WCCA to host 3rd annual charity gumbo cook-off

The Wimberley Cajun Cultural Alliance (WCCA) will host its third annual Mardi Gras party and gumbo cookoff at Cypress Creek Swimming Hole on Saturday, April 10th, 2021. All proceeds from the event will benefit My Neighbor’s Keeper, a local charity, to support the organization’s mission of helping local community members and families affected by natural disasters. Previous recipients include Trees for the Blanco and the Katherine Anne Porter School.

“We are ecstatic My Neighbor’s Keeper was chosen as this year’s beneficiary for many reasons,” said WCCA president, Travis Martin. “With the recent Valentine’s Day storm causing so much damage to the Wimberley Valley area, MNK has been inundated with requests for help and could really use our support. Also, they hosted the original Wimberley Gumbo Cookoff that was held for years before we took it on, so it’s a natural fit,” he added.

WCCA officials were unsure if this year’s competition would be possible due to pandemic restrictions and say they only received approval in early March. Acknowledging the Mardi Gras season and Fat Tuesday holidays had passed a month before this year’s event is scheduled, Martin said he is confident people will be happy to celebrate Mardi Gras regardless of the date, and expressed his hope that the cookoff will signal a slight return to normal from the tumult of the pandemic and political unrest.

“Last year’s event was one of the last events many people attended before the shutdown,” said committee member and former competitor Alisha Spencer. “It’s one of the last “normal” things we did before it all went crazy. We hope this event will serve as a bookend to the past year and be a symbol of hope and community we’re all longing for.”

Live Zydeco music will be provided by Zydeco Blanco, and this year’s event will offer child-friendly food and drink options in addition to gumbo. A silent auction is planned featuring unique items donated by local artists and craftsmen. Gates open to the public at noon at Cypress Creek, 50 Marina Cir., Wimberley, Texas. Admission tickets are $10 each and children under two will be admitted free.

Cookoff sponsors include Real Ale Brewing, Cypress Falls, Driftwood Commercial, Flintrock Commercial, Byron Echols State Farm, Ozona Bank, Shady Llama, InterTech Flooring, Bigfoot Outdoors, Maximum Wellness Chiropractor, Creekside Cookers BBQ, Bodark Creative, Pho-Lisha’s Tiny Diner, Windmill Ranch, The Shade Tree, Hammerhall Forge, and LWSN – Lawson Glass.