Leesville Country Fair takes place Saturday

LEESVILLE — The Leesville Country Fair is coming Saturday, Oct. 14. The event, which began in 1935, is an annual get-together that welcomes anyone who loves good food, live music, and family entertainment.

This year’s fair — the community’s 31st consecutive one — will host fun for the whole family with an array of events including a hayride, children’s activities including face painting, a petting zoo, ring throw, bounce house, horseshoes and bean bag toss. The Belmont Fire Department will feature a fire truck for the kiddos to jump on, as well as a Gonzales County Sheriff’s Deputies patrol car where they can honk the horn and flash the lights. Also featured is a prizes raffle, which will include gift cards for restaurants and prizes in value from $25 to $500. This year’s music will be provided by the Clint Martin Band.

Leesville’s Happy Quilters — a group of ladies who have met each Monday at the Leesville Methodist Church since 1998 — will provide two quilts for the fair’s fundraiser. The quilts will be raffled off during the fair, with proceeds to support the Leesville Cemetery, as well as scholarships for students of Nixon-Smiley CISD.

“Seventy percent of the money goes to the schoolhouse and cemetery facility, and 30 goes to the schools,” said Committee Chairman Pat Meyer, who manages the upkeep on the Methodist Church, cemetery and old schoolhouse.

Meyer said the fair raises anywhere from $10,000 to $12,000.

“We take $3,000 of that and dedicate it to high school graduates for college,” he added. “We give two $1,500 scholarships. The rest of it we use to maintain the cemetery grounds.”

Meyers noted that to him and others, the good thing about the event is that it’s not just about raising money, but the nuances of working hand-in-hand.

“It keeps those of us who want to take care of the place in the fellowship, so we can continue to keep it alive.”

The fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Leesville Methodist Church grounds.