Everything you need to know about the Devine Cactus Festival

The 63rd Annual Devine Fall Catcus Festival is set for next weekend October 31-November 2 in downtown Devine.


The Carnival will be here for three days, Thursday, Oct. 31, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 2.
Over 100 vendors will be on display for your shopping pleasure as well as the usual Plant Sale, Art Exhibit, kids games and more.


The Parade will kick off at 10:00 AM Saturday morning at the intersection of Hwy 173 and FM 2200 (Medina Glass) as usual. Parade entries are due by this Friday to Morales Realty, as the lineup will be charted this weekend. Floats will line up in the middle school parking lot and wrap around to the high school . The construction company promises to have it ready for use.


Live entertainment from 11 am-midnight, will take place all day on two stages at the festival featuring a FREE dance that evening with Small Town Habit, Jeremy Richards, and the Solis Brothers as the headliners. A pep rally by DHS will take place from 12-1 pm earlier. Claude Morgan and friends will entertain from the second stage. (See ad for details)


Parade Grand Marshall is Lewis Stroud. Theme is Devine Pride. No outside food or drinks will be permitted. Bring Lawnchairs. The “INSIDE SCOOP” of the 2024 Devine Cactus Fall Festival is actually INSIDE the Community Center!  The doors open after the parade, around 11am, for everyone to enjoy all the displays and activities until closing at 5:00pm. Check out these displays and sales going on inside the CC, next to the Library.

The INSIDE SCOOP….

*YOUTH ART EXHIBIT – This 4th annual exhibit will have artwork from hundreds of school and day-care kids in Devine, with the theme “Small Town, Big Heart, Bright Future”!  Come inside the Community Center to walk through the ‘Tunnel of Art’ & see the beautiful art banners along the walls!  This is a real treat, so if you have children or grandchildren that go to school or day-care in Devine, you will not want to miss this exhibit!! (Doors close at 5pm)
*TINY TOWN TEXAS MUSEUM EXHIBIT – Check out the wide variety of unique historical items, including an authentic Dinosaur Egg with an Xray of the baby dinosaur inside!  This is a ‘Must-See’ display at the festival, so come inside to get a chance to see it for yourself! (TTTM also will have a very, very, old, historic automobile in the parade, so look for it at the beginning of the parade!)
*HISTORICAL EXHIBIT – This year’s exhibit will include lots of pictures from the early days of Devine, including pictures of downtown Devine before the January 1905 fire, a downtown picture of College Ave. from the early 1920s, and old school pictures. Plus, the always popular pictures of the Devine Cactus Zoo from the 1950s are back again this year, including the picture of the 14 ft cacti-sculpture of “The Three Bears”
The *DEVINE GARDEN CLUB will hold its annual Fall Plant Sale in the Community Center with lots of great plants to purchase.  Members of the club will be there also to tell you about the care that is needed for the plants you get. Get a plant for beauty and learn something about it at the same time!
The *FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY Book Sale will have books for all ages – paperbacks, hardback, audio books, and movies. They will have something for everyone!  All proceeds benefit the Driscoll Public Library!
There will also be *LOCAL AUTHORS with their books available for sale, so come meet these talented people and check out their books.
Now you have the “INSIDE SCOOP” of  INSIDE the Community Center this Saturday, Nov. 2nd from 11am-5pm at the Devine Cactus Fall Festival. So, come to downtown Devine to enjoy a nice day of fun at the festival – inside & out!

This Saturday…Festival, games, fishing @ BIGFOOT fundraiser

By Kayleen Holder
Editor
Mark your calendars, it’s gonna be a fun event! One local family is hosting a very special fund raiser for the Bigfoot Volunteer Fire Department this coming Saturday, Oct. 26 after seeing first-hand the amazing way these heroes help our community in times of crisis.
The event will be an old-fashioned fall festival/haunted hay ride, with lots of games for the kids. Cash only! There will be lots of old-school kids games, as well as fishing and the haunted hayride. Kids will also get to see the big fire trucks.
Bobby Thompson, of Bigfoot, shares a little about what inspired the family to host this event…
“On July 4th, 2023, my family had our family reunion at my place in Bigfoot. Two teenagers were leaving my house about 10 pm that evening when a hog ran out in front of their vehicle. They swerved to miss the hog and over corrected, rolling their truck.”

