Fourteen teams sign up to compete in annual Blues Society gumbo event

Fourteen teams have signed up to compete in the Seventh Annual Hot Springs Gumbo and Crawfish Festival, which kicks off Saturday in Hill Wheatley Plaza.

The event will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. General admission passes are $10, and allow festivalgoers to samples any of the gumbo from the cooking teams, while supplies last. A limited supply of freshly cooked crawfish will be available for purchase on site, as well, organizers said.

Bert Clevenger, president of Spa City Blues Society, the host of the event, said the teams will be competing for the "tongue in cheek" title of Best Gumbo in the Universe. Four of the teams will be corporate teams -- Fat Jacks's Oyster and Sports Bar, the Waters Hotel, The Hotel Hot Springs & Spa, and Gregg Orr Toyota.

Another team will consist of culinary students at the Arkansas Career Training Institute. Clevenger, the culinary arts instructor for the class, said this will be the second year his students have competed in the festival. While Clevenger coaches his students, he said the students will be the ones who actually make the food.

While the students didn't win or place last year, Clevenger said it was a good experience and all the students had fun.

"They were dancing, listening to music, having a grand old time," he said.

Three local blues acts will perform at the festival, including Mike Tripp, Soaker and the Spa City Youngbloods.

The Spa City Blues Society sponsors an educational program called Blues in the Schools, which teaches children about the blues genre. As the students progress, they can join the Spa City Youngbloods.

The funds raised at Saturday's event go toward the Spa City Youngbloods and Blues in the Schools and to help the society in its mission to keep blues music alive in Arkansas, he said.

Passes can be purchased online at http://www.hsgumbofest.com through today, or at the gate on the day of the event.

Clevenger said the gumbo festival has been successful in the past, noting they had a really good turnout last year, despite rain. With a favorable weather forecast this weekend, Clevenger said he expects a large crowd and, based on presales, people from all over the state, as well as Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee, will be attending.

Clevenger said the festival has been successful because it is a combination of a party atmosphere and the value of the event, with unlimited samples for $10 while supplies last.

In addition to the gumbo, cold beverages and crawfish will also be available to purchase at the event. The official beer vendor of the event will be Superior Bathhouse Brewery.

Local on 04/18/2019

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