Cameron the Bog Lemming

   Verona Cattail Festival Mascot

The Verona Cattail Festival official mascot is Cameron the Bog Lemming. He is a small brownish mammal, like a vole, who, like the bog lemmings throughout our area, lives in a grassy area near the wetland close to the festival. His favourite foods are grasses and fungi, but he treats himself to the occasional snail or slug. He has a tiny squeak for a voice, which you don’t hear in the daytime, because he comes out at night to feed and play.

During the Verona Cattail Festival, Cameron makes a special effort to stay awake throughout the day, but he’s a very shy fellow, so we don’t see him all that often.

We asked Cameron to be our mascot because Verona is noted for its beautiful wetlands, plenty of cattails, most especially the Cameron Bog, for which he is named.

The Cameron Bog stretches for many hectares south between Verona and Hartington, and was a major reason our town took so long to develop. For many years it was impossible to run a good road from south to north through the wetland.

Watch for Cameron at this year’s festival. He is too shy to speak, but he will dance and wave for you, and on Saturday night Cameron will poke his head out of the grass, and if he sees his shadow in the moonlight, Verona will have six more weeks of summer!