Well, the weather forecast calls for a nice cool & sunny day for this year’s Devine Cactus Fall Festival, so make your plans now to come to the largest annual event in our community! The Devine Area Chamber of Commerce is excited about all the entertainment, booths, games, food, & fun scheduled FOR YOU & YOUR FAMILY on the first weekend of November. All activities will take place in and around Downtown Devine, in front of the Community Center & Library, the American Momentum Bank, and on College Ave. There will be music, two entertainment stages, a carnival, lots of food & vendor booths, games, an art show, and much more… Plus some local downtown businesses will also be open, so stop in to see them too!
We have a new CARNIVAL this year called The Mighty Thomas Carnival that kicks off the festival starting on Thursday & Friday evenings of Nov. 4-5 and continues all day Saturday from 11am until midnight. This carnival has been owned & operated by the Thomas family of South Dakota for 93 years and will have lots of rides & games. Come bring the kids & check it out!
On Saturday, Nov. 6th, the annual PARADE will start at 10am with Grand Marshals, Johnnie Faye Evans and her son, Sheriff Randy Brown leading the parade of bands, fire trucks, and many groups, floats & vehicles from numerous community and school organizations! DJ J Mendez (Jonathan Mendez) will serve as the Parade & Festival Emcee, as well as provide music throughout the day. *The Parade participants will line up at the Devine Middle School on FM2200, then will travel to HWY 173and go to the downtown 4-Corners where they will turn right onto HWY 81, then turn on West College Ave in front of Crawford Pharmacy & zig zag back to Middle School to disburse in that area. (Please do not disperse at the VFW, as they will be having their first of the month sale and vendors.) So, get your chairs set up on the parade route early so you don’t miss anything! And don’t forget to come on over to the festival after the parade to get some “good-eats” for the hungry parade watchers & riders! (The parade entries will begin lining up at 8:45am at the Devine Middle School, with Parade judging to follow.)
At 11am the NATIONAL ANTHEM will be sung by Leighton Martinez on the Main Stage in front of the American Momentum Bank. Join us for this patriotic beginning to our Festival!
After the National Anthem, the local HERMANN SONS DANCERS will perform on the side stage between the Community Center and the Bank. These kids have only been in classes for a few weeks, but will be performing for your entertainment, so come cheer them on and show how much we appreciate our local kids!
Make sure to come into the DEVINE COMMUNITY CENTER starting at 11am to see the artwork of our local kids at the Youth Art Exhibit along with displays of the local historic Devine Cactus Zoo from the 1950s; as well as visit the booths of the Friends of the Devine Public Library, Devine Garden Club plant sale, and the Devine Current Events Club. The Community Center will close at 7pm.
Something else new to check out will be the JELLY BALL FIELD, and the outside free KIDS’ CORRAL area which will have family fun & entertainment and will be run by the Calvary Chapel of Devine.
Again this year, there will be lots of good MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT all day long, on TWO stages, the MAIN STAGE in front of American Momentum Bank and the SECOND STAGE on College Ave. The lineup of musicians & singers will have a wide variety of genres, and will include local favorites as well as new ones that will be sure to be crowd-pleasers! On the Main Stage will be: Bad Funky Bones-R&B/Soul, Fleeks–original music, Blues, Oldies, funk, & Rock, Weston Ripps Band -various styles of music including rock, Holly Tucker-Country music, performed on The Voice, Love Killed the Hero-Alternative/Indie music, Chris Salinas Band-traditional country/western music, Jeremy Richards Band-variety of Country, Rock n Roll, etc. The Second Stage on College Ave. will have special performers & singers, Sylvia & Matt Kirk, The Flying Wotina’s, John Whipple, and Claude Butch Morgan & His Bandaholics. It will be a great day & night of music in Downtown Devine, so be sure to bring your lawn chairs & plan to stay awhile & enjoy with your friends! *Schedule of music/entertainment times at end of article.
A FOOD COURT of food vendors will be positioned around the Main Stage, in front of the Bank, and will be open all day until Midnight. Vendors will include: Kettle Me Up Gourmet, Selene, Richie’s Italian Ice, Evas Gorditas and More, SA Lady Hoops Basketball Team, Chayitos Mexican Restaurant, Devine Meat Company, Viera’s Eats, Fly By’s Smoke-N-Grill, Mrs. Snow, LLC, & Espana’s Pizza Pies.
Many VENDOR BOOTHS will be situated throughout the downtown area and will have a wide variety of items for you to buy, and maybe you will find just the right things for special people on your Christmas list! It is only a few weeks away! Vendors will include: Tony Aktines Woodworking, Boil and Bubble, Hipponeer, Mato Tomato Girls LLC, Bohemian Brushstrokes, Jenny’s Jems Designs, Damsel in Defense independent PRO, SassySweets by Cass, Divine Treats, Plucky Ramblers, Tricia’s Reclaimed Signs, Classy Sassy Croc Charms, Our Crafty Family, Fuentes Five Trading Company, Terry Goose Crafts and Jewelry, SensatioNail Stylings with Sharon – Color Street, Farmasi, Five Moon Designs, Kaktus Krafts, Rockin’ Bk Creations, BeeSpace, Mad Creations, Crazy Plant Lovee, Madam Spina Apothecary, American Cactus, Prattastic Pretties, 4ever and Always, By Joen, Glamerful Bath and Beauty, Estilo Jazzy Inc, Holy Spirit Gallery, MCS GIFT SHOP, Hand-itizer Kaddi’z, WOW Wonderful Outstanding Wreaths, Que Bonita Designs, Renewal By Anderson, Alterations Unlimited, La Toxica, Kelli Geyer and Karma Herring, MiCielo Market & Craftery, Winterstrom Ranch LLC Fiber Mill, Doe-Re-Mi Lavender Farm, Loyd for Commissioner, Yolanda’s Jewelry and Gifts, The Chandelier Rose Boutique.
*Check out the schedule below to join the fun at the Festival!!
*SCHEDULE for Devine Cactus Fall Festival*
NOV. 4-6 CARNIVAL: The Mighty Thomas Carnival
(Thurs. & Fri. evenings, & all-day Saturday, starting at 11am & running until midnight, in front of the Devine Community Center)
SATURDAY, NOV. 6, 2021:
10am – PARADE Starts
11am – NATIONAL ANTHEM
11am-7pm – COMMUNITY CENTER Opens with historical displays & the Youth Art Exhibit
9am-Midnight – FOOD & RETAIL VENDORS will be open
MAIN STAGE Entertainment in front of American Momentum Bank:
11:15am – Bad Funky
1:00pm – Fleeks
2:30pm – Weston Ripps Band
4:00pm – Holly Tucker
6:00pm – Love Killed the Hero
8:00pm – Chris Salinas Band
10:00pm-Midnight – Jeremy Richards Band
SECOND STAGE Entertainment on College Ave.
1-2pm – Sylvia & Matt Kirk
2:15-3pm – The Flying Wotina’s
3:15-4pm – John Whipple
4:15-5pm – Claude Butch Morgan & His Bandaholics