MONROE COUNTY — Cicadas are not yet out in full force around central Indiana...yet. However, you can find them if you know where to look!
In anticipation of Brood X, Aaron Jones and Jeremy Chasteen have started a group called, All Creatures Yum! in Bloomington and they're planning events to commemorate the occasion that's 17 years in the making.
"It's almost like an eclipse. It's an event that captures the imagination," Jones said. "People are either grossed out or fascinated by it."
The initial draw for many people who have found All Creatures Yum! was finding out there will be select dishes made with cicadas, to eat.
"We want to shock people. There's a gross out factor for sure and I knew that would bring people to the table," Jones explained.
Le Petit Cafe has agreed to make some desserts with the cicadas for the planned event that's scheduled to take place the second weekend of June.
Chasteen, who has a background in catering, plans to make some of the food himself with cicadas. He's already talked to the Monroe County Health Department so people can comfortably choose to eat the food at the events if they'd like.
Along with the gourmet delicacies, a lot of art is also being made to mark Brood X's emergence for All Creatures Yum! Liam Byrne, an IU graduate and regarded by many as the leading viol player of his generation, is expected to create music for their event.
People throughout central Indiana are making art (drawings, etc.) and sending it to Jones and Chasteen. A Ted Talk-style discussion is also in the works with Jones and his father who is a retired college professor and biologist. The focus, of course, will be on cicadas.
Chasteen believes this will be a magical moment for people, especially those who have kids.
"I think that part of the magic of the cicada is that, I was looking at my daughter today when I picked her up. She's five years old and she's not going to experience this again until she's in her twenties," Chasteen said.
Through All Creatures Yum! the duo is hoping to make this year's Brood X cicada emergence into something memorable that will hold the community over until Brood X appears again in 2038.
