The Tarkington Community will celebrate the 20th Annual Tarkington Round-Up on Saturday, Oct. 7, in front of Tarkington Middle School on FM 163 in Liberty County.
Activities will begin at 10 a.m. including the sixth annual, “Tarkington Showcase of Talent,” a celebration of all the talented folks on the Prairie, young and old, the tenth annual “Karaoke Contest” with Tarkington’s own karaoke masters, Pete and Stephanie Vandver (and Ethan Vandver), the third annual “Halloween Costume Contest, and other great fundraising events.
The 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 the Elementary School Choir, the Tarkington Middle School Band, High School Thundering Horns Band and the Tarkington Jazz Band.
“We will also be featuring talent from area musicians along with 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,” said Mollie Lambert, one of the organizers. “This is not a competition. We just want to see all those gifted people in our community and be entertained.”
If you are interested in performing, please contact Mollie 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. Trophies will be awarded for the best karaoke singers in Tarkington.
The third annual Halloween Costume Contest will held on the same day. Trophies will be awarded for the Winner and Runner-Up for the following categories: Early Childhood (ages 0-5), Elementary School, Middle School and High School. A trophy will be awarded for “Most Entertaining” adult costume. The entry fee per person will be $5. All money raised will go to our Tarkington Student Foundation to fund scholarships, so get those creative juices flowing and come show off those great costumes.
Project Graduation 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, and 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. 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.
The Cleveland Rotary Club, another non-profit that supports the students of Tarkington with scholarships every year, will be selling raffle tickets for an electric cart and other great prizes.
As if that isn’t enough, the 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 recognizing the recipients of the 2023 Commitment to Education Community Award and TISD Employee Award with plaques. These honored souls have done great things for our school, our students and our community, so please come to cheer them on,” Lambert said.
Tarkington Middle School is located 7 miles south of Cleveland Texas. Take SH 321/105 south from Cleveland for 5 miles. Go a half-mile past the SH 105 split with SH 321. 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 2022 Tarkington Round-Up Sponsors for their support and hope they will support us again this year: The McClure-Franklin Family, Sharp International Services, my Work Spot, Cook Construction, Austin Bank, Mollie Cohn Lambert, PLLC, Understar Interests, LLC, We Dig Tarkington, the F. G. Barnett Family and G. H. White Ranch,” Lambert said.
To sponsor this event, please contact Charlie Rice at 281-608-9730. If you see these people or go to their businesses, be sure and tell them how much their contributions are appreciated. If you are interested in being a sponsor, please call Charlie Rice at 281-608-9730 for more information.
For more information on the event, contact Mollie Lambert at 281-592-5243 mollielambert66@yahoo.com or Cassie Gregory cgregory@tarkingtonisd.net at 281-592-8781. Don’t forget to like the Tarkington Student Foundation page on Facebook.