“Both boys were ejected from the truck and landed in the ditch on separate sides of the road. Both were seriously injured,” Thompson said. “We called 9-1-1 and the Bigfoot Volunteer Fire Department arrived in a very short time. The Bigfoot Volunteer Fire Department was very professional and administered what I believe was life-saving medical attention to the boys.”
“My family owes a great amount of gratitude to the Bigfoot Volunteer Fire Department,” Thompson adds. “They sacrifice personal family time to be volunteers and it is evident that these volunteers are 100% committed to our community. In a rural area, we are blessed to have these high-quality committed volunteers.”
Also, if anyone is interested in volunteering for this one-day event they can contact me, Bobby Thompson, at 830-267-0059. We also want to invite anyone interested in joining the Bigfoot Volunteer Fire Department to reach out to the Fire Chief Mark Leach.

Devine Carnival and Fall Cactus Festival set for Oct. 31-Nov.2

The 63rd Annual Devine Fall Cactus Festival is set for next weekend October 31-November 2 in downtown Devine.
The Carnival will be here for three days, Thursday, Oct. 31, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 2.
Over 100 vendors will be on display for your shopping pleasure as well as the usual Plant Sale, Art Exhibit, kids games and more.
The Parade will kick off at 10:00 AM Saturday morning at the intersection of Hwy 173 and FM 2200 (Medina Glass) as usual.

PARADE

Parade entries are due by this Friday to Morales Realty, as the lineup will be charted this weekend. Floats will line up in the middle school parking lot and wrap around to the high school . The construction company promises to have it ready for use.
Live entertainment from 11am-midnight, will take place all day on two stages at the festival featuring a FREE dance that evening with Small Town Habit, Jeremy Richards, and the Solis Brothers as the headliners. A pep rally by DHS will take place from 12-1 pm earlier. Claude Morgan and friends will entertain from the second stage.
Parade Grand Marshall is Lewis Stroud. Theme is Devine Pride. No outside food or drinks will be permitted. Bring Lawn chairs.

Pumpkin Decorating Contest going on in Devine!

By Catherine Richard
Contenders for the Driscoll Public Library Pumpkin Decorating Competition have begun to arrive, more than a week before the deadline on Friday, Oct. 18.
Medals will be awarded for the Spookiest, Funniest and Most Creative pumpkin. There will also be a prize for Best of Show Overall and People’s Choice (selected by the patrons of the library).
Anyone can enter a pumpkin, the only requirements are that the pumpkin is artificial and the design must be family-friendly.
Entries can be turned in during any normal library hours.

Calendar of events

Personal Reference
School Board Meetings
Devine- Devine ISD Trustees meet in regular monthly meetings on the third Monday of each month. They may also meet in special or called meetings for workshops, or to handle routine business. Meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. at the Administration Office at 605 W Hondo Ave unless otherwise posted.
https://www.devineisd.org/our_district/school_board/public_participation
Natalia- 4th Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. November and December are the exceptions.
https://www.nataliaisd.net/boardoftrustees

Continue reading “Calendar of events”

Scout Me In!

Boy Scout Troop 72 offers free membership to the next 20 youths who join in 2024. This offer is for boys aged 11-17.
Adult volunteer membership is half-priced at $30 for the remainder of the year.
All are welcome to stop in at the regular meetings, which are held every Tuesday from 7-8 p.m. at VFW Post 3966, Devine.
For more information, contact Kenneth M. at 210-439-6327 or email devinetroop072@gmail.com.

Natalia Elections, for city and school, Early Voting starts Oct. 21

Polling places will open for early voting October 21- Nov. 1 and then election day Tuesday, November 5. There are two local elections in Natalia. There are four candidates vying for positions on Natalia City Council. The candidates are: Mike Fernandez, Selica L Vera, Sam Smith and Valerie Michelle Naff.
The are four candidates are vying for 3 positions on the school board. The Natalia School board candidates are: Andrew Besa, Eric Smith, Fernando Garza, and Tracy Myers.

Devine Food Pantry parking lot sale coming up

By Mickie Schulze
Have you had the opportunity to shop at the Devine Food Pantry Thrift Shoppe yet?
We are located at 309 North Teel, in the same building as the food pantry. Our Door is behind the loading dock area.
This Saturday, October 19th, during the city wide yard sale, we will be having a parking lot sale. Make sure you stop by and check out the good deals.
All clothes will fill up a bag for a dollar. That is an HEB size bag for $1.
They will also have some tools, new baskets, wreaths & mugs, along with Christmas items set out.
While these things are offered in the parking lot – wonderful new costume jewelry rings will be on sale inside the Thrift Shoppe.
These rings are still in their store package and would make nice gifts. Or just buy a few to wear yourself. The prices will be low – $2 each or 3 for $5. A nice ring at a great value.
So, as you make your city wide garage sale day plans, please include a stop by the Devine Food Pantry Thrift Shoppe.
If you are not able to make the Saturday sale we are open every day except Wednesday & Sunday from 9 to 2. We hope to see you soon.