As expected, the annual Sealybration festival will take place on Sealy Business and Professional Women Park grounds (B&PW) from July 8 to July 10. The event will feature live performances from Cody Johnson, Bag of Donuts, Michael Salgado, Step Rideau, Earl Thomas Conley and others, as well as having plenty of food, entertainment, and beverages for those in attendance to enjoy.

The festival began in the late 80’s to early 90’s and went away for a while until about 13 years ago President of the Sealy Community Foundation, Melanie Willingham, rebirthed the event.

“The opportunity fell in my lap when the late founder, Mary Jo Johnson had a non-profit she was looking to get rid of but only if Sealybration could return,” said Willingham when asked about the festival’s return. Since then, SCF Vice President Stephen Cryan and SCF Secretary Kristen Haidusek have helped Willingham bring it all together for over ten years.

One of the more difficult aspects of Sealybration is the set-up, due to the fact that no Sealybration is the same.

“The goal is to add one new ‘thing’ each year, so the layout is always tough to format in order to bring in rev enue. It was set-up totally different in the past than it is now,” said Willingham. “We get H.O.T. (hotel occupancy tax) funds from the city but the amount has decreased each year, which is also very challenging,” she added.

The locally owned presenting sponsor Steel Rain Construction and Logistics has donated $10,000 to the Sealy Community Foundation for Sealybration.

“It’s only the second time that we’ve had a presenting sponsor, the first time it was Sealy Mattress. It shows how much they believe in us and support us that they’re willing to do this,” Willingham mentioned.

Around 3:30 p.m. on Friday July 8 the park grounds will be flooded with the smell of barbeque and steak as the cook-off will be underway before gates open at 5 p.m. Non-profit organizations are invited to come work the gates and are given a donation. Anywhere from six to ten scholarships are awarded to students who are enrolled and have completed at least one semester of college while completing an ample amount of community service.

The newest event at Sealybration this year will be the foam party sponsored by Austin County State Bank. This new event is being added in lieu of there not being a 5K run included as part of this year’s event. With over 75 softball teams in this year’s Stars and Strikes Classic softball tournament, the foam party will be a great way for the youth to cool off while enjoying themselves. Grupo Siggno will be the headliner Friday night and has proven to be a fan favorite in Sealy.

“Our standout performance will be from Grupo Siggno, one of the things we added in recent years is a regional Mexican music night and it’s been a huge hit,” said Willingham.

Independence Day is a widely celebrated holiday throughout the country including Sealy but not even that can compete with Sealybration weekend in Austin County. Although there will not be a carnival this year, there will be many other activities and rides. During concerts glow sticks are thrown out, treats and toys are available for children, and there’s plenty of amenities to keep a smile on everyone’s face including a gator country road show.

Whether you’re riding the mechanical bull, in the bean bag tournament, or participating in the jackpot desert and steak shootout competition, guests from all over the county have plenty to be excited about. Some other competitions for the meat smokers are as follows:

• ½ chicken competition

• Pork ribs competition

• Pork butt competition