Village hosts festival to celebrate the nuisance blackflies

A collection of bug-related hats, some with insect netting, in advance of the annual Blackfly festival, giving tribute to the spring outdoor nuisance, are displayed in Adamant, Vt., Thursday June 2, 2016. The festival includes a combination parade and fashion show, with music and a blackfly pie contest where entries are judged on their taste and blackfly homage. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke) A collection of bug-related hats, some with insect netting, in advance of the annual Blackfly festival, giving tribute to the spring outdoor nuisance, are displayed in Adamant, Vt., Thursday June 2, 2016. The festival includes a combination parade and fashion show, with music and a blackfly pie contest where entries are judged on their taste and blackfly homage. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke)

By Associated Press June 3, 2016 2 min read

CALAIS, Vt. (AP) – A Vermont village is hosting a festival to celebrate a nuisance of spring in New England: the blackfly.

The 13th annual Adamant Blackfly Festival on Saturday includes a fashion show, a blackfly poetry slam and a blackfly pie contest in which entries are judged on their taste and blackfly homage. Blackflies aren’t actually an ingredient in the pies, though. Some cooks try to make designs that resemble blackflies.

“It’s just about being festive and happy, and damn the flies!” said Janet MacLeod, an artist with a studio in Adamant.

MacLeod said one year a participant actually made the pies fly by shooting them off into the woods.

Festival organizers say about 40 species of blackfly exist in Vermont, with only four or five that bite humans. In late April or May, they emerge from streams in droves in search of blood.