Every year, on the third Saturday of October, thousands head to San Antonio Park to enjoy wide-ranging activities and foods at the annual Rattlesnake and Music Festival.
The event almost didn’t happen this year, though.
Previous event organizers had decided not to have the annual festival. So a half-dozen Rotary clubs from East Pasco County stepped up to take on the event, said David West, a festival board member.
While this festival marks the 47th year that people have gathered to experience the festivities, this year’s lineup has a few changes.
For one thing, music will play a larger role — hence the festival’s new name. For another, there will be a beer garden, said Mike Mira, president of the East Pasco Rotary Charities, which has taken over the festival.
Another change is that the event will be one day, instead of two.
But the Oct. 19 festival will begin at 9 a.m. and go until 10 p.m., featuring an evening concert — another new twist, West said.
The planned reptile show had to be cancelled, but Wild Things of Dade City will be doing a wild life show, Mira said.
The event also will feature Billy the Exterminator, of A&E reality television program fame, West said. His appearance is being sponsored by Ierna’s Heating & Cooling, of Lutz.
Skip Mahaffey, a widely known local radio personality, also has been confirmed as the master of ceremonies for the evening concert.
In conjunction with the annual event, the Rotary Club of San Antonio is hosting the 35th annual Rattlesnake Run. Runners can choose to race for 5 miles or 1 mile on a course that includes hills, sidewalks, groves, a bridge and more hills.
The event also features festival foods galore.
Eddie Herrmann, one of the festival’s original founders, recalls its early days when it actually featured a rattlesnake roundup, with people bringing rattlesnakes they had captured. They would enter them in competitions judging size, weight and appearance.
The snakes would win prizes, and in turn, they would be used in payment for the snake expert who put on a show, Herrmann said.
Real gopher tortoises were used in races, too, Herrmann said. But that stopped after state officials objected to people handling the reptiles.
Mechanical tortoises, designed by Herrmann, now take the place of the live ones.
While there have been changes over time, the festival still aims to provide affordable family fun, and to raise money for community causes, West said.
There’s no admission charge or parking fee, but attractions within the festival and food will carry a cost, West said.
Those attending the festival will have plenty of choices of things to see and do and can get their fill of festival foods.
This year’s slate of entertainers includes The Beaumont Family Bluegrass Band, the Florida Cracker Boys, Steelhorse and Crabgrass Cowboys. Cowboy Tom will be there, too.
There will be animal shows, arts and crafts, a truck show, and rides and games for kids.
People who want to grab a bite to eat or something to drink can purchase such offerings as barbecue chicken, corn on the cob, rattlesnake bites, gator nuggets, pizza and funnel cakes.
Rod Lincoln, owner of Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q in Zephyrhills, has donated 700 chicken dinners and is the event’s primary sponsor, Mira said.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Rotary clubs, which in turn provide a considerable amount of support in the community, Mira said.
Rotary clubs, for example, provide food bags for families in need during the holidays, bags of food to help feed hungry children during summer months, and school supplies for kids going back to school.
