Cicada beer? Lake Geneva plans 'Cicadapalooza' event

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. - With the latest cicada emergence underway, Lake Geneva has plans to make the best of the noisy visitors with "Cicadapalooza."

Visit Lake Geneva said the free event will run from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 8. There will be a "cicadalicious" dessert prepared, and even beer brewed with dehydrated, ground cicadas.

The dessert comes from Executive Chef Ken Hnilo of Pier 290, Visit Lake Geneva said, while the "Magicicada Buzz" nut brown ale comes from Topsy Turvy Brewery. Visitors with shellfish allergies should not consume either.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Cicadapalooza will include a presentation from the director of the Wisconsin Insect Research Collection at Library Park and a walking tour of a historic cemetery, which organizers said is "loaded with cicadas." There will be cicada-themed merchandise on sale, too, benefiting the University of Wisconsin Entomology Graduate Student Association.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said the first confirmed emergence of 17-year Brood XIII cicadas in the state happened in Lake Geneva.

Periodical cicadas are found in the eastern half of the U.S. and nowhere else, according to the DNR. There are seven species – four of which have 13-year life cycles and three that have 17-year cycles. Of those, there are 15 "broods" or year classes.

The 17-year Brood XIII is the only one known to emerge in Wisconsin, the DNR said, though only in the southernmost counties.

For more information and details about Cicadapalooza, check out the Visit Lake Geneva website.