The Lake Fork Family festival which will be put on during the Bassmasters fishing tournament in late February-early March is slated to become an annual community event, regardless of whether Bassmasters plans a yearly contest at the popular Wood County lake.

The Wood County Economic Development Commission outlined plans for this year’s festival and beyond, partnering with the Pilot Club of Quitman.

The tournament is Feb. 29-March 3, with the festival taking place on Saturday and Sunday, March 2-3.

The musical headliner will be area favorite Neal McCoy on Sunday, with local musician Eric George on Saturday.

It will be held at the Sabine River Authority facilities and will include pickle ball and cornhole tournaments.

In years when Bassmasters does not have a Lake Fork tournament, the local event is planned for a crappie fishing tournament.

New marketing efforts for the festival include billboards and marquees.

Also at last week’s annual WCEDC meeting, the board approved a resolution presented by chairman Tom Keenan outlining how the commission will align its resources to tackle challenges in Wood County, from poverty and income levels to workers commuting outside the county and the promotion of tourism as an economic development benefit.

Some of the tools to be used to achieve that are career and technical education programs, business incubators and accelerators, funding such as grants, mentorship and internships and industrial partners.

Some job areas that are not in demand locally but can be brought here include logistics, robotics, water utilities and drone technology.

The board also recognized Jim Berry for his years of service. His replacement will be named by the county judge.