Land of the Rising PunBy Seth Brown
12:00AM / Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Citing a desire to bring more tourism into Lenox, Town Manager Fregory Gederspiel has announced the beginning of a large-scale arts project for next winter: The Lenox Silktacular.
"We all want our city to be infested with tourists," said Gederspiel, "and we think a good first step is to infest our streets with thousands of artist-designed silkworms. We anticipate well over 5,000 fiberglass silkworms to line Main Street alone."
Gederspiel announced his plans under a giant tent made entirely of silk, displaying a box full of fiberglass silkworms to the gathered press. The silkworm, he explained, has a rich history in this region.
"In 1868, scientist Etienne Leopold Trouvelot brought the gypsy moth to Massachusetts to breed with other moths for a new strain of silk-producing caterpillars — silkworms. Due to bad planning, some of the gypsy moths escaped, and with no natural enemies and plenty of food, they spread throughout the country and became one of the most hated insects ever. But, silkworms still make good silk, and that's what we're celebrating!"
In addition to the thousands of artist-designed silkworms, a box of 100 fiberglass silkworms will be sent to each school in the area for children to decorate before the end of February. "Students won't just stay warm this winter — they'll stay worm!" said Gederspiel.
Once the student-designed worms are complete, they will be distributed across town. Liss Krowm, a local fourth grader, is already excited about the project.
"Nobody hates us, everybody likes us. We're going to line the street with worms!" she said.
While the students decorate their silkworms, a call has gone out to local artists wishing to decorate a gross of fiberglass worms. The official display will showcase the silkworms, along with traveling actors playing gypsy moths.
Gederspiel encouraged all of the Berkshires to contribute to the Silktacular, by way of either design or donation.
"By sponsoring a silkworm, you can help support the local revitalization of Lenox,” he said. “Although, we are thinking of expanding our offerings to the Web — we may do spidersilk, too."
When asked to respond to rumors that Pittsfield might be copying the idea and pre-empting the town’s plans, Gederspiel replied, "I don't know about ewe, but if they're trying to pull the wool over our eyes, I for one don't plan to be fleeced."
Seth Brown is a freelance humor writer based in North Adams who has foolishly agreed to do a regular column for The Advocate. He is a frequent contributor to the Washington Post's Style Invitational, and like everyone else, is working on a book. |
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