What's Up With That?: Geckos

You've seen them all over town: Six-foot, fiberglass geckos that are almost as ubiquitous as their cold-blooded counterparts or the famous car insurance mascot.

So what's up with those geckos? They seem to pop up during a drive around Bradenton about as often as a Geico commercial does on TV.

Their origins lie in the Bradenton GeckoFest that debuted in 2006 as a fundraiser for the Village of the Arts. The project saw local artists and school groups get involved in creating the colorful geckos that were then placed on buildings around downtown.

Geckofest has since grown into a bi-annual event that's attracted big sponsors -- including, you guessed it, Geico -- and added a gala and auction. More than 60 geckos were displayed around town during GeckoFest 2010 and then auctioned off  to benefit local arts organizations and arts education. Residents can even get a map that will guide them to the various gecko locations around town during the celebration.

Plans are already underway for GeckoFest 2012, according to Laura McKeithen of Realize Bradenton, who said the event will kick off in June with a call to artists. So expect to see more of the colorful creatures crawling around Bradenton soon enough.

Is there something else around Bradenton that makes you wonder, "What's Up With That?" Post your question in the Q&A section of our site, and Bradenton Patch and members of the community will do their best to come up with an answer.