Festival Attendees

The 2009 Festival is the 32nd Annual Festival

For the 32nd year the town of Banner Elk has welcomed both old and new friends to the annual Woolly Worm Festival. This family event co-hosted by the Avery County Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Organization of Banner Elk welcomes more than 23,000 people to the community to make family memories and also to win the prestigious title of predicting the High Country weather and the chance to win the $1000 bounty.

Some changes and additions to this year’s festival; opening the gates at 9:00 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday and the expansion of the kid’s area in the park. There was special music on Sunday by the John Schuffler Band and local family pricing as well on Sunday. The Woolly Worm Gazette has coupons the week of the event.

The added time at the festival gave festival goers more time to take in the over 140 food and craft vendors with their handcrafted items, plus rides, musicians and dance teams.

We will have many returning vendors who make worm houses and pins, face painting and also include artists who do photography, pottery, stained glass and much more. “It’s a great festival, as it has something for everyone,” says Roy Krege, also known as Mr. Woolly Worm, one of the many volunteers helping to organize the event and add to its success.

Participants wishing to race their worm may register at 9:00 a.m., and shortly after that races begin. 25 worms are in each heat, “but please come early as race entries fill up early and we want,” says Director of the Chamber, Susan Freeman. Saturday’s winning Woolly Worm holds the esteemed honor of predicting the winter weather season and the Woolly Worm wins prize monies of $1000, which we hope the winning worm shares with its owner. Sunday’s winning Woolly Worm $500.

Come enjoy the camaraderie of the day and cheer on your favorite Woolly. For more information contact The Avery County Chamber of Commerce at 800-972-2183 or visit our website at www.averycounty.com.

A Time For Family Fun

Remember, The Woolly Worm Festival is co-sponsored by The Kiwanis Club of Banner Elk and The Avery County Chamber of Commerce. This means that most of the proceeds go back into the communities of Avery County, especially to the children.

Since 1978, the residents of Banner Elk, Sugar Mountain and Beech Mountain villages have celebrated the coming of the snow season with The Woolly Worm Festival. The third weekend in October determines which worm will have the honor of predicting the severity of the coming winter. That worm earns the honor by winning the final of many hard fought races up a three-foot length of string set on the main stage. This is how it works:

As the late Charles Von Canon explained, "The Wooly Bear caterpillar has 13 brown and black segments that correspond to the 13 weeks of winter. The lighter brown a segment is, the milder that week of winter will be. The darker black a segment is, the colder and snowier the corresponding week will be." The winner of the final heat becomes the survivor of the fittest and is used to for prognasticating. Its been done that way for decades by the local farmers.

Don't miss this one of a kind festival where racing woolly worms is a highlight. A true predictor of the coming winter weather is the honor bestowed upon the winner of the final heat on Saturday. Woolly Worms are racing all day for this thwo day event with the Championship race held Saturday at the end of the festival close to the day's end for the festival. You will find great food, a woad wace, live entertainment, and lots of arts and craft vendors.

The Woolly Worm races begin around 10 a.m. Each heat consists of 20 worms and races continue all day until the grand final around 4 p.m. The winning worm on Saturday is declared the official winter forecasting agent. The Sunday worm races are for prestige, fun and small prizes.

In addition to the Woolly Worm Races, the festival features crafts, food vendors, live entertainment and much more. Last year's festival attracted an estimated 20,000 fans, 140 vendors and around 1,000 race entrants. And the $1,000 first prize that accompanies the prestige of having your worm used to pronounce the official winter forecast doesn't hurt either.

The 2009 Woolly Worm Festival

What: Woolly Worm Festival

Where: Banner Elk Elementary School- Downtown Banner Elk

When: Saturday October 17 & Sunday October 18 "Always The Third Weekend in October"

Saturday October 17; 9 am - 5 pm

Sunday October 18; 9 am - 4 pm

Admission: $5.00 (adults) $2 (kids 5-12) under age 5- free

Tickets will be sold at the gate

Worm Registration: $5.00

No dogs are allowed on the grounds as per Avery County Health Department; except for seeing eye dogs and other "approved" animals, etc; but we do have a doggie area kennel staffed by the best dog-sitters in North Carolina.

Volunteer NOW to help with the Woolly Worm Festival
Download forms here
Volunteer Form
Application for 2009 Woolly Worm Festival Funds

An Interview With The Founder of Woolly Worm Racing

When Jim Morton first put a blade of grass in front of a woolly worm, he had no idea that the fuzzy critter at his feet would lead to a festival that draws nearly 20,000 people, 140 vendors, 1,000 worm trainers, and national media crews to the town of Banner Elk.

Morton was one of the founders of the Woolly Worm Festival. "October of 1973 was my first autumn in this area," says Morton. "That was when I first learned about the woolly worm's role in local folklore. A gentleman who worked at Grandfather Mountain told me about woolly worms being used to forecast winter. [Read More]