The 5th Annual Bug & Bud Festival was held in Milford, Delaware on Saturday, April 26 and it was a huge success. The Festival has grown over the years and gotten great press both locally and nationally. It is a Spring family festival celebrating the anniversary of the ladybug becoming Delaware’s official state bug (Read the Full Story) and Arbor Month.Rhonda and I led the opening costume parade, as we have done every year. In keeping with tradition, we are accompanied by two of our granddaughters—Madison (three years old) and Jordan (five months old), each dressed as little ladybugs. We even have a marching band, “The Bug Strutters”, which performs as the parade winds into the downtown center.
The weather was perfect--sunny and warm--and thousands of people enjoyed outside activities, shopped from craft vendors, feasted on a variety of foods (especially grilled chicken prepared by our local Parks & Recreation Department staff), listened to music and generally had a great time.
We want to acknowledge a special treat that each year is provided during the Festival. The LadyBug Shop distributes packages of live ladybugs! These have been provided to us each year by a great company in Redmond, Oregon—Ladies in Red. When we first contacted them about the Festival five years ago they were enthusiastic about the event and told us they would ship us a fresh batch of ladybugs just before the Festival. They were good to their word and just a few days before the Festival in 2004 several boxes of hibernating ladybugs arrived—and they have done the same every year since. We take the ladies out of refrigeration the evening before the event and by the next morning they are moving around and ready to be released into gardens all around town.
If you need some ladybugs (or other garden friendly insects such as nematodes or praying mantises) we urge you to visit Ladies in Red on their website http://www.ladiesinred.com/ or give them a call at 541-504-019. They ship worldwide and customize quantity and packaging to meet their customer’s needs. And, they have a really cute and informative website. (If you don’t know how many ladybugs can fit in a cup, you can find out here!)
We want to acknowledge a special treat that each year is provided during the Festival. The LadyBug Shop distributes packages of live ladybugs! These have been provided to us each year by a great company in Redmond, Oregon—Ladies in Red. When we first contacted them about the Festival five years ago they were enthusiastic about the event and told us they would ship us a fresh batch of ladybugs just before the Festival. They were good to their word and just a few days before the Festival in 2004 several boxes of hibernating ladybugs arrived—and they have done the same every year since. We take the ladies out of refrigeration the evening before the event and by the next morning they are moving around and ready to be released into gardens all around town.
If you need some ladybugs (or other garden friendly insects such as nematodes or praying mantises) we urge you to visit Ladies in Red on their website http://www.ladiesinred.com/ or give them a call at 541-504-019. They ship worldwide and customize quantity and packaging to meet their customer’s needs. And, they have a really cute and informative website. (If you don’t know how many ladybugs can fit in a cup, you can find out here!)
