The food was great, and the impact was greater.
Big Thicket Hogs and Strings 2025 Music Fest (Oct. 18) raised money to benefit Indian Springs Camp, Special Needs Camp in Kountze, which is a 501 (c)(3) offering outdoor programs for children, Veterans, the physically challenged and underprivileged.
Activities and curriculum are designed for fun and education, while helping participants experience and enjoy nature, organizers say.
Festival Chairman Donnie Courville was worried about attendance due to ominous forecasts and rain, but attendees proved more concerned with the good cause.
“The crowd sat through the rainstorm for about 45 minutes or an hour,” he said. “For the majority of the people, about 85 or 90 percent who were there early on, they stayed. Going into this festival, we probably had our most successful year raising sponsors, getting sponsorship dollars in the door and our pre-ticket sales were off the charts, too.
“It seems the people who come for the first time always want to come back. That is the general feeling. People are invested in it like we are. We keep investing to make things better at the festival. It’s an important piece of the puzzle for what we do out at Indian Springs.”
Call 409-781-3074 or visit indianspringscamp.net for more information about Indian Springs Camp.
One of the festival’s leading fundraising opportunities comes from cookoffs and special item sales from volunteer cook teams.
H.B. Neild Construction, with approximately 20 volunteers, contributed throughout the weekend and served as one of many dedicated cook teams.
When the judging concluded, H.B. Neild earned Grand Champion status on the strength of first place wins for Pork Butt and Pork Ribs and a third-place finish in Hog Wild with a sopapilla cheesecake topped with pork belly burnt ends.
H.B. Neild Project Manager Blake Moss served as lead cook, saying the team took things seriously with pork butt hitting the grill the evening before and smoking for approximately 15 hours.
The ribs were prepped at 7 a.m. on festival day and made it to the pit for 9 a.m. to begin a five-hour cook time.
“Just with the appearance, you could tell they looked really well, especially when we started slicing and tasting them,” said Moss, a 10-year barbecue veteran. “I mean everybody was pumped. It was good. It was fun.”
VP of Operations Todd Langston, who is also a cook team volunteer, said H.B. Neild has participated in the festival fundraiser for five years because it’s a great cause.
“The people you are interacting with are a family, and a lot like H.B. Neild, you can tell they are there for good reasons,” he said. “They put you in direct contact with some of the end users of this facility, which are the wounded Veterans. You really get to see and interact with the people who this event is put on for and the funds go to help.”