The Most Oat-Rageous Festival in Texas

On Saturday morning my wanderings, for the Austin American-Statesman,  took me west, to Bertram, Texas, to cover their annual Labor Day weekend event, their Oatmeal Festival parade.   Just a couple of miles from this Burnet County burg on the cusp of the Texas Hill Country, are what remains of an even tinier place, Oatmeal, Texas.   Oatmeal is mostly relegated to history these days, but it’s close enough for the folks in Bertram to have a festival in its honor.   And it was indeed well-attended.   The parade was delightful, with decorated bicycles, plenty of beauty queens, a high school marching band, the Plungettes, from Marble Falls, an actual dumpster attached to a car, and of course, Oatie, the festival mascot, there to greet visitors.  Like any parade, candy goodies were tossed to attendees.   8-year-old Timothy Edmundson was quick to grab a Tootsie Pop while the parade ambled past.   In Texas, a parade just wouldn’t be complete without horses.   There were big horses, but small ones, too, like the ones ridden by Arturo Mendez, and his little sister, Araceli.  Arturo was having a good time, but Araceli didn’t seem to be feeling the fun.   But new five-year-old friends, Macaila Lewis and Lyla Kramer, seen in the final photo in this post, were having a grand time!   I like the festival’s slogan:  The Most Oat-Rageous Festival in Texas.   The culture in my area never fails to inspire.