Bring the kids! Bring yourself!
But leave everything you’ve been taught about good table manners at home.
We’re gonna eat bugs!
Entomophogy…The worldwide practice of eating insects (and spiders)
Big fat juicy ones, wee little skinny ones, we’re all gonna eat bugs.
Why not do it in a fun and friendly environment – you never know when you might really need it….
Marjory Wildcraft, Alan Davisson, and Robert Allen will again be teaming up to create an amazing evening that you and you
r kids will be remember for the rest of your lives. If you have a camera, bring it! We will be preparing tasty treats of grasshoppers, crickets, spiders, katydids, bees, wasps, wormy things and if we’re lucky, a scorpion or two.
This will be a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bugs to share) party so start catching them early so we have lots! They can be stored in a bag in the freezer until the festival, but get an early start so we have a swarm.
This will also be a ‘normal’ potluck so bring a dish of ordinary food to share. Bring a dish large enough to feed 8 hungry people.
- June Bugs are out now around the lights at night…. bag lots of them + freeze em.
- Grasshoppers, crickets, katydids… keep them alive overnight so they get a chance to “purge” then freeze em.
- Wasp nests… into a jar with the whole nest… NOTHING will be wasted.
- Wolf Spiders… put on a headlamp and their eyes glow like green laser emeralds at night. They taste like chicken but they’ll eat each other so keep em separate.
- Grubs…new on our menu this year… not for the faint of heart.
- Mealworms…. Usually from the pet store but we wouldn’t want to miss em!
- Scorpians – yum, yum, the best of the flavors – bring as many as you can. They show up yellow at night under a black light.
Bring any other insects you find and we will put Alan to the test to see if he knows the edibility of it. Last year, the kids brought a walking stick and munched it down. Ooossshh.
The Bug Festival is held at Zilker Park in the Rock Garden Picnic area (just a bit above the hill where the outdoor amphitheater is). We are starting at 7:00pm and go until almost dark. Saturday June 29th. Yup, the really interesting people will be there.
This is all you need to bring to the event your family will talk about for years to come:
- Bugs!
- Potluck dish of “normal” food for 8 hungry people
- Your own beverages (no glass bottles), but alcohol is allowed (and Marjory’s husband highly recommends lots of beer)
- A good story or joke
- An open mind
- $5 for each grown-up (at the door)
- kids under 12 free
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PS: Rumor is we might have a bluegrass band playing during the evening too!
Marjory Wildcraft is an Expedition Leader and Bioneer Blogger with The [Grow] Network, which is an online community that recognizes the wisdom of “homegrown food on every table.” Marjory has been featured as an expert on sustainable living by National Geographic, she is a speaker at Mother Earth News fairs, and is a returning guest on Coast to Coast AM. She is an author of several books, but is best known for her “Grow Your Own Groceries” video series, which is used by more than 300,000 homesteaders, survivalists, universities, and missionary organizations around the world.
COMMENTS(0)
Thorntons bookshop in the uk is still selling the famous booklet ” why not eat insects” a 19th century classics.
( approx $4)
Copies are still available!!!!!…… Going fast after a recent BBC program
Do a soil analysis in your backyard before you eat your homegrown food.
I got seriously poisoned 10 years ago by excessive arsenic and lead in my soil in Rio Rancho, NM. The lab soil, water and pr0duce profiles confirmed the toxins. The root and low growing plants were the worst as toxin carriers. The fruit from trees, peaches, were clean. Controlled, replaced soil in raised beds and pots are a reasonable corrective measure for the growing medium, however watering can still be risky if the source is tainted.
Wow Robert, that is an amazing post.
Why do you think there are high levels of lead and arsenic in the soil? Rio Rancho, that is in the northern part of NM, correct? What is near there that would have contaminated the soil?
Please let us know as this may be an issue for many other people.
How do we learn about this if we cant come to see you in texas ? you never know .when you might be hungry. It would probably be a good idea to offer BEER-making seminars hand-in-hand, that seems to be the only way to go when attempting this..grin..Good time to learn such basics ( the bug-eating) full of omegas..wow. The scorpion looks like it packs a punch and would be the first thing I would try.
** but Id still like some pointers ** will you be writing more about this ? Absolutely agreed that we have overfished and cannot produce enough meat, eggs, etc. Sad state for our Mother Earth.
Hi Angie,
I have been working with Alan and we’ve got a video and a book created that will help those who cannot attend. I need a videographer to help me render the thing into a DVD… but I hope to get this info out a.s.a.p.
And we’ve gotten the text written for the accompanying book, but I need someone to proof read it and find some nice images to insert. But I am real clost to getting this out there.
If you – or anyone – is up for helping out on a totally low budget, high quality project (big smile) let me know
Oh, love the suggestion of the beer making at the same time! Yup, lubrication helps a LOT. Mmm, there are some herbal remedies that help too. LOL
The best way to eat a bug is to feed it to a chicken. The chicken converts it to protein – meat or egg. Tastes a lot better.
Hi TexanGuy, Can’t argue with that.
But I know my friend Alan would say “why not cut out the middle man?”.
LOL
Is the bug eating festival dog-friendly?
I may have to have pass her a bug or two if I get too squeamish!
the bug fest is outdoors in Zilker park – and I don’t see why a dog couldn’t join in! There are leash laws of course… but please come Dogs already eat insects. ‘insect appetizers’ my daughter calls them.
Got your DVDs on Growing Your Own Food. And I’m very excited about getting into raising rabbits. I had already been raising chickens for the past year. It’s great just going out in my backyard to gather the eggs. I’m now making rabbit cages all out of wire and hopefully getting my rabbits this weekend. New Zealand rabbits. My raised beds are doing great, had fresh peas this past spring now I’m looking foward to my other vegetables! I work but I’m still making time to do the things I love!
Jill,
Yeah, isn’t it great when it works out? LOL.
Thanks for sharing, awesome results.
My daughter and I had a wonderful time at the bug eating festival. We met cool new people and ate some bugs! We are hoping to attend again next year. Maybe we won’t bring the giant roaches next time though haha.
I live in the Chattanooga area and am very interested in this type cuisine. Are there any culinary schools that offer instruction other than trying (and tweeking) recipes found on the net? I’ve had the “bug” for this since an entomology final project where we cooked and ate dishes with insects.
Hi Judie,
Well, I don’t know about culinary schools. But I’ll keep it in mind and write back if I hear of something.
dear amelia,
my husband and i had a bit from your bug! it was fine. had you not brought them, i am not sure that i’d have tasted one while standing on western turf. i appreciate your efforts!
This post says it is June 21st, and it says it is June 29th. Which is it?
Thank you,
Wendy
Hi Wendy – This post was from 2013. This year’s festival (2016) was scheduled for June 4th, but it got rained out and rescheduled for July 13th. I believe it will be at In.gredients (https://in.gredients.com/) on Manor Rd.