Despite the rain on Friday, we had a great time at all of the events at this year's Forest Festival! Check out all of the photos from Whataburger's Hometown Heroes, Southern Hushpuppy Championships, and East Texas Got Talent!

Whataburger's Hometown Heroes event was a touching tribute to our East Texas firefighters and military veterans. It was also a fun opportunity to watch these same folks eat way too many jalapenos at once! We're thankful for our Hometown Heroes keeping us safe every day, and Whataburger for giving them the recognition they deserve. We can't wait for next year's jalapeno contest, too!

The Southern Hushpuppy Championships were in their 42nd year this time around, but the competition was as fierce as ever. We had dozens of great teams enter, many in costume, and all turned out great hushpuppies. If you weren't there, you missed out. Thanks to the folks at A-1 Party Rentals for making this year's competition happen, and for putting up some great prizes!

East Texas Got Talent is always a huge hit at the Forest Festival, and this year's contest was no different. 22 competitors got up on stage and sang, danced, magicked, and evenpainted their way to the top! We had a great variety of talents showcased on stage; we wish everybody could have gone home with a prize.

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