Calling all Collectors and Taxidermists! The 4th-annual Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest--Sunday, November 15, 2009! Brooklyn, New York!

I just received a call for entries for the upcoming 4th-annual Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest, hosted by the Secret Science Club. This year's contest will take place at Brooklyn's Bell House at 7:30 PM on Sunday, November 15. Entries can take the form of, in the words of the call-f0r-entries, "taxidermy (homemade, purchased, found), preserved and jarred specimens, skeletons, skulls, gaffs… and beyond." But--they are quick to note--"Wet specimens must remain in their jars."

To give you a sense of what you're in store for should you choose to attend (or, better yet, enter!), above you will find some photos from the 2007 installment of the contest, featuring Mike Zohn--co-proprietor of Morbid Anatomy's favorite store, Obscura Antiques and Oddities--and his grand prize winning piece, a Victorian "Polar Bear" Shadowbox (top 2 images).

Following are the full details for the contest. I will absolutely be in attendance, and plan to cover the event for the Morbid Anatomy. Hope very much to see you there, as competitors or in the audience!

The 4th-annual Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest!!
Hosted by the Secret Science Club @ the Bell House
Sunday, November 15, 2009, 7:30 pm, $4

• Calling all science geeks, nature freaks, and other rogue geniuses! Enter your taxidermy to win!

• Show off your beloved moose head, stuffed albino squirrel, sinuous snake skeletons, jarred sea slugs, and other specimens. Compete for prizes and glory!

• The contest will be judged by our panel of savage taxidermy enthusiasts, including Robert Marbury, co-founder of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, and Dorian Devins, WFMU DJ and Secret Science Club co-curator

• Prizes for best stuffed creature, most interesting biological oddity, and more!

• Don’t miss the feral taxidermy talk by beast mistress Melissa Milgrom, author of the forthcoming book, Still Life: Adventures in Taxidermy

• Plus:

◦ Groove to taxidermy-inspired tunes and video

◦ Imbibe ferocious specialty drinks!

Contest Rules
The contest is open to taxidermy (homemade, purchased, found), preserved and jarred specimens, skeletons, skulls, gaffs… and beyond. (Note: Wet specimens must remain in their jars.)

Entrants: Please contact secretscienceclub@gmail.com to pre-register, and arrive at 7 pm on the night of the contest to log in your beast or specimen. Share your taxidermy (and its tale) with the world!

Spectators are invited to cheer their favorite specimens.

Where: The Bell House, 149 7th St. (between 2nd and 3rd avenues), Gowanus, Brooklyn. p: 718.643.6510 Subway: F to 4th Ave; R to 9th St; F or G to Smith/9th

When: Sunday 11/15/09. Doors and pre-show at 7:30 pm. Taxidermy talk at 8 pm. Contest at 8:30 pm!

Cover: $4 (waived for entrants)

Contest Background: The Carnivorous Nights Taxidermy Contest is hosted by the Secret Science Club, an organization dedicated to exploring scientific discoveries and potent potables. The contest was started in 2005 by Secret Science Club co-curators Margaret Mittelbach and Michael Crewdson to shamelessly promote their taxidermy-inspired book Carnivorous Nights: On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger. The event has since taken on a life of its own, with first-year winners Andrew Templar and Jim Carden—co-owners of the Bell House—now providing a permanent home for this beastly annual smack-down.

To learn more, visit the Secret Science Club at http://secretscienceclub.blogspot.com

You can find out more about the contest by clicking here. Information about the Bell House can be found here. All of the above photos were taken by Eric Harvey Brown (Flickr handle "Dogseat;" click here to see his Flickr photostream) who also, coincidentally, took the fantastic photos for the Time Out New York piece on the Morbid Anatomy Library (click here.) For more about the 2007 taxidermy contest, you can visit the original Morbid Anatomy post by clicking here.