The Crawdads are Coming!

Clash of the Crawdads

Every year the Friends of Tryon Creek holds its annual Daryle Seil Tall Tale Contest, and this year the contest theme is "Why Crayfish Swims Backward". First established in 1995, the contest encourages young people from kindergarten through sixth grade to use their writing ability, creativity, observations, personal research and imagination to craft a tale (think Aesop's fable).

This year's Tall Tale Contest Award Ceremony will be held in Tryon Creek State Natural Area in April. Contest participants and their families will enjoy an evening of crawdad activities (crawdad relay race, anyone?!) and listen to readings by winners.

Crawdads will make a live appearance at the Tall Tale Contest Award Ceremony, and to make sure these special guests are at the top of their game and prepared for their turn in the spotlight, the Friends have been treating them with care, keeping them safe, and trying to keep their squabbles to a minimum.


I love you, no I hate you! I love you, no I hate you!

This is proving to be easier said than done, as the little critters have a natural tendency to "confront" each other with great vigor. Their fighting is also a courtship behavior, so between their expressions of affection and competition, the Friends have their work of protecting the crawdads cut out for them.

Last year over 400 children from around the Portland metro area participated in the Tall Tale Contest. The Friends are once again accepting submissions from students from kindergarten through sixth grade through Friday, March 15th. Please visit the Tall Tale Contest webpage to learn more.