The Wood County Old Settler’s Reunion will go on as planned Aug. 1-3 despite a major setback.

The Old Settlers board learned July 9 that carnival provider Sunshine Midways pulled out of the 121st reunion. The company lost its insurance and decided to dissolve the company, canceling all future events. 

Board President Rocky Bridges and other board members jumped into action and attempted to contact every carnival provider they could find in Texas and Oklahoma to no avail.  

After an emergency meeting July 10, the board decided to move forward with the event since the Quitman-Lake Fork Kiwanis Club had already secured its required permits to hold the ever-popular bingo nights and had already received many prize donations.

Also, the Quitman Chamber of Commerce had already hired someone to run the cornhole tournament slated for Saturday, Aug. 3. The tournament had previously been slated to begin at 10 a.m. but has moved to 4 p.m. 

In lieu of the carnival, the board will be going another direction and providing different options for the kids. There will be several bounce houses including combos, a special toddler bounce house and a water slide, along with inflatable games such as a football toss and axe throwing provided by Jerry’s Jump Zone in Sulphur Springs. There will also be a bubble/foam machine, courtesy of the Quitman chamber. The popular “Game Bus” will also be on hand. All of this will be free to members of the community. 

This year also marks a change to Saturday night entertainment. The Quitman Bulldogs have held their “Meet the Bulldogs” rally on Saturday night the past few years, but due to UIL rules, the students do not report to practice until after the Old Settler’s Reunion, pushing “Meet the Bulldogs” to Aug. 10.

Local favorites, the Eric George Band, will play on Saturday night. Special guest Katie Wallace will open at 7:30 p.m. and the Eric George Band will perform at 8:30 p.m.

There will also be local food trucks and vendors on hand. Vendors will be given a discounted rate this year. Contact Joanne Wisdom for vendor applications and fee information at joanne@drwisdom.net.

To make this year’s Old Settler’s Reunion a success, the board is asking for volunteers to help organize the inflatables and help make sure all kids enjoy equal time on them. To volunteer, contact carleydtucker@gmail.com. 

The board will also be announcing a huge change for the future of the Old Settler’s Reunion at the event. They have decided to move the event to Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 for 2025.

The board will begin planning for the event in September and will be seeking new board members and volunteers.

The board is optimistic that this will allow more people to enjoy the experience with cooler weather and hopes to incorporate more of the spirit of the Old Settlers by adding events such as hayrides and baking contests.

Board members will be available at this year’s reunion to answer questions and get input from the community on the event.