SAN BENITO — The city’s first Hog Waddle Country Concert & Cook Off is taking shape.
Earlier this week, city commissioners entered into an agreement with Donna-based Kool River Media & Entertainment to promote the festival described as a “world-class event.”
As part of the agreement, the city will give the promoter 15 percent of the total cost of staging the event set for May 19.
“That cost will not be available until the event’s music headliner is selected,” Luis Contreras, the city’s museum coordinator, stated yesterday.
“At this time, an estimated cost has not been reached,” Contreras stated. “To determine an estimated event cost, all is dependent on the country music headliner.”
Yesterday, the city began discussions with Kool River, planning everything from music, cook-off registration forms, sponsorship levels and vendor registration forms, Contreras stated.
In a meeting Tuesday, Contreras told commissioners the city is preparing for a “world-class event.”
Last week, the city’s Economic Development Corporation earmarked as much as $10,000 to market the event.
Set for the San Benito Fairgrounds, the event will feature country music bands and an officially-sanctioned barbecue cook-off.
For barbecue aficionados, the menu will feature classic pork recipes.
To come up with the theme, officials turned back the pages of history to the city’s pioneering past.
Near the turn of the 20th century, Alba Heywood, a farmer who co-founded San Benito Bank & Trust, drove 2,000 hogs onto the dusty Sam Houston Boulevard to stage a parade.
But the crack of pistol shot spooked the pigs, which took about three days to round up.
The new festival is part of a plan to showcase San Benito’s musical heritage to draw tourists to town.
Known as the birthplace of conjunto music, the city debuted its own Resaca City Music Festival, featuring a variety of music including conjunto last October.
Music line-up
Cook-off registration forms
Sponsorship levels
Vendor registration forms
