57th annual Texas Rice Festival kicks off in Winnie with rides, music and food

A Southeast Texas tradition is set to return in Winnie as the 57th annual Texas Rice Festival opens Wednesday, bringing four days of food, music and events centered on the area’s rice harvest.

More than 300 volunteers have spent weeks preparing for opening day, Texas Rice Festival President Darrell Guidry said. “There’s over 300 volunteers that come and help with the Rice Festival, to put on the Rice Festival,” Guidry said.

The festival opens Wednesday at 5 p.m. with free admission on opening day and runs through Saturday.

For some vendors, the festival is also a long-running family and community tradition. Monica Jones of St. Louis Catholic Church said the church helped start the Rice Festival decades ago. “The St. Louis Catholic Church actually started the Rice Festival 50-something years ago. They made 50 rice balls in somebody’s kitchen,” Jones said.

Jones said the rice balls have grown into one of the festival’s most popular items, with the church selling as many as 16,000 and drawing customers who drive in from Houston. “We have sold out in the last four or five years on Saturday after, like, 7 o’clock,” she said.

A new vendor is also joining the food lineup this year. Cristo Rey Parish in Beaumont is bringing about 9,000 tamales for its first year at the festival. “I’m praying to God that this is a hit and that it’s a wonderful sale and that y’all like them and that we can sell out,” said Liz Arellano of Cristo Rey Parish.

The four-day festival includes live music, livestock events and the carnival, along with Friday’s Youth Day and Saturday’s grand parade. Guidry said the festival’s focus remains on the region’s agricultural roots. “It’s all about the harvest and rice. It’s a celebration of the harvest and rice here in this area,” he said.

Organizers said money raised through the festival helps support scholarships and other community programs, including local Little League.

Some longtime vendors are also preparing for the crowds. Monroe Foreman, who said he owns a Dippin’ Dots ice cream booth, said he has been part of the Texas Rice Festival for 21 years. Foreman said business is typically busiest “all day on Friday and Saturday,” adding that Friday is especially strong because “the kids are out of school on Friday, so that’s always a good thing.”