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Visiting the Annual Burton, Texas Cotton Gin Festival
Rate it! Votes (1) | Comments (0) By Bob Carter Posted August 6th, 2007 Bob Carter is the author of Food Festivals of Texas: Traveler's Guide and Cookbook (Food Festivals), (1999, Three Forks)	Food Festivals of Texas: Traveler's Guide and Cookbook (Food Festivals)

Texas folks know how to throw a party with gusto. The mere name conjures up visions of cowboys, tangy foods, and fun galore. Celebrating an era when cotton was still king, the fun and fabulous Cotton Gin Festival makes history come alive. It all happens in April, in Burton, Texas. It's a lively time when festival visitors learn the role cotton played in the history of the state.

The Cotton Gin Festival celebrates the most intact historic cotton gin left from the early twentieth century. Volunteers work in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution to painstakingly restore the cotton gin to working condition. Tours of the gin are a highlight of the celebratory event.

The three day festival is jam-packed with entertaining and educational activities for the entire family. They'll be able to view working examples of antique engines and farm equipment from all over the nation. Authentic craftsmen and hobbyists present folk life demonstrations, recreating lost rural arts such as quilting, blacksmithing, soap making, horse shoeing, goose plucking, butter making, and sauerkraut making.

Throughout the event, non-stop entertainment and music fills the big tent. Past year's entertainers include Johnny Dee and the Rocket 88s. But wait...there's more.

A fanciful parade winds down Main Street at 10 AM Saturday morning, pie eating contests, antique tractor pulls, folklife demonstrations, a petting zoo and childrens' activities, dozens of events, and featured craftsmen and hobbyists recreating rural arts and skill.

If your travel plans spur you on to the Texas hill country, plan a trip in April and join the exciting and informative Burton Cotton Gin Festival.

Getting There
The official Texas State Travel Guide is enormous. Its nearly 300 pages provide a colorful look in the state's largest urban areas and rural communities. To receive your personal copy of this coffee-table-quality guide, call 800-8888-TEX. If you love celebrations, request the free Texas Events Calendar.

For Burton Cotton Gin Festival information and a list of nearby campgrounds, contact Washington County Chamber of Commerce at 800-225-3695.  For more information click here to visit the Burton Cotton Gin and Museum Website.

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