The Ladybug Music Festival, the largest celebration of women in music, was created by Gayle Dillman and Jeremy Hebbel, principles of Gable Music Ventures, as an alternative to the male dominated Firefly Festival to showcase talented local and regional female artists. With its growing success and popularity over the last several years in Wilmington they were ready to branch out and cultivate a second location for Ladybug. It was quite the coincidence that they landed in Milford. Not realizing that 42 years ago a group of Milford elementary students researched and recommended the ladybug become Delaware’s state bug. Over 40 female artists and female led bands performed in 15 different venues (shops) and a main outdoor stage. The first-ever downstate festival brought close to 3,000 visitors to Downtown Milford. It is estimated that over half were first-time visitors to the City coming from as far away as Norway as well the surrounding states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.