. Children watched in awe as handlers tipped buckets of venomous snakes into a writhing pit. var username = "info"; Everfest stands in solidarity with the Black community and supports the fight for justice and equality. We also butcher about 1,000 pounds of them each year that we actually cook on the spot.". Your User ID or Password reset link will be sent to you. He's the chairman of the milking pit, where venom is extracted and then used to develop various drugs for a range of illnesses. The same is true in the south Alabama town of Opp, where an annual rattlesnake festival that has drawn thousands for nearly six decades opens on 25 March. This does put us on the map, she said. "That's my favorite part because they've got such neat stories to tell," McCann said. All rights reserved. Then came perfect weather for the one-day Georgia show, and there were no complaints whatsoever," he said. To register for a guided hunt, you first need to purchase a ticket online, then you need to show up early on the day you purchased a ticket to hunt and sign up with hunter registration located at the back of the coliseum by the weigh-in area. What it does for our community is give us a sense of place.. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. There will be live music on Fri. and Sat. Now, as director of the Sweetwater and Nolan County Chamber of Commerce, Hunt fields calls from people in England, Germany and other parts of the world inquiring about the festival and making plans to visit. The two events are a marked contrast in how rattlesnakes are handled. The 21st Annual Jaycee Roosters Motorcycle Rally and Cook-off and Swap Meet will be held at Sweetwater Lake Park in Sweetwater, Texas from April 15, 2022 to April 17, 2022. Go here to update it. Each spring, the small city of Sweetwater, Texas, hosts what it bills as the world's largest rattlesnake roundup. WOODSTOCK, Ga. An annual rattlesnake roundup in south Georgia recently changed the format of this months event to celebrate living snakes without skinning and butchering them, earning plaudits from animal rights activists. The snakes skins will eventually show up on cowboy boots, belts and other western wear. In Texas, the Sweetwater roundup is intertwined with the towns culture and draws visitors from all over the world. 810 E Broadway P.O. Your IP: FILE -Sweetwater Jaycees clean and skinned rattlesnakes during 57th. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. The weekend kicks off on Thursday with a rattlesnake parade, carnival . "We were the biggest event going on in the country, which was rather scary when you think about it, before everything kind of shut down," said Rob McCann, public relations director for the Sweetwater Jaycees. Sweetwater Jaycees Announce Rattlesnake Roundup Media Day; Ridin . Sweetwater, Is this your event? The granddaddy of them all, the 82nd Okeene Rattlesnake Roundup will happen April 23-25. Depending on the weather, or even a pandemic, the towns population beginning Friday could swell from about 11,000 to nearly 40,000 through Sunday. In Texas, the Sweetwater roundup is intertwined with the towns culture and draws visitors from all over the world. Sweetwater Jaycees Announce Rattlesnake Roundup Media Day; City Council Hears . They also show the huge divide in how they are seen by some, with the Georgia festival heralded by animal advocates and the Texas roundup shamed. Yes, were the rattlesnake town, they would say. Cookerregistration is $80 or $25 ea. Gates open at noon Friday and cost is $5 per person/per day. Dates: March 10th - 12th, 2023. A few rattlesnake roundups still persist, the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement full of scorn for the Texas festival, which is notorious for openly killing and skinning western diamondback rattlesnakes by the hundreds in front of crowds.. Now, as director of the Sweetwater and Nolan County Chamber of Commerce, Hunt fields calls from people in England, Germany and other parts of the world inquiring about the festival and making plans to visit. Around two and a half tons of western diamondback rattlesnakes are rounded up each year for the festival, which was founded in 1958 as a way to control the population. Restrooms and free warm showers are available. Thousands of people,. Copyright 2023 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings. SWEETWATER JAYCEES World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup March 10, 11, 12 2023 A few rattlesnake roundups still persist, the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement full of scorn for the Texas festival, which is notorious for openly killing and skinning western diamondback rattlesnakes by the hundreds in front of crowds.. Admission: none Days/Hours Open: All Days 8am6pm Address: 110 E. 15th Street, Sweetwater, TX 79556 Other Activities: sweetwater lions club car show, sweetwater rattlesnake roundup Attendance: 9,000 # Food Booths: 20 # of Exhibitors: 235 Juried: no Prize Money: na Deadlines: Art & Craft: 03/01/2023 Music: na Food: 03/01/2023 Thursday March 11, 2021 4:30 pm Rattlesnake Parade5:00 pm-10:00 pm CarnivalAll day pass - $30.00 (all you can ride) Carnival onlyWeekend pass $60.00 (sold only on Thursday) Carnival onlyTicke An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Exact attendance figures are unknown because many people such as children are admitted free, but I've heard anywhere from 7,000 to 15,000, said longtime volunteer Jeffrey