Black Squirrels: Mascots and Festivals

Black squirrels (melanized gray squirrels) are rare enough that when a town has a population, the black squirrel may end up as a mascot or the theme of a festival.

Here are some of the places that celebrate black squirrels.
​

• Denton, Maryland designated the black squirrel as the town’s mascot in 2012.
• Goshen College made a black squirrel its mascot in 2022. 
• Haverford College Athletics adopted the black squirrel as their mascot in 2012.
• Kent State University has an annual Black Squirrel Festival. 
• Marysville, Kansas has a black squirrel for a mascot and in 2022 had a Black Squirrel Festival. 
• Westfield, Massachusetts uses the black squirrel as a tourist attraction for their town.

There are other places around the U.S. that use the black squirrel as an official or unofficial mascot. Where there’s a mascot, there might be a festival. Visiting these odd festivals could be an interesting way to see parts of the U.S. that don’t make it onto most road trip itineraries.