Our Town: ‘West Texas Western Swing’ days away

SNYDER, Texas (KJTV) - Every town has it’s own unique festival that brings community members together. Snyder’s is less than a week away. The “West Texas Western Swing” festival begins Wednesday, June 8.

“It is a four day long event. It’s actually part of a circuit if you will all over Texas, where people come in and can enjoy everything ‘West Texas Western Swing,” events & tourism coordinator for the Snyder Chamber of Commerce Joshua Ortegon said. “We have nine performers over four days, all day. They can come in and shop at our mini-vendors inside our Coliseum. They can come in and dance the day away.

It starts at noon and ends at 11 o’clock every night.

Not only can dancers swing through the evening, those in attendance can enjoy great food as well.

“We’re going to have a burgers and beans starting at 6 o’clock. The Snyder Drama Department is in charge of that, and that’s one of their fundraisers. So, they do it every year,” Sandra Salinas, administrative assistant for the Chamber, said. “Good food, they need to come out and enjoy. And then, we have a dance and jam session right after that, which starts at 7:00. And this year, we have something special. We have a couple that’s having an anniversary. Their 50th anniversary.”

The festival started in 1996, before the Chamber took over in 2000.

“It’s just exciting to hear that when people come back every year, it’s like ‘Welcome Home’, they’re so excited. So, that’s like our motto - Welcome home. The following is just amazing,” Salinas said. “We get a lot of people. There’s a group of people from New Mexico. That’s a good 20-30 couples. That’s big, big. Here, recently the last couple years, we have a big following from California.”

Ortegon says those passing by the Coliseum on those days (without stopping in!) are really missing out.

“It’s great to have everybody here,” he said. “Everybody knows when Western Swing is. When they see all the cars and RV’s outside the Coliseum, they know it’s a party.”

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