Bugs swarm Polson VFW

Creepy crawlers were hovered over by children last week at the VFW in Polson, as the insects participated in a race.

On Thursday, Aug. 10, there were 60 children from the Boys and Girls Club, Fun and Fancy Free Daycare and some families that participated, according to Kendra Mullison, a youth librarian at the North Lake County Public Library.

“It’s fun,” she said, adding that the event is “absolute chaos” each year, but the excitement is the type that is welcomed by library staff.

The annual Bug Race, sponsored and organized by the North Lake County Public Library District, was held at the VFW for the third year in a row.

Thursday marked the 32nd year of the event.

Three judges from the local Kiwanis Club as well as two visitors of the library system kept a watchful eye on the bugs and their human counterparts, Mullison said.

Master of ceremonies was Jeffery Newton.

Mullison said that she is “grateful” for parents who caught bugs in their yards with the kids for the race.

Oftentimes when the children catch the bugs, they ask their parents what kinds of bugs they have or how do they keep the bugs alive and strong until the race.

Some of the bugs present were various beetles, earwigs, ants, and a daddy long-legs.

After the race, Mullison said that the bugs were safely released back into nature.

In the event that a bug dies before or during the race, Mullison said that “back up” bugs are allowed.

The top four winners were :

Strider Gage, with a beetle

Avari Stone, with a pine beetle

Christian Dentler, with an earwig

Mason Alexander, with an ant

Each winner received a T-shirt that was designed and donated by Tami Morrison.