Big weekend planned around fishing tournament

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Saturday and Sunday will be big days at the Bassmaster Elite series event at Lake Fork. The festival is free and open to the public. On Sunday, country music stars, the Bellamy Brothers, will perform a free concert at 1 p.m.

Quitman’s Bobby Irwin will headline the entertainment on the big stage on Saturday. There will be a meet and greet with Irwin beginning at noon before his 1 p.m. concert. Irwin’s concert will end at 2:30 followed by the Bassmaster Elite weigh-in at 3.

Quitman native Irwin is one of the young guns of Texas music. In the past year he has won the Texas state FFA talent award singing in front of 15,000 students in Fort Worth. He went on to become the national FFA talent champion performing in front of 57,000 at the Lucas Oil Center in Indianapolis last year.

He also won first place in the Texas Troubadour singer/songwriter contest last year and has released five singles. This summer he will be touring across Texas. 

Since 2001, the Pilot Club of Quitman has presented a Bicycle Rodeo/Puppet Show at Alba-Golden, Quitman and Yantis ISDs, but the pandemic prevented these the last two years. 

The Bicycle Rodeo is back and this year it will be during two days of the Bass Master Elite - Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. It will be held at the Sabine River Authority Building at 353 Private Road 5183, Quitman.

First and second graders will learn a little bicycle safety and then get fitted with a bicycle helmet that is theirs to keep. Once helmeted, they will be provided a bike to ride a short obstacle course, with help and instructions from Pilots and first responders. This will take about 30 minutes. In addition to receiving a free helmet the participants will also receive a free raffle ticket for a chance to win one of four new bicycles.

To add more fun, there will also be interactions with The Brain Minder Puppets, Wise Old Owl, Gerald Giraffe, Diego Dalmatian, Martin Monkey – a Pilot International educational program. These characters will emphasize the importance of brain health and safety, anti-bullying and fire safety. For details visit Quitmanpilot.org.

Also on tap for Saturday is the 5K Great Dam Race which will begin at 11 a.m. followed by a one-mile fun run and walk across the dam. Texas Parks and Wildlife will have on display the Hawg Trough Bass Tank and the Wildlife Catfish Tank with both open from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Bellamy Brothers concert will kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. and will end at 2:30. The final Bassmaster Elite weigh-in and awards will be at 3 p.m.