NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans today announced the New Orleans Mosquito, Termite, Rodent and Control Board’s (NOMTRCB) 3rd Annual BugFest taking place Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the NOMTRCB Administration Building (2100 Leon C. Simon Drive). This bug-centric event introduces residents and visitors from the region to a range of arthropods and wildlife from the Gulf South and around the world.
“NOLA BugFest is NOMTRCB’s largest annual event, and we look forward to it each year,” said NOMTRCB Director Dr. Claudia Riegel. “This fun and educational event brings together the entomological and wildlife community, as well as members of the community. This year marks the return of the NOLA BugFest for the first time in three years, so we encourage all residents and visitors to participate.”
NOMTRCB, generous corporate sponsors and more than 40 organizations will have educational booths and numerous interactive crafts and activities. Professionals including entomologists, ornithologists, pest management professionals, public health experts and other scientists will be present to showcase the fascinating world of insects, spiders and wildlife. The event will be entertaining for all ages, as kids can ‘feed’ hungry frogs staged as Mardi Gras throws, and Glass Half Full will be on site to accept glass recycling. In addition, classic children’s insect stories will be read, and life-size insects, bats and rats will accompany the stories. The first 500 children will also receive a free snowball.
This year, BugFest will spotlight pollinators, which includes insects and animals such as bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and bats. Pollinators transfer pollen from one flower to another and facilitate plant reproduction. Three-fourths of the world’s plants and about 35 percent of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce. One out of every three bites of food we eat depends on pollinators. Large picture boards of pollinators will be staged around NOMTRCB’s flower garden.
Residents can also learn to move like a bee by participating in the famous honeybee waggle dance. Additional activities include dung beetle and cockroach tractor pull races, face painting, a temporary tattoo station, Tick-Tac-Toad, Tunnel Like a Termite and a caterpillar life cycle craft. Photo stations will also be set up throughout the grounds.
If looking at all the live insects and wildlife makes you hungry, local food vendors will be on-site for all attendees to enjoy. An Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium entomologist will host an insect cooking show as well.
A full list of activities can be found at the NOLA BugFest website: nola.gov/mosquito/NOLA-BugFest. Follow NOMTRCB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @nolamosquito for daily updates and activities during NOLA BugFest 2023.
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