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Woolly Worm
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
In 2008, the American Festivals Project headed south to Banner Elk, North Carolina, to attend the annual Woolly Worm Festival, an autumn event in which thousands of contestants race woolly worms, fuzzy caterpillars also known as banded woolly bears.
The winning worm is said to forecast the weather for the coming season. A woolly worm's body has 13 segments—each corresponding to a week in winter. If a segment is light brown, that means the week will be mild. If a segment is black, that means a harsh, cold week.
Here, a contestant shows off her competing caterpillar, a woolly worm that would appear to predict plenty of mild weeks ahead.
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Woolly Worm Race
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
During the race, contestants blow on their woolly worms to hurry them up their strings, a technique that doesn’t always prove effective.
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Woolly Worms for Sale
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A woman sells woolly worms and cages outside the festival gates. Many people in the local community collect woolly worms weeks before the festival and sell them to tourists at three times the cost of the woolly worms sold inside.
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Mr. Woolly Worm
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Roy Krege, also known as Mr. Woolly Worm, is a long-time volunteer at the Woolly Worm Festival. Here, he announces race rules and regulations to a crowd of contestants.
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Woolly Worm Warm-Up
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A young contestant blows on her woolly worm to keep it warm before a race. Banner Elk’s Appalachian temperatures can slow down woolly worms on race day.
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Woolly Worm Winner
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Six-year-old Kurstin watches as the “sports medic” and a weather official inspect Kelly, her winning woolly worm, which will be used to predict the upcoming winter calendar.
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Woolly Worm Vendor
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Inside festival grounds, woolly worms are a bargain at just one dollar. The winning woolly worm is worth $1,000 in prize money.
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Race Prep
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Warming their woolly worms with hot air is the technique of choice for a family prepping their fuzzy competitors before a race.
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Woolly Worm Vendor
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A woolly worm, or woolly bear, is a type of caterpillar found in North America. In spring, it transforms into an Isabella tiger moth (Pyrrharctia isabella).
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Racing Woolly Worms
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
Contestants place their woolly worms on strings in preparation for the race. Once an official starts the race, no one is allowed to touch his or her woolly worm.
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Woolly Worm Race
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A woolly worm race official declares a winner on the far end of the course. There are several heats throughout the day, with a final race deciding the champion woolly worm.
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Girl With a Woolly Worm
Photograph by Ross McDermott, American Festivals Project
A young contestant keeps her woolly worm fed with leaves in a cup.
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