05/30/2024
Please share this fun post from the Macon County Conservation District!
Do you have out of state friends or family who have been looking for a reason to come visit? Use the excuse of the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the cicada broods, and bring them to Cicadur… ope, we mean Decatur, Illinois!
Just imagine all the fun activities and bonding moments you will experience together while fleeing from the horde! Start your day off early with a coffee from one of our local coffee shops like 121 Coffee Run or Decatur Coffee Connection on your way to walk on the trails at Rock Springs Conservation Area before the screaming masses wake up. Then, seek refuge in the Nature Center to check out all the cool things we have to offer indoors!
Next, head over to Scovill Zoo to visit all sorts of animals from all over the world, and bring a cicada along too, for fun! We bet they’ve never seen a cheetah or rode on a train, so you can teach them something new; they’ll appreciate the gesture… probably.
Cool off from the summer heat at Splash Cove, and grab a cone from Over The Top Ice Cream Shop! If you eat your treats outside and get some extra crunch, it’s probably best to not to look down and just go with it. Maybe share with our cicada overlords; who doesn’t love Tillamook ice cream right?! And after you’re done swimming, mini golfing, and rope coursing for the day, you can discuss places to grab a bite to eat on the flat-out sprint to your car! Places like Coney McKane's have great American fare and are locally famous for their pies, and if you snag a seat by one of the big windows, you can watch as others run away from the chirping chums!
While you’re there, show your visitors the downtown area with all the amazing, local shops that Decatur has to offer. I’m sure by now they are used to people running from store to store to get in the door as fast as they can - these cicadas are great for business! Your friends and family can find some really neat Decatur souvenirs in shops like The ArtFarm Decatur, fun and colorful gifts at Giggles, and tasty treats at The Original Del's Popcorn Shop. Maybe buy that cicada that’s trapped in your hair (sorry, we thought you knew) a souvenir to remember their short stay here. Has anyone tried that yet? Bribery? Maybe that will work!
If you need a break from the great outdoors and are ready to get away from them (that might hurt their feelings though), head indoors and check out one of the many historical museums Decatur has to offer! Places like the Hieronymus Mueller Museum, the The Staley Museum or the Governor Oglesby Mansion hold so much history about our town, they are definitely worth a trip. While we’re sure cicadas are into history, we doubt they could resist the urge to interrupt your tour with an ill-timed scream, so they stay outside.
Then there’s the antique shops! Places like the Wabash Depot Antique Center not only have some neat treasures, but they are also a stop on the Haunted Decatur Tours, so we’re sure you can learn some neat, if not spooky history facts when you check it out! We hear the cicadas like to live in the here-and-now and have no need for vintage trinkets, so you won’t have to worry about bumping into them in there!
And to end your night, check out the lineup at The Devon Lakeshore Amphitheater! By that time of day, our screaming, flying pals have ended their own personal concert and are graciously letting someone else take the stage.
And this is just a bite-sized list of all that Decatur has to offer; check out the Decatur Area Convention and Visitors Bureau for more great places to bring your guests! Not only will your friends and family get to see the fun and exciting things Decatur has to offer, but they will get to experience firsthand, in their faces and hair, the double cicada brood emergence. It won’t happen again until 2245! So help them plan a trip here in Decatur, they’re sure to have a memorable stay!
Feel free to share this with your friends to give them some fun ideas when visiting Decatur and experiencing the cicadas! You can also tag other businesses as well in the comments below!
Facebook wouldn't let us tag all of the places mentioned, so we've tagged them in the comments below!
