TOWN TRADITION
New Boston Pioneer Days start today
NEW BOSTON, Texas—With amusement rides starting at 6 p.m., a town tradition kicks off today with the 48th annual New Boston Pioneer Days.
Down at T&P Trailhead Pavilion, the free, live entertainment is capped off by traditional country music as sung by Gene Watson in concert at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Fellow country music performer Doug Stone performs Friday night, same time, while a gospel concert with 11th Hour is the Thursday highlight, 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church.
“We’re really excited about it again this year. It’s always fun. We usually have a very large crowd,” said Sue Anderson, president of the New Boston Chamber of Commerce. Among the highlights she noted is a new amusement ride operator.
“We have food vendors and we have craft vendors,” Anderson said. They’ll open on the festival grounds Thursday and Friday evening and all day Saturday until 11 p.m.
Food vendors bring barbecue, funnel cakes and all the traditional fair fare expected of small-town festival dining. Peanut patties from a local vendor is another added attraction this year, and there’s the pancake breakfast fire department fundraiser at Fire Station #1 starting at 6 a.m. Saturday.
“On Friday night, we’ll start the cornhole tournament and the volleyball tournament, and it will finish up Saturday morning,” Anderson said. Competitors can take their cornhole seriously.
“We’ll have an art show, quilt and food show on Saturday,” the chamber president said. That starts Friday evening. The parade rolls Saturday at 10 a.m.
“We have got a huge parade this year. We’ve got more entries than we’ve had in a long time,” Anderson said.
Other Saturday events at Pioneer Days include a 7:30 a.m. dutch oven cook-off, a car and motorcycle show from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., United Fund Bunco Tournament from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (at the Three Bostons Museum), a 4-wheeler mud race at 11:30 a.m., a 42 tournament from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and cash drawings (of $500, $500 and $1,000) three times during the day (with tickets available at the information booth).
In addition to the music headliners, live music will be performed all day Saturday with Pete and Joe Del (acoustic), Locked & Loaded (country/classic rock), Trophy Husband (modern rock/ alternative), Firewater Band (country/ rock), Marlon Sharp & Cowboys at the Cross (Christian) and Billion Dollar Blues Band (classic blues).
A treasure hunt with clues posted on the New Boston Pioneer Days Facebook page has been going all week.
“Come on out and join us,” Anderson said about a festival that’s billed as “The Hottest Festival in Texas.”