In March 2020, I started working remotely; I could work wherever there was a Wi-Fi connection, including road-side cafes. This gave us some time and flexibility to explore the surrounding areas from DFW as we looked for a community where we could call home. This is how we discovered Hopkins County and Sulphur Springs.
It must have been the 4th Saturday of Oct. 2020 when my then fiancé, now wife, and I visited Sulphur Springs for the 2nd or 3rd time. It just happened to be the day of the Hopkins County Stew Festival and Contest for 2020. We had visited earlier in August of that year.
Something kept drawing us back to Sulphur Springs even after the novelty of the glass bathrooms and 30-foot cows, and allure of other things to do in Sulphur Springs had worn off. We were set to be married in Dec. 2020, and we were trying to locate a town where we would start our journey and raise a family. That year, in the middle of COVID, everything was a bit different. The stew festival was drive-through only and it was heavily raining.
These would-be hindrances didn’t stop us from observing some characteristics that made Hopkins County different. One was the support and love for locally owned, independent, businesses. The banners for businesses sponsoring the stew competition were prominently displayed on the outside fence of Buford Park. Being entrepreneurially minded as a couple and with dreams of starting a new business or two, these small signs meant something to us.
Hopkins County Stew Festival & Content Schedule & Tickets
The 55th Annual Hopkins County Stew Festival will take place on Saturday, October 26, 2024 at Buford Park in Sulphur Springs, Texas:
- Stew Cooking: Teams of four cook chicken or beef stew in cast iron pots over wood fires.
- Stew Sampling: Teams must provide samples to judges by 10:30 AM.
- Stew Serving: Served at 10:45 AM.
- Camping: Spectators can visit campsites for $8.
- Stew Prizes: Teams can compete for “Best Campsite and Costume”
In subsequent years, we’ve been able to attend a few times. Each year we tell ourselves that will compete in the competition. However, only this year, in 2024, do we now have a brand we’d like to represent. To enter there are fees and the winners also get cash, but the real value is the bragging rights and branding opportunities of the businesses those winners represent.
I’d love to practice all year making beef stew. My wife would prefer to practice chicken stew. However, it would be a big commitment to get good enough to compete.
History of Hopkins County Stew Festival & Competition
The cooking competition began in 1969, but the roots of the dish date from the late 1800s. The county had approximately 100 schools back then, and it became customary to celebrate the end of each school year with stew suppers that were cooked in iron pots over open hardwood fires.
For just $8, attendees will receive a bowl (for all the stew they can eat), along with cheese and crackers. Then, if visitors want to take some stew home, they may purchase quart containers for $15 and enjoy the stew for many nights to come.
As a husband-and-wife Realtor team with Coldwell Banker Watson Company here in Sulphur Springs, a 2nd gen broker, we feel it’s our duty to spread the love to businesses around town, shop local, and show why Sulphur Springs is such an awesome town. Hopkins County Stew Contest is one of those small festivals in the City of Celebration that makes Sulphur Springs different.
Get Tickets to the Hopkins County Stew Festival & Competition
Get your tickets online here.
Or buy and pick-up your tickets at any of these local businesses.
Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce
Alliance Bank- Downtown location & South Broadway location
City National Bank- Mockingbird location & Downtown location
First National Bank of East Texas
Texas Heritage National Bank
Credit Union of Texas
Red River Credit Union
Pilgrim’s Bank
Guaranty Bank & Trust
We highly recommend you check out the Hopkins County Stew Festival & Contest this year on Oct. 26th, 2024.