Texas State Forest Festival
Lufkin- Ride the giant Ferris wheel, watch lumberjacks logroll, racing pigs battle it out in a hilarious snout-to-snout competition, or get in line to taste some of the best hush puppies ever made in the Deep South at the Texas State Forest Festival in Lufkin September 19-23.
The Angelina County Chamber of Commerce began the Texas State Forest Festival in 1938, which was held as an annual county fair event until 1953. The Texas State Forest Festival was held on the 30+ acres where Lufkin Middle School is currently located, and drew crowds reaching 8,000! These days, the Texas State Forest Festival draws crowds nearing 30,000!
In 1971, the president of the Lufkin/Angelina County Chamber of Commerce and two other active men in the community were looking for a way to draw state and regional attention to the area. They developed a unique festival that emphasized a well-recognized characteristic of the region – its lakes and great fishing. Since nothing goes better with a plate of fried fish than hushpuppies, the idea of a hushpuppy cooking competition was born.
The Southern Hushpuppy Championships draws participants from all over the southern region of the U.S. In recent years, the Southern Hushpuppy Championships has earned worldwide fame from being a featured segment on The Food Network’s All American Festivals Series and The Travel Channel’s Taste of America Series. Currently, the Southern Hushpuppy Championships are held in conjunction with the Texas State Forest Festival in September.
If you’ve got the secret ingredient to the most delicious hushpuppy recipe, then sign-up your team for the 41st Annual Brookshire Brothers Southern Hushpuppy Championships to be held at the 28th Annual Texas State Forest Festival on Saturday, September 22, 2012. Previously featured on The Food Network and The Travel Channel, the Southern Hushpuppy Championships attracts participants and crowds from all across Texas and surrounding states!
Catch a Timberworks Lumberjack Show at the Texas State Forest Festival! This action-packed Lumberjack Show features log rolling, log rolling dogs, chopping, sawing, axe throwing, dragster chainsaw, tree climbing. All with World Champion Lumberjacks, and much, much more!
TimberWork’s Lumberjack Shows has been a dominant force in lumberjack sports across North America and the World. They have traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Africa and Australia, competing and performing at fairs, sport shows, corporate gatherings and specialty events. Their Lumberjacks have been featured on national television including ESPN’s Great Outdoor Games and ABC’s Wide World of Sports.
Do you have talent? Show off your skills at the East Texas Got Talent Competition at the 28thAnnual Texas State Forest Festival, Thursday, September 20th at the Expo Center in Lufkin. Contestants must upload a video of their talent to the link on the KFox 95.5 website kfox95.com. Finalist will be selected to compete at the 28thAnnual Texas State Forest Festival on Thursday, September 20th at 7:00 p.m.
With the talent search open to acts of all ages, East Texas Got Talent is searching for hopeful stars, including singers, dancers, comedians, contortionists, impressionists, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists or any other talent. Talent finalists will have a chance to perform on stage hoping to win the 1stplace prize of $500. Second and third place cash prizes will also be award. Don’t miss this opportunity to showcase your talent. East Texas Got Talent will be an entertaining show fun for the whole family.
Varsity and Junior Varsity cheerleading squads across the Texas Forest Country come to compete for the crown of East Texas Cheerleading Champion. The competition will be held on Saturday morning of the festival in the main arena. The cheerleading championship is full of fun and excitement for the entire family.
Let the kiddos enjoy the petting zoo. From kangaroos to baby camels – from giant turtles to miniature horses the Show-Me Safari has a variety of animals, both exotic and barnyard, for kids of all ages. There will also be pony rides!
Local entertainment has always been a highlight of the Texas State Forest Festival and will be on tap throughout the weekend!
Don’t miss out on all of the fun and festivities in Lufkin this September, at the Texas State Forest Festival!
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Festival Hours
Wednesday: 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Thursday: 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Friday: 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Saturday: 9:00am – 10:00pm
Sunday: 11:00am – 5:00pm
Ticket Prices
Tickets are $6 at the gate; Children 3 & Under are FREE. Pre-sale tickets are available at participating Brookshire Brothers or online at TexasStateForestFestival.com/Tickets-and-Deals.aspx for $5.00. Tickets are good for any day of the festival. No rainchecks. No refunds.
The Texas State Forest Festival is held at the George H. Henderson Jr. Expo Center in Lufkin.1200 Ellen Trout Drive
Lufkin, TX 75904.
To learn more about the Texas State Forest Festival visit http://texasstateforestfestival.com/faqs.aspx.