Gusher Days gets ready to blow downtown

East Texas Gusher Days returns this weekend with its 39th annual two-day event downtown.
Scores of food and merchandise vendors will be filling the streets of Gladewater’s shopping district, and there’s a full slate of activities that will keep the free-to-attend event hopping April 19-20. A car show, chili cook-off, wrestling exhibitions, street dancing and, of course, the Brownie Bowl Licking Contest are all on the itinerary.
“I have over 100 vendors,” Gladewater Chamber of Commerce’s Lois Reed said last week. There will be plenty of artisans and crafters along with nine food vendors ranging from the savory to the sweet and everything in between. “At this point, anyone else who comes in goes on a waiting list. Gosh, it’s exciting.”
Gusher Days runs from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 20. All proceeds from the event help fund scholarships for Gladewater High Schoolers. In addition to a DJ, the weekend’s entertainment features the Darrin Morris Band at 7 p.m. Friday evening, April 19, then Sheila And The Caddo Kats will provide the soundtrack for a Saturday Night Street Dance from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs in addition to dancing shoes.)
More live entertainment during the weekend will feature the Gladewater Middle School and Gladewater High School choirs, Awesome Sports, Gladewater Round-Up Rodeo Queen Contestants in three age groups and the Brownie Bowl face-off, among others. Follow @EastTexasGusherDays on Facebook for schedule updates.
“I’m still having people firm up what they’re going to do,” Reed said. “We have a mechanical bull coming out of Oklahoma.”
Saturday opens with the Gladewater Lions Club Pancake Breakfast with plates at $7 from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the downtown pavilion.
The slate of activities April 20 also includes Gusher Days’ annual car show, running from 8 a.m. to noon. Entries will be accepted the day of the event at $20 per vehicle. There’s also the annual chili cook-off spearheaded by the Chili Appreciation Society International.
“That’s strictly run by CASI rules,” Reed noted.
This year adds the Nancy Burks Memorial 42 Domino Tournament on Saturday. Registration for the competition opens at 8 a.m. with gameplay beginning at 9 .m. in the Gladewater Museum’s Rodeo Annex at 112 W. Pacific. The sanctioned tournament’s entry fee is $50 cash per team.
Mayor Scott Owens will be back in the Gusher Days dunking booth, and there will also be two wrestling shows including League of Lions at noon April 20 followed by Texas Elite Wrestling Reunion at 3 p.m.
A week after the main event, the East Texas Gusher Days Big Bass Classic is set for April 27 at Lake Gladewater with a grand prize of $500 plus a $250 gift certificate to Skipper’s Pier. Other door prizes will be awarded throughout the day. The entry fee is $50 per person. Learn more at Gusher-Days.com or visit Facebook.com/EastTexasGusherDays.