GILMER, Texas — An East Texas town is getting ready to host the second-largest county fair in the state. The East Texas Yamboree kicks off in Gilmer this Wednesday.
The East Texas Yamboree Board Director Jeffrey Dodd said last-minute preparations for the event are underway.
"Well, if you look at this one to the side here... that’s basically what you might start out with," Dodd said.
Volunteers work on each Yamboree parade float for a couple of hundred hours before it's completed. Each float represents a community group and they make sure each float is bigger than the year before.
"The amount of money and work that each group puts into it, I mean it’s unimaginable. And it’s all done by volunteers. They put their hearts and souls into building these floats. It’s just a lot of love that goes into building them," Dodd said.
That love develops from working hard for the community and celebrating its long-running traditions.
This year, the Yamboree will celebrate 86 years. Multiple family generations have grown up with this event. That family connection is what really means so much to the people in this community.
"It means a lot. You have those that have not been part of it. And then, as they are in it, it becomes something that they want their families, their future families to be a part of it. So it becomes tradition," said Irma Williams, East Texas Yamboree board member.
This year's Yamboree theme is “All That Glitters." So expect the floats, the dresses, and the decorations to all be shining bright. Festivities begin this Wednesday and run until Saturday night
For more information about the Yamboree, click here.