The Tarkington Community will celebrate the nineteenth annual Tarkington Round-Up on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, in front of Tarkington Middle School on FM 163 in Liberty County. Activities will begin at 10 a.m. including the fifth annual “Tarkington Showcase of Talent,” a celebration of all the talented folks on the Prairie, young and old; the ninth annual karaoke contest with karaoke masters, Pete and Stephanie Vandver; and the second annual Costume Contest and other great fundraising events.
Tarkington Round-Up is sponsored by the Tarkington Student Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides funding to all graduating Tarkington students who pursue any form of post-secondary education.
The “Tarkington Showcase of Talent” event begins around 10 a.m. with performances by our Intermediate School Choir, the Tarkington Middle School Band, and High School Thundering Horns Band.
“We will also be featuring talent from area musicians and other talent. We encourage anyone with a talent to come out and share it with the community. This showcase is open to everyone. If you have a church choir itching to spread the gospel through music, come join us. If you are a gymnast, singer, dancer, musician, you name it, sign up and take the stage. This is not a competition; we just want to see and be entertained by all those gifted people in our community,” said Mollie Lambert, Tarkington Roundup spokesperson.
For more information on the Showcase of Talent, call Lambert at 713-446-3442 to schedule an approximate time of performance. Spots are filling up fast.
In addition to the talent showcase, there will be a Karaoke Competition. You can belt out your favorite tunes at $5 a tune and the audience will cast their votes at a cost of $1 a vote. If you think someone is better off not singing in the show, you can also cast a negative vote for $1. Trophies will be awarded to the best singers in Tarkington Karaoke.
At the event, there will also be the second annual costume contest. Trophies will be awarded for the winner and runner-up in five categories: Pre-School (ages 0-4), Primary School, Intermediate School, Middle School and High School. One trophy also will be awarded for “Most Entertaining” adult costume. The entry fee per person will be $5. All money raised will go to our Student Foundation to fund scholarships, so get those creative juices flowing and come show off those great costumes.
Project Graduation supporters will be on hand selling food and drinks to raise funds for this very worthy organization and will have carnival games for the family to enjoy. There will be lots of great booths to win prizes and candy including a dunking booth.
The Tarkington Community Library will have a Scholastic Book Fair with good bargains on books and a silent auction to raise funds for the library. The Library will also sponsor craft vendors who will have booths open during the same time period. The Tarkington Community Library is accepting applications for vendor booth rentals for $30. Interested vendors should contact the library via email info@tarkingtonlib.org or by phone, 281-592-5136, during open hours: Monday, Thursday and Friday, noon to 5 p.m., and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Members of the Cleveland Rotary Club, another non-profit that supports the students of Tarkington with scholarships every year, will be selling raffle tickets for a four-wheeler and other great prizes.
Tarkington Middle School will also be hosting a volleyball tournament so you will have an opportunity to watch the next generation of athletes competing in the Middle School and High School gyms.
“All former students, teachers, administrators, community members, and anyone with an interest in Tarkington are invited to attend this fun-filled day of activities, nostalgia and reunion as Tarkington celebrates its past, present, and future. We will be awarding our Educator of the Year and Community Members of the Year with plaques. These honored souls have done great things for our school, our students and our community, so please come to cheer them on,” said Lambert.
Tarkington Middle School is located seven miles south of Cleveland, Texas. If traveling from the Cleveland area, take SH 321/105 south from Cleveland for five miles, go a half-mile past the SH 105 split and turn left onto FM 163. Tarkington Middle School is located two miles on the left.
“We cannot do all of this without our wonderful sponsors! We would like to thank our past sponsors for their support and hope they will support us again this year: B & D Excavating of Texas, LLC; Sharp International Services, LLC; My Work Spot; GMF Academic Advisors, LLC; Martin Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram; Mollie Cohn Lambert, PLLC; Understar Interests, LLC; and Larry and Marsha Corley! If you see these people or go to their businesses, be sure and tell them how much their contributions are appreciated,” Lambert said.
For any questions, contact Lambert at 281-592-5243 or mollielambert66@yahoo.com, or Renee Padgett at or rpadgett@tarkingtonisd.net at 281-592-8781 x172. More information will be posted to the Tarkington Student Foundation page.