KARNES CITY, TX. – The Karnes City Rotary Club’s Lonesome Dove Fest will celebrate fifteen years of family fun and philanthropic success on September 21 and 22. Festival coordinators have chosen a fiesta theme to commemorate its quince años!

"We’re planning a spicy celebration this year," said Larry Hedtke, festival chairman. "Not too hot we hope, but just right."

Hedtke said the traditional Mexican celebration of the fifteenth birthday was a nice fit for the festival. "We’re really having fun incorporating those aspects of the culture into this year’s event. With mariachis, piñatas, Ballet Folklorico, the Rosas Castillo horse riding exhibit, Charros Tres Potrillos roping and a visit from the San Antonio Spurs’ Coyote, we’ll have a real South Texas flair!"

Karnes City Rotary Club President Lance Aldridge emphasized the festival’s focus on family fun.

"We try to have something for everyone," Aldridge noted. "While dad is shooting a round of sporting clays, mom can shop the dozens of vendors in the air-conditioned tent and the kids can ride the train, play on the inflatable playground, whack piñatas, or squeal at the courage of the snake handlers."

"Actually, what we’re seeing more and more is mom and the kids out shooting at the five-stand sporting clays while dad shops," Aldridge added. "One of our goals has been to have more women and children exposed to the shooting sports. We have so many now we actually offer prizes for Top Gun in the women and kids shooting categories."

Food and music are always important aspects of the festival. According to Hedtke, live music will be available both days, with Texas Heat headlining on Saturday night and Los Caballeros mariachis from Beeville playing Saturday afternoon. Numerous food vendors will offer an array of Mexican food and other treats. The BBQ Cook-off had over thirty entries last year, with some traveling over 250 miles to participate.

In its fifteenth year, the Lonesome Dove Fest has grown from a gathering of dove hunters in a Coy City hay patch to an event recently described as the "South Texas Expo" by Texas Parks & Wildlife Department’s Education Coordinator Steve Hall. The fest coincides with National Hunting & Fishing Day, September 22, this year.

The annual festival combines education, outdoors activities and entertainment for nearly ten thousand visitors and begins on Thursday, September 20 with Youth Day.

Youth Day presents educational mini-seminars on wildlife management, hunter safety, and drug and alcohol awareness to over three hundred high school students from area schools. "Thursday is just for the kids," Hedtke said. "You’d be surprised how many of these rural students have never handled a shotgun. We give them one-on-one attention and try to expose them to some outdoor professions and activities."

The success of Lonesome Dove Fest has allowed the Rotary to award twelve scholarships to seniors from each of Karnes County’s four high schools, including two scholarships specifically dedicated to vocational students.

The fest gets going on Friday, September 21 (noon – midnight) and Saturday September 22 (10 a.m. – 1 a.m.).

The Lonesome Dove Fest Parade will kick off at 10 a.m. and parade floats, bands and other participants will travel along Calvert Street through the heart of downtown Karnes City, weather permitting. The Lonesome Dove Fest Parade has become a traditional annual event enjoyed by folks of all ages.

The team shoot provides five shooters with a competitive round of sporting clays and, for those interested in hunting, a day hunt with area landowners. The BBQ cook-off includes a beans category this year and is sanctioned by the Lone Star BBQ Society.

Texas Parks & Wildlife Department continues to support the Fest, providing a five-stand sporting clays trailer and Laser Shoot.

"We’ll have plenty of fiesta music, Mexican food, and cold beverages," said Randy Witte, the festival’s entertainment chairman. "This is not just for hunters," he emphasized, "but for families – for everybody!"

"We rely on some fantastic sponsors to have a festival on this scale," said Hedtke. "When sponsors come to the grounds and see entire families being entertained, they get very interested. Any success or growth we’ve enjoyed over the years is directly associated with these folk’s generosity."

He noted that sponsorship by Aggreko, Lone Star Beer, the San Antonio River Authority, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and Budweiser as well as numerous local sponsors were keys to the fest’s continued growth. Blackbrush Energy and Bakke Development Corporation were two new sponsors from the area that made significant contributions to the festival this year .

For more information on the 15^th Lonesome Dove Fest, including schedules and applications for the team shoot and cook-off, go to www.lonesomedovefest.com.