The Woollybear Festival, created by Cleveland meteorologist Dick Goddard, celebrates the Woolly Bear caterpillar, which is said to foretell the severity of the upcoming winter by its orange-brown stripe. This one-day festival takes place in downtown Vermilion and has an attendance of over 100 thousand festival goers each year.
2023 DATE: October 8. 2023
Location: Downtown Vermilion
Website: https://www.vermilionohio.com/woollybear-festival/
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I wrote a review of the Woollybear Festival back in 2010. After a few years and a better camera, I decided to come back and be a little more thorough.
You can read my 2010 here – 2010 Review
This post documents my experience on September 28, 2014.
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I present you with the Woolly Bear.
Larva of the Isabella Tiger Moth, this caterpillar is recognized by its coppery (orange-brown) band that some use to predict the severity of the upcoming winter.
If the band is thick, it means that the winter will be mild. If the band is thin, the winter will be severe.
And as Meteorologist Dick Goddard has said, “The woollybear (sic) is always right…it’s the weather that’s wrong!” (Fox8)
Dick Goddard is important here because, with the help of coworkers and friends from Cleveland’s WJW…
…he created the Woollybear Festival, a celebration that started with a 2,000 person attendance in Birmingham, Ohio and became an annual one-day event of over 100k festival goers in Vermilion…
…making it the biggest one-day festival in Ohio!
That’s why we (me, my mom and Max) decided to get there early (10:45)…
…already finding chairs lined up along the parade route…
…and occasional food trucks as we made our way to town.
We first stopped at the smaller festival area on Liberty Ave…
…where Cleveland colors matched those of the Woollybear (RivalGear)…
…a bit of gambling helped a great cause (Relay for Life)…
…and the source of some really annoying balloons was found.
(Seriously, look at all the photos afterward to get an idea to see how many balloons there are out there!)
From there, we eventually made our way up Route 60…
…browsing through Woollybear shirts…
…headbands, baskets…
…cages…
…pins…
…and even suckers (Brummer’s)…
…because it’s important to show a bit…
…or a lot of Woollybear pride (notice the pin on his right shoulder).
After passing the sea of balloons and crossing the tracks…
…we became part of a sea of people…
…who either took part in rides and games…
…shopped among an array of vendors…
…and local businesses…
…ate along the avenue of food…
…where I recommend the perch sliders from the Knights of Columbus…
…or stopped here at the main stage…
…(which a lot of people did)…
…to see WJW personalities like Big Chuck…
…and Dick Goddard himself…
…as they presented Woollybear dogs…
…goats…
…rabbits…
…and pigs.
That said…
…the festival was very dog-friendly…
…with the presence of dog adoption centers (Pet ResQ Ohio/Greyhound)…
…accessory booths…
…and enough treats to make any pooch happy (Pampered/Grateful).
We, instead, were happy with Woollybear Festival dancing in the park…
…some friendly discussion with Neil Zurcher of One Tank Trips…
…and a visit with the Official Woollybear Chair…
…which Max really enjoyed.