KARNES CITY, TX. – Karnes City Rotary Club’s Lonesome Dove Fest will really pack a bite September 22 and 23 with its Cajun theme and presentation of the Live Shark Experience!

"That’s right – real sharks, teeth and all, swimming around at the Karnes County Youth Show Barn," said festival chairman Cletus Bianchi.  "The sharks swim in a five thousand gallon tank at the site.  The handlers present educational information about sharks then they get in and swim around with them."

The exhibit, offered by Haii, Inc. (Dutch for ‘shark’) also provides some hands-on information at the Great White Encounter.  "This is a national attraction we’re bringing in for the kids and other visitors to Karnes County," Bianchi said.  "We do our best to make Lonesome Dove Fest the ‘little festival that could’ and plan year-round to keep it fresh and entertaining."

After Hurricane Rita threatened Karnes County in September 2005, coordinators were forced to make quick decisions about whether the Fest would even happen.  "We tried to cut back where we could to avoid losses," noted 2005 festival chairman Larry Hedtke.  "Thanks to cost reductions and increased turn-out from local families and a few ‘Rita refugees,’ we had a pretty successful event and were able to fund all twelve of our scholarships last year."

A large percentage of Lonesome Dove Fest regulars travel from Louisiana and the Houston area each year according to Bianchi.  "We knew that our troubles were nothing compared to what those families were dealing with," he said.  "I was on the phone with hunters that had spent eight hours in the car with their family and had only gone a few miles.  They were running out of gas and just gave up and went home to weather the storm."

"They’re such good people," Bianchi added.  "They were calling us to apologize for missing the Festival!"

"So this year, we decided to do something special for them.  We chose a Cajun theme with a gumbo cook-off, zydeco music, and sharks.  Who doesn’t love a Cajun party?"

Entering its fourteenth 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 23, this year.

The annual festival combines education, outdoors activities and entertainment for nearly ten thousand visitors.  It begins on Thursday, September 21 with Youth Day.

Youth Day presents over three hundred high school students from across the area with educational mini-seminars on wildlife management, hunter safety, and drug and alcohol awareness.  "Thursday is just for the kids," Bianchi 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 activities."

He noted that this year’s Youth Day attendees will be the first to see the Live Shark Encounter.

The Fest gets going on Friday and Saturday, September 22 – 23.  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 gumbo 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, the Wall of Shame, and Laser Shoot.  The Brazos Bottom Cow-ographers will also set-up and entertain in their Old West Town, including regular shootouts and gun play.

"We’ll have plenty of Cajun music, live music, Cajun 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!"

Festival coordinators attribute its success to the family-oriented atmosphere.

"We need sponsorship to have a Festival on this scale," said Hedtke, this year’s sponsorship chairman.  "When sponsors come to the grounds and see entire families being entertained, they get very interested."  He noted that sponsorship by Veolia, Aggreko, Lone Star Beer, the San Antonio River Authority, Texas Parks & Wildlife, Budweiser as well as numerous local sponsors were key to the Fest’s continued growth.

Look for a Lonesome Dove Fest special section in next week’s issue of The Countywide.