La Junta Tarantula Festival Plans Emerge

Description: Press Play to Watch the most recent interview with event organizer Angela Ayala at Live Well Park in La Junta.


Published: 07/12/2022
Byline: Hart

La Junta Tarantula Festival Plans Emerge

Southeast Colorado government organizations, businesses, non-profits, clubs, organizations, and community members are coming together to bring La Junta's first Tarantula Festival to life and the public is invited...

Update: La Junta Tarantula Fest Schedule of Events

The La Junta Tarantula Festival Committee met on Tuesday, July 11, 2022 to discuss the first annual event.

The dates are set for events, activities, entertainment, and education revolving around Southeast Colorado's furry-legged friends in October.

The first La Junta Tarantula Festival will be held Friday, October 7th and Saturday, October 8th.

Activities in the making include guided educational tours to the Comanche National Grassland to view tarantulas in their natural habitat, a family fun bicycle ride, a Saturday morning parade and costume contest, educational presentations from a tarantula expert, downtown tarantula art installations, food trucks, vendors and more.

Organizations involved include La Junta Tourism, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, The Comanche National Grassland, Otero College, Canyons and Plains of Southeast Colorado, The La Junta Chamber of Commerce, Clean Valley Recycling, SECO News and numerous others.

Otero College is sponsoring and hosting a guest lecturer, who is an arachnid and tarantula specialist.

Clean Valley Recycling will be hosting a family fun Tarantula bike ride.

The Fox Theatre will be showing a tarantula-related movie. (A Virtual Tour of The Fox Theatre of La Junta)

The Southeast Colorado Antique Vehicle Club will be hosting a car show in conjunction with the Tarantula Festival and SECO News will have coverage and press releases about the show.

Colleen Oquist shows the committee the routes for the educational tours to the Comanche National Grassland, Rick Walner, Pam Denahy and Angela Ayala are pictured.

Ayala suggested that event sponsors could possibly hang banners on the former Uptown Building. She said they could possibly wrap the building in canvas and create a wrap around Tarantula Mural for festival goers to take photos with.

Ayala spoke about a window decorating contest involving the downtown businesses in La Junta.

The group discussed additional partnerships within the community and Ayala expressed her appreciation for the volunteers involved in planning the first Tarantula Festival. 

SECO News is excited to announce it's third annual Tarantula Photography Contest, Awards Ceremony, and Contributor Party.

Due to unforeseen circumstances and Covid-19 affecting the marketplace in 2021, SECO News delayed the 2021 Tarantula Photography Contest Awards and Annual SECO News Contributor Party. For 2022 we will be celebrating both the '21 winners and holding a new contest with new champions named and celebrated during the La Junta Tarantula Festival. Further details will be announced. 

Now our contributor community will have the opportunity to participate in the restoration and modernization of Southeast Colorado's Media through creating content to help the La Junta Tarantula Festival grow while promoting Southeast Colorado to a global community of readers on seconews.org.

We will continue to publish updates on the first La Junta Tarantula Festival as they emerge on SECO News

#secotarantulas

Related Content:

About The Valley: City of La Junta Tarantula Festival Plans Begin (#secopodcast)

It's Tarantula Time - by Sue Keefer

15 Grants Support Colorado Destinations Recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic

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