The small town of Coarsegold, Calif. celebrates a creature with a big reputation — for being scary.
Coarsegold, located in the Sierra foothills not far from the south entrance to Yosemite National Park, is the site of the annual Coarsegold Tarantula Festival. Despite their scary reputation, it turns out the tarantulas are harmless — and an important part of the local ecosystem. One of the purposes of the annual event is to educate people the arachnids.
Set for Oct. 26, the festival marks the time of year tarantulas emerge from their burrows to find a mate, before hunkering back down for the winter. The event features tarantula races, hairiest leg contests (for both men and women), costume contests, baking contests and art activities for kids.
“I’ve had hundreds of people who say they spared the life of a tarantula because of the festival,” said Diane Boland, festival creator. “People are reporting they now gently move them from places they’re not wanted, instead of resorting to a shoe or bug spray,”
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