Austin’s 10th Annual BugFest

Event: Austin’s 10th Annual BugFest
When: Saturday, June 10th at 4-8:00 PM
Where: At in.gredients 2610 Manor Rd, Austin, Texas 78722

Tickets:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/10th-annual-austin-bug-eating-festival-tickets-34667068134

What: Open to the public and free for kids, BugFest is your chance to learn about insects as food for people, pets and livestock. Taste food made with insects, see Chef Josh Jones, Co-Founder of Salt & Time and Chef PV do bug cooking demonstrations, enjoy SPUN ice cream, kids activity tables hosted by ATX urban farm, Green Gate Farm and GirlsEmpowerment Network. Hear the Austin premier of BugFest theme song by Fragile Rock, an emo puppet band kicking off their NPR, “Tiny Desk Concert Series”

Activities: 4-8pm:
Live Music by puppet emo-rock band Fragile Rock • Bug Cooking Demos by Chef Josh Jones, Co-Founder of Salt & Time and Chef PV of “Buggin’ Out” kids’ video education series • Table-to-Farm demos by GrubTubs • Ento Raffle • Enjoy SPUN cricket crunch ice cream

Booths:
SPUN Ice Cream • Aketta, Austin’s own cricket farm & maker of cricket snacks • Sway Water • Green Gate Farm, ATX urban farm • Girls Empowerment Network • GrubTubs • FullFridge, an ATX meal delivery startup • Slow Food Austin • Delysia Chocolatier • Kids activities table with Little Herds • P.E.A.S., partners for education agriculture and sustainability • Ento Raffle 

Sponsors:
Mercado Mio, gourmet Oaxaca crickets products & imports • Aketta, ATX cricket farm & maker of cricket snacks • Entomo Farms, North America’s largest Edible Insect farm • Delysia Chocolatier • Chirps, cricket chips • Rocky Mountain Micro Ranch, Denver based edible Insects farm • Slow Food • P.E.A.S. • GrubTubs • Lithic Nutrition, cricket protein bars • SeedsOf Action #BugsEndHunger Awareness Campaign • SPUN Ice Cream 

4:15- 8:00 pm Kids Activity Tables & Bug Tasting table & Ento Raffle
4:55 pm Bug Cooking Demos by Chef Josh Jones, Co-Founder of Salt & Time, SPUN Ice Cream and Chef PV of “Buggin’ Out” kids’ video education series
5:00-8:00 pm Live music – Fragile Rock, an emo puppet band
9:00-10:45pm Film Screening - Stick around afterwards, in.gredients will be staying open late to host a screening of the documentary film "Bugs On The Menu." Entry is free for anybody with a BugFest ticket!

Connect With Us on Social
Facebook Event Page https://www.facebook.com/events/291577991255943/
Twitter hashtag: #ATXBugFest, @LittleHerds

About Us

Little Herds educates and empowers local and global communities to use insects for food and feed. Locally, Little Herds has hosted over 100 insect education events, feeding over 10,000 people. Internationally, Little Herds is partnering with Farms for Orphans and Entomo Farms to build cricket farms in orphanages in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the U.S., Little Herds is working on GrubTubs, a Black Soldier Fly Larvae Up-cycling Pilot Project in Austin, Texas. Austin’s BugFest is fundraising for #BugsEndHunger Awareness Campaign –– founded by Little Herds and Seeds Of Action–– to build an “Open Source Farming Insects Guide”, an education tool for small and family insect farms. • http://www.littleherds.org 

Buggy Recipes

Since it's Halloween, I figured that I would give you some creepy-crawlie ideas in case you plan on throwing a Halloween party.

Many cultures throughout history as well as today consume insects as a part of their diet (this is called active entomophagy). Yes, this grosses many people out, but insects can actually be a good source of protein. So what do people eat in the insect world? Common things include larvae and pupae of various insects, waterbugs (actual waterbugs- Belostomatids- not cockroaches....although some people eat those too!), ants, grasshoppers, termites, scorpions and tarantulas (yes, I know, those last two aren't insects, but I'll include them anyway).


In the U.S., people get grossed out by thought of adding insects to their diet. Unknown to many, they get extra protein from insects from their normal, everyday diet. Many food items have insects or insect pieces in them since it would be near impossible to keep insects out of food during harvesting and processing. The FDA regulates how much "stuff" can be in various foods and you can actually look this up on their website.


So now that everyone is grossed out, here some of my favorite things to do with bugs and food.


A good quick party mix is to make Chex mix and add roasted mealworms. They actually blend in very well- people mistake them for pretzel sticks. Roast the mealworms at 250 degrees for about 15 minutes. You can also coat the mealworms with olive oil and season with your favorite spice rub.

Chocolate covered crickets are another good party treat. Put the crickets in the freezer for 30-45 minutes to firm up and make them easier to handle. I prefer to pull off the hind legs so the legs don't get caught in your throat when you're munching them. Melt chocolate either in a double boiler or in the microwave. Dip the crickets in chocolate and place on wax paper to harden. If you want to get really fancy, you can substitute the chocolate-covered crickets for chocolate chips in cookies.


I buy my crickets and mealworms at the pet store. When I bring them home, I put them in oatmeal or cornmeal for a few days to clean out their digestive tract. You can either cook them directly or put them in the freezer for 7-10 minutes to stop the wiggling and then cook them.


Happy Halloween!

BB's update...still no baby. For those of you keeping track, BB was due to arrive last Wednesday. Currently, I'm attempting to be patient, but I'm not doing a very good job. BB is still doing fine according to the doctor, so hopefully, he/ she will arrive soon!