Muddy Gras: East Texas Twist

By CINDY MALLETTE
Staff Writer

ATHENS - With a surplus of mud, country music and free-spirited fun (and a notable lack of showers), the third annual Muddy Gras festival could be considered the redneck Woodstock.

"I haven't taken a shower since Thursday morning, but we keep a plentiful supply of Wet Wipes" said Erin Wright, who came to Muddy Gras to celebrate her "divorciversary" with 15 or so friends. "Here's the rules: you change your underwear, you wash your face and you brush your teeth. That's all you have to do."

According to Oscar Still, owner of Texas Redneck Events, which put together the Muddy Gras festival, about 6,000 people have attended this year's event. Many have camped out on the grounds of the Pool Ranch ATV Park since Thursday in motor homes and tents. Most brought four-wheelers because, as the name suggests, the point is getting dirty.

"It's wild," said Shane Ellison, a resident of Austin who helped plan musical entertainment for the festival. "You've got people trying to outdo each other on a four-wheeler. You've got mud pits up to your waist. Some people are scared, some people aren't."

Ellison and his wife, Kristy, have been to one other festival sponsored by Texas Redneck Events - the Redneck Games, which was held in Alto last August.

"It's fun. I mean, we have our four-wheelers and our travel trailer and all of our stuff. But when we first came we brought a tent, and we were like, 'No, that ain't gonna work,'" Kristy Ellison said. "It's just hard because you're so muddy and so dirty and you can't shower off or anything."

Pool Ranch ATV Park is 3,000 acres, with a large campground and a maze of trails that intersect hills and creeks. Two notorious mud-and-water-filled spots on the trails, "Jurassic Park" and "The Lake," were jam-packed with four-wheelers. Lines formed at the steepest gullies as people waited to drive their vehicles into the waist-high mud. Four-wheeler after four-wheeler overturned in the slick mess, tossing drivers and passengers into the mud.

Kyle Rawlinson's four-wheeler got stuck as he attempted to navigate through a particularly deep point. Luckily, he and his wife Lindsey kept rope in storage compartments on their four-wheelers, so through a little team effort he was able to pull his vehicle free.

"There are three things you always need to have with you when you go four-wheeling," Lindsey Rawlinson said. "Wet wipes, rope and gloves."

"You should also take your jewelry off before you go four-wheeling," she added after taking a spill into the muck.

Several competitions were held Saturday afternoon, including a best Muddy Gras costume, a Mr. Muddy Gras and a Ms. Muddy Gras.

Angel Nix's honor of being named Ms. Muddy Gras came after a lengthy online voting process that culminated with an audience vote on Saturday. She entered the contest through the Texas Redneck Events' MySpace Web page by submitting a photo for an online vote. Voting took place for one month and five finalists were chosen from the list of candidates.

The final decision came Saturday afternoon, when she and another finalist went head-to-head in a dance-off onstage in the middle of the campgrounds. Ms. Nix won by audience applause.

"It makes me feel really good to be a mother and win this," said Ms. Nix, who has three children, ages 7, 9 and 10.

Along with the title came a $500 cash prize, and she said she already has plans for the money.

"I'll probably pay some bills - yes, definitely pay some bills," she said.

A marriage proposal also took center stage when Chance Craig asked girlfriend Tyann Dickens to be his wife. During a break in the Ms. Muddy Gras contest, Craig led Ms. Dickens by hand to the stage, where he got down on one knee and proposed. Still, who was also emcee for the Ms. Muddy Gras contest, made the couple promise to get married onstage at the next Redneck Games, which will take place in August. The location has not yet been set.

"I don't know why I decided to do it today," Craig said after proposing in front of hundreds of attendees.

Ms. Dickens said she and Craig had been talking about getting married in August anyway, but never officially got engaged.

"We'd talked about it, and we said August, but it was getting kind of close," Ms. Dickens said. "Then, he just did this."

Entertainment Saturday night was provided by country rock bands Uncle Lucius, Morrison-Williams and the Seth James Band.

Still said he estimated that 6,000 people had attended the event since Thursday and that the number may reach 8,000 by Sunday night.

"I'm expecting there'll be a lot more people," he said.

Still said that, despite the mixture of a party-like atmosphere and an abundance of four-wheelers, there had been no accidents and no arrests so far.

"Everything's been smooth," he said.

The Henderson County Sheriff's Office is providing security for the festival, and a percentage of all proceeds will go to support the Henderson County Peace Officers Association.

This year's event was sponsored by Wulf Outdoor Sports of Athens. Muddy Gras continues through 6 p.m. Sunday.

Cindy Mallette covers Anderson, Henderson and Van Zandt counties. She can be reached at 903.596.6266. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.comNOW, DON'T THIS KIND O' THANG JES MAKE YA WANNA PACK UP ALL YER SHIT AND MOVE ON DOWN HERE T'TEXAS? WHO SEZ WE AIN'T FUN?