Cox, who has been helping to organize the Whigham Rattlesnake Roundup for the past four decades. But no such changes are occurring at a huge rattlesnake roundup beginning this weekend in Texas, a festival that the activists say is barbaric. Last year's roundup was seen as a "last hurrah" before many states including Texas imposed emergency coronavirus measures and large gatherings were banned. SWEETWATER, Texas (KCBD) - The 64th Annual World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-Up will take place on March 11 through 13 at the Nolan County Coliseum, located at 220 Coliseum Drive in Sweetwater. of chicken wings, thrown in our Hot, Mild, or Inferno wing sauce. FNdocumentWrite("") What it does for our community is give us a sense of place.. While organizers say the snake hunters who bring in big rattlers get rid of nuisance reptiles, opponents say eastern diamondback snakes are declining in population. Rattlesnakes are fascinating, beautiful, but often feared and misunderstood creatures. In Texas, the Sweetwater roundup is intertwined with the town's culture and draws visitors from all over the world. This does put us on the map, she said. (Brisket, Pork Spare Ribs, Chicken, Chili). This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Guided Snake Hunt - Saturday Saturday, March 12th For those wishing to see the rattlesnake in its natural habitat, we offer guided hunts. The town of 11,000 is expected to swell to around 30,000 during the festival that runs Friday through Sunday, said Dennis Cumbie, one of the organizers. NOLAN COUNTY COLISEUM Sweetwater, TX Terry Locklar General Manager - Marketing Director 220 Coliseum Drive. Rattlesnake roundups take 2 different approaches, drawing praise and scorn. The move ends Georgia's inhumane rattlesnake roundup legacy. Rattlesnakes are symbols of freedom and independence; teaching that snakes are scary and useless minimizes their significance in our cultural and ecological heritage.. The town of 11,000 is expected to swell to about 30,000 during the festival, which runs from Friday through Sunday, said Dennis Cumbie, one of the organizers. Sweetwater has held its rattlesnake roundup for more than six decades, "and what we have figured out over 64 years is that we're not damaging the population of the snakes whatsoever," Cumbie. Doors open Friday at 8 a.m., cost is $10 for adults, $5 for active/retired military and $5 for children ages 5-12, with those 4 and under free. Over three days, snake hunters bring in their catches (to make $5 a pound). Theres literally no waste, he said. After seeing firsthand what goes on in Sweetwater every year, we know there is a better way. Animal rights activists praised an annual rattlesnake roundup in south Georgia that recently changed the format of this months event to celebrate living snakes without skinning and butchering them. Back row Left to right: Del Riley, Blake Stephens, David Sager, Miss Texas, Mallory Fuller, Chris Thomas, Dee Thomas, Cody Cox. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Join Now: Vendors | Artists | Already PRO? Karen Hunt grew up in Sweetwater, and recalls fellow Texans asking her about her hometown. Rattlesnakes are fascinating, beautiful, but often feared and misunderstood creatures. A poker run is scheduled for Saturday morning with the cook-off beginning at 9:00. It began 64 years ago to keep snakes from overtaking the town and attacking livestock, pets and people, organizers say. Extra measures included hand sanitizer and regular wiping down of all areas and tour buses. Free patch & pin with pre-registration by 4-04-2020. Theres no waste, he said. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has expressed concerns about how it couldimpact other species that share their habitat. This year, however, so many snakes were rounded up that there's hardly a market for selling. In 2022 the Whigham Community Club announced that it will no longer capture snakes and will instead feature displays and educational programming about the diamondback rattlesnake and other native wildlife. But no such changes are occurring at a huge rattlesnake roundup beginning this weekend, Saturday March 12, 2022 in Texas, a festival that the activists say is barbaric. Everybody was nervous about it and didnt know how it would go, Cox said. Sweetwater, TX (79556) Today. Rounding Up Sweetwater started out as a short student film project to capture the worlds largest rattlesnake roundup in Sweetwater, Texas. Plans for the Worlds Largest Rattlesnake Roundup this weekend in the Texas town of Sweetwater are full-scale ahead, with snakes set to be skinned and others milked of their venom. The town of 11,000 is expected to swell to around 30,000 during the festival that runs Friday through Sunday, said Dennis Cumbie, one of the organizers. Sweetwater Jaycees Rattlesnake Round Up 2023 Nolan County Colisuem 220 Coliseum Drive, Sweetwater, TX Sat 11 March 11 Downtown Lions Club Car Show Thu 23 March 23 - March 25 Ranger College Rodeo at Nolan County Coliseum Nolan County Colisuem 220 Coliseum Drive, Sweetwater, TX Fri 24 March 24 - March 26 Rattlesnake Gravel Grind Sweetwater, TX (79556) Today. FILE -Sweetwater Jaycees clean and skinned rattlesnakes during 57th Sweetwater Jaycees World Largest Rattlesnake Round-up at the Nolan County Coliseum in Sweetwater Texas, March 14, 2015. There's even a pageant for local young women, Miss Snake Charmer. Join Festivalnet.com now to unlock additional details,