Home Index  
Fall TarantulaFest and Barbecue
Saturday, October 4, 2008
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

photos from 2007

A male tarantula on his autumn rounds   Come to the twelth annual Coe Park TarantulaFest and rub elbows (so to speak) with some of our fuzzy, friendly eight-legged guests of honor.  The event is held at the headquarters campground, which has breathtaking views across the ridges and canyons of the backcountry.

The day will be filled with games, contests, entertainment, and enlightenment.  And don't worry if you're arachnophobic.  Several tarantulas will be invited to the event, but they're going to stay in peripheral areas where people can come to visit them.

If you have a meal ticket (which must be bought in advance), you can sit down and enjoy great home-cooked food at our barbecue.

 Activities:

 
Go on a leisurely nature walk with a volunteer naturalist and search for tarantulas on the move
Hold a tarantula and have your picture taken by a friend or by our TarantulaFest photographers
Participate in games and contests
Enjoy live music by The Tarantulas, a band of musical Coe Park volunteers and friends
Hang out at our kids' activities table and create TarantulaFest keepsakes

 The Barbecue:
 
Tickets for the barbecue must be ordered in advance.  Our home-cooked food is served from 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. in the headquarters campground.   You can choose from the following meals.

Santa Maria
Style
Steak Dinner
Marinated
Chicken
Dinner
Gardenburger
Vegetarian
Dinner
Grilled
Hot Dog
Dinner

All the meals come with ranch-style beans, tossed green salad, and grilled French bread.

Proceeds from the barbecue go to the Pine Ridge Association, the nonprofit organization that works hand in hand with Coe Park staff to keep the park up and running. 

An order form for barbecue tickets will be available here in early August.
We'll start issuing tickets during the first week in September.
(Keep in mind that tickets often sell out well before the event, so be sure to order your tickets early!)

 Beverages:
 
Our beverage booth opens at 10 a.m., and we'll be selling bottled water, soda pops, fruit juice, draft beer, and wine.

 The Raffle:

 
Raffle prizes are donated by local artists, businesses, and fans of the park.  Proceeds from the raffle will be used for our Visitor Center expansion fund and to support interpretive programs at the park. 

The suggested donation for raffle tickets is $1.00 per ticket, 6 tickets for $5.00, or 25 tickets for $20.00. You can buy raffle tickets in advance at the park or buy them on the day of the TarantulaFest (before the drawing starts, of course).  You don't have to be present to win.

Prizes will be listed here in September.

 Parking:

 
The state charges a day-use parking fee of $5 per car.  Please carpool to help us save parking space.

This event is sponsored by the Pine Ridge Association,
a nonprofit cooperating organization
dedicated to the wellbeing of Coe Park.

Return  to the events page