DUMAS, TEXAS -- Thousand of people gathered in Dumas Thursday for the 65th annual Dogie Days.
McDade park was packed with families and barbeque for this year's Dogie Days, what started on the steps of the courthouse has evolved into a gathering in the park and is the Dumas Lions Club's biggest fundraiser of the year.
"It raises funds for the community that we use all year long, we help organizations like Meals On Wheels, we help people with sight saving surgery, we send kids to Lions Camp, all the proceeds from this go strictly into our community, it's the biggest fundraiser for the community all year," said Alexa Maples, Head Wrangler.
This was actually my first Dogie Days experience, but for many others it's a family tradition.
"It's family, we're able to just come out here, relax, visit with friends and see everybody and it just means a lot," said Veronica Fry.
One little girl and her family traveled from Wichita Falls to take in this year's event.
"It's been great cause we're just hanging out and all that," said Erynn Holt.
This barbeque isn't taken lightly, and I mean that literally, with 800 pounds of beans, 400 pounds of onions, tons of peaches, 24 5-gallon buckets of pickles and 325 loaves of bread.
Not to mention 8,000 pounds of brisket cooked the old fashioned way, in a ditch.
"We fill it full of fire wood come back and light it on fire wood and let it burn down and the after lions club on wednesday we have a meat toss, the 18 wheeler comes out and right out of the truck onto the hot coals and then we have sheets of metal we on top and then we just voer it back up," said Rowdy Rhoades, who looked over the barbeque.
Yes, it's great to be a part of the Dogie Days of summer.
Each ticket purchased was also good for an entry to win a 2012 Mustang, and after years of being gone the dunking booth made it's way back to the Dogie Days.
