It began 64 years ago to keep snakes from overtaking the town and attacking livestock, pets and people, organizers say. It began 64 years ago to keep snakes from overtaking the town and attacking . Ronald Erdrich is the photojournalist and a columnist for the Abilene Reporter-News. Sweetwater, TX (79556) Today. 70% payback. Festival information may not be up to date due to COVID-19, but you can view our list of cancellations here. Sweetwater, 810 E Broadway P.O. All Rights Reserved. They also show the huge divide in how they are seen by some, with the Georgia festival heralded by animal advocates and the Texas roundup shamed. Snake hunts are offered throughout the day at nearby locales, and audience members will alsohavethe chance to skin a rattlesnakeas well asdine on the reptile's deep-fried meat. Sweetwater Municipal Auditorium. This year, however, so many snakes were rounded up that there's hardly a market for selling. The Sweetwater Jaycees society, which runs the festival, said they were thrilled it could go ahead after a year of uncertainty. What is advertised as the "World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup" draws about 25,000 visitors annually to the town of Sweetwater, a community in Texas made up of a little over 10,000 people. This does put us on the map, she said. The 64th Sweetwater Jaycees World's Largest Annual Rattlesnake Roundup is this weekend. Then came perfect weather for the one-day Georgia show, and there were no complaints whatsoever, he said. A few rattlesnake roundups still persist, the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement full of scorn for the Texas festival, which is "notorious for openly killing and skinning western diamondback rattlesnakes by the hundreds in front of crowds.. Click to reveal The snakes' skins will eventually show up on cowboy boots, belts and other western wear. Guided Snake Hunt - Friday Friday, March 11th For those wishing to see the rattlesnake in its natural habitat, we offer guided hunts. Get In Touch. var linktext = username + "@" + hostname; An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Each spring, the small city of Sweetwater, Texas, hosts what it bills as the world's largest rattlesnake roundup. Extra measures included hand sanitizer and regular wiping down of all areas and tour buses. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a14f7458b5429f1 Karen Hunt grew up in Sweetwater, and recalls fellow Texans asking her about her hometown. SWEETWATER, TEXAS RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUP - YouTube 0:00 / 8:15 SWEETWATER, TEXAS RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUP 37,579 views Apr 10, 2018 330 Dislike Share Save Mark Lotterhand 2.13K subscribers Unchecked. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. Mar 7, 2022 / . Team Calcutta-50% payback. . Join Festivalnet.com now to unlock additional details,