If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. 64th Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater March 11-13, 5:00-10:00 carnival - $35 all day pass (carnival rides only) or $100 all weekend pass (carnival only), 7:00 PM Miss Snake Charmer Pageant at Municipal Auditorium 201 E 4th Street - adult ticket $10, student ticket $5, Tickets prices: adults $10, active/retired military $5 with valid ID, children 5-12 $5, children 4 and under free, 9:00-6:00 Sweetwater rifle and Pistol Club Gun, Knife, and Coin Show with $5 entry, children 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult, 8:00-5:00 Sweetwater Lions Club Flea Market, 10:00 Guided Snake Hunts - Must sign up prior and must have valid hunting license, 2:00PM - 12:00 AM Carnival - $35 all day pass for rides and tickets $1, 9:00-6:00 Sweetwater Rifle and Pistol Club Gun, Knife, and Coin Show with $5 entry, children 12 & under free when accompanied by an adult, 10:00AM - 12:00 AM Carnival - $35 all day pass for rides or tickets $1, 8:00 PM Dance at the Jaycee Barn at 307 W 4th Street - $20 per person and cooler charge $5 small $10 large, 4:00 Longest Snake Contest and Most Pounds Entered Awards, 9:00-5:00 Sweetwater Rifle and Pistol Club Gun, Coin, and Knife Show - $5 entry fee, children 12& under free when accompanied by an adult, 10:00AM-8:00PM Carnival - $35 day pass for carnival rides or tickets $1. Handlers grabbed them safely behind the jaws so children could stroke them up close. Sweetwater, var username = "info"; There's even a pageant for local young women, Miss Snake Charmer. Rather, organizers liken snake hunting to how other hunters keep deer numbers in check. In Texas, the Sweetwater roundup is intertwined with the town's culture and draws visitors from all over the world. Come join the fun and check it out. If it's the second weekend in March, that means it's time for the World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater. The 64th Annual World's Largest Rattlesnake Round-Up will take place on March 11, 12, 13 2022 at The Nolan County Coliseum, . It's very much part of our culture.". Children watched in awe as handlers tipped buckets of venomous snakes into a writhing pit. Festival information may not be up to date due to COVID-19, but you can view our list of cancellations here. Rather, organizers liken snake hunting to how other hunters keep deer numbers in check. The festival has been criticized by animal rights and environmental groups for the way the snakes are rounded up using gasoline fumes to drive them from their dens. In Texas, the Sweetwater roundup is intertwined with the town's culture and draws visitors from all over the world. 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. There will be live music on Fri. and Sat. Theres even a pageant for local young women, Miss Snake Charmer. (Courtney Sacco/Odessa American via AP, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The hungriest competitors went head to head in the eating contest. 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.. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. We also butcher about 1,000 pounds of them each year that we actually cook on the spot., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. var linktext = username + "@" + hostname; But no such changes are occurring at a huge rattlesnake roundup beginning this weekend in Texas, a festival that the activists say is barbaric. Sweetwater Municipal Auditorium. Theres no waste, he said. Besides renewables, Sweetwater is also known for hosting special events that attract tourists. Texas Governor Greg Abbott lifted a mandate requiring face masks and limits on bars and restaurants from March 10, just in time for the 2021 roundup. For Immediate Release, February 28, 2022 Contact: Elise Bennett, (727) 755-6950, ebennett@biologicaldiversity.org . Eugene De Leon Sr. died Saturday night from his injury at Rattlesnake Roundup in Freer. Afterwards, they are butchered for their meat, skin and venom and sold to anyone who can make use of them. SWEETWATER, TEXAS RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUP - YouTube 0:00 / 8:15 SWEETWATER, TEXAS RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUP 37,579 views Apr 10, 2018 330 Dislike Share Save Mark Lotterhand 2.13K subscribers Unchecked. Then came perfect weather for the one-day Georgia show, and there were no complaints whatsoever, he said. The event is a fundraiser for local youth programs. The roundup closes at 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday, and at 6 p.m. Saturday. 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. 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. Your IP: 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. Continue with Recommended Cookies. But no such changes are occurring at a huge rattlesnake roundup beginning this weekend in Texas, a festival that the activists say is barbaric. It began 64 years ago to keep snakes from overtaking the town and attacking livestock, pets and people, organizers say. Each spring, the small city of Sweetwater, Texas, hosts what it bills as the world's largest rattlesnake roundup. | Austin, TX. Hunters gather the snakes theres a contest for those capturing the largest ones and theyre brought to the Nolan County Coliseum, where multiple parts of the snakes are harvested, Cumbie said. Thousands of people, including families with young kids, flocked to take part in festivities this weekend at the Nolan County Coliseum in Sweetwater, Texas. Service to humanity, is the best work of life. