Sweetwater's Rattlesnake Roundup Turns into a Vendor Frenzy

The 52^nd annual Rattlesnake Roundup was held in Sweetwater, Texas this weekend, and for some was a huge success. Sweetwater, during any other weekend during the year, has a population around 12,000 people and is said to be the "Wind Turbine Capital of Texas". During the second weekend in March every year is the annual Rattlesnake Roundup, and the population at least doubles for four days. This year's estimated attendance was 30,000 people, and it showed.

The Rattlesnake Roundup is combined with the Sweetwater Gun, Knife and Coin Show, a carnival, and a mixture of swap meet booths and hundreds of vendors selling everything from food to sole inserts for your shoes. There was plenty of room for all of these vendors to spread out across Newman Park. What was unexpected was after paying the fee to enter the coliseum was to find the venue crammed with vendors as well.

Yes, the snake pits were there. The round-up is so popular that patron's really had to put their "patience hats" on, because there was no room to move on the floor of the coliseum. The line to taste the rattlesnake that was dipped in a cornmeal batter and fried was 30-45 minutes long all day. The crowd began overflowing into the stands of the coliseum to get a break from the crowds and to try and catch a glimpse of a rattlesnake in one of the demonstration pits.

Sweetwater's Rattlesnake Roundup is a lot of fun, but it has changed over the years as it has become more and more popular. As one patron stated, "It's not like it was when we were kids. We used to catch rattlesnakes and bring them here to sell and watch the demonstrations in the pits. Now, you can barely even get to the snake pits".

It was definitely worth the drive out to Sweetwater. The crowds were friendly and the gun, knife and coin show was an excellent show as well. There was definitely too much to see in one day. It was too crowded to find the Girl Scout Salsa Challenge or the Chili Cookoff and after asking several Jaycees employees about the Bus Tours who where unable to help direct us we gave up on that as well.

There are smaller rattlesnake roundups throughout Texas and the Southwestern United States every year. For a more "hands on" or close-up experience with the snakes and a more educational experience regarding rattlesnake awareness, one of these venues may be better.