Folks of Inverness, Florida in Citrus County are ’shelling’ up for the 2008 Annual Cooter Festival! Starting on Monday, October 20th with the beginning of the Miss Cooter Spokesmodel Competition and the Cooter Idol Karaoke Competition, the Cooter Festival will be underway! Friday will kick off The Cooter Blast, an evening full of hot rod shows, poker runs, the crowning of Miss Cooter and live entertainment featuring the Alabama Blues Brothers. These lively siblings tour the world as Jake and Elwood Blues, perfoming Blues Brothers hits such as, “Soul Man” and “Gimme Some Lovin’”. Saturday will be the start of the Great American Cooter Festival kicking off with the Cooter Idol Karaoke Finals, vendors, live music, games, hot air balloon rides, contests and of course ‘cooter’ races! On Sunday the festival will come to a close with Cooterween, a family fall festival featuring costume contests and the early morning Triathlon!

The Great American Cooter Festival has been showcased on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a fun-filled weekend of fall season “cooter” activities! I’m sure by now, you’re asking yourself “what in the world is a cooter?”. All I can tell you is to come on down and join the fun and by the end of the week you’ll know all about the great Inverness, Florida cooter!