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a14f7458b5429f1 Addie Gedea; Mar 12, 2022 Mar 12, 2022 Updated Mar 12, 2022; Comments; . Wing Dings: $8 1 lb. The snakes' skins will eventually show up on cowboy boots, belts and other western wear. 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. Roundup visitors will see educational programs about the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake common to West Texas, as well as watching handlers milk the snakes of their venom. Click to reveal Performance & security by Cloudflare. We learn how you can have fun at the event even if you want to stay clear of the snakes. Front Row L to R: Sylvia Martinez of Snyder HS, Jasimen Courtney of Snyder HS Miss Snake Charmer 2022 Macy Newberry of Sweetwater HS, . Plans for the "World's 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 following is the full schedule for the 2022 Rattlesnake Roundup: Thursday March 10, 2022: 4:30 pm Rattlesnake Parade 5:00 pm-10:00 pm Carnival All day pass - $35.00 (all you can ride) Carnival only Weekend pass $100.00 (sold only on Thursday) Carnival only Tickets - $1.00 each 7:00 pm Miss Snake Charmer Pageant Adults - $10.00 Students - $5.00 For Sweetwater, the festival brings in a reported $8.3 million for the town. NOLAN COUNTY COLISEUM Sweetwater, TX Terry Locklar General Manager - Marketing Director 220 Coliseum Drive. Its the biggest event in this town every year, Cumbie said. Depending on the weather, or even a pandemic, the town's population. The important thing for organizers is that the historic festival was able to go ahead. "We have a family that comes from Australia. Everybody was nervous about it and didn't know how it would go," Cox said. All rights reserved. Mar 7, 2022 / . Windy with partly cloudy skies. The Sweetwater Rifle & Pistol Club Gun, Knife and Coin Show Adults: $5 Up to age 12: Free with. . Sweetwater, Texas 79556 325-235-3484 - Office nolancountycoliseum@gmail.com McCann said: "If someone could come up with a better way of killing rattlesnakesso we can keep doing our event, then please come teach me. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. 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. Active/retired military, $5 (with valid military ID); Ages 5-12, $5; 4 and under, free.. 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. Then came perfect weather for the one-day Georgia show, and there were no complaints whatsoever, he said. The 21st Annual Jaycee Roosters Motorcycle Rally and Cook-off and Swap Meet will be held atSweetwater Lake Park in Sweetwater, Texas from April 15, 2022 to April 17, 2022. Historically, the first rattlesnake Roundup kicked off in 1958, at Sweetwater, Texas, U.S. If its the second weekend in March, that means its time for the Worlds Largest Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater. 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 March 25. But no such changes are occurring at a huge rattlesnake roundup beginning this weekend in Texas, a festival that the activists say is barbaric. "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. This does put us on the map, she said. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Extra measures included hand sanitizer and regular wiping down of all areas and tour buses. In Georgia, organizers say the more humane format they launched for the first time last weekend was a success. 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. . Rattlesnake roundups take 2 different approaches, drawing praise and scorn 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Rattlesnake Bites: $10 We flash freeze the meat from our Rattlesnake Roundup, season, batter, and deep fry it to a golden brown. But on the first weekend after Easter, they become a platform for this tough annual raceThe Waynoka Rattlesnake Hunt. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Thousands of people, including families with young kids, flocked to take part in festivities this weekend at the Nolan County Coliseum in Sweetwater, Texas. This is a major attraction that people from all over the world come to for the 2nd full weekend in March every year. 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. Its very much part of our culture.. In Texas, the Sweetwater roundup is intertwined with the towns culture and draws visitors from all over the world. 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 winner of the contest receives a scholarship from the Sweetwater Jaycees and represents Sweetwater at various social events within the Big Country. All rights reserved. By accessing our site, you agree to the terms of Everfest's privacy policy. Camping is by reservations only. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.. . 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.. Join Festivalnet.com now to unlock additional details,