The Great Texas Mosquito Festival is approaching its 36th Annual Festival, scheduled for July 28, 29 & 30, 2016 in Clute, Texas (55 miles southeast of Houston). The festival was started to promote and encourage tourism in the City of Clute. Over the years, the festival has grown tremendously, attracting some 13,000 plus visitors over the three-day event. The Great Texas Mosquito Festival has received a tremendous amount of publicity across the country in newspapers, magazines, books, on radio and television stations.
In 2014 The Top Events USA website named the festival as one of the top 20 Events and Festivals in and around Houston, Texas. The festival was elected by residents, tourists and visitors, the team of travel writers working for Top Events USA, and some officials of the relevant states and cities of the USA too.
In July 2011, we received an award from Texas Festivals and Events Association for 3rd Place Best Miscellaneous Printed Material. The US Commerce Association notified us we had won the 2011 Best of Clute Award in the Outdoor Category. Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine picked our festival to showcase in their July issue where they did a write up and also placed a photo of Willie on their calendar of events. Boat Us did a write up and placed us on their map showing the Gulf Coast.
In 2010, Great Day Houston with Debra Duncan (Channel 11 KHOU) did a live interview segment from our festival grounds with Dana Pomerenke, Chairman Great Texas Mosquito Festival then aired our Haystack Dive Event at the end of her show. Our festival was a main story for the Travel Section of the Boston Glove in July. Sports Talk Radio in the UK did a live interview on their Sunday show with Lin Richey, Marketing Director about our sporting events. Numerous publications and websites such as womansday.com, todayshow.com, and others have written about our festival in 2010.
In 2008, Author T. Jensen Lacey came to our festival to autograph her book “AMAZING TEXAS”, which she wrote about The Great Texas Mosquito Festival: See What The Buzz Is About on page 228 and 229. We are also in the Texas Hometown Cookbook by Sheila Simmons & Kent Whittaker on page 238 for the festival and Harvest Fun Fest. Macmillan McGraw-Hill /School Solution Group has done a 2-page spread in the upcoming Texas Reading 2011 book that talks about the City of Clute and The Great Texas Mosquito Festival.
In 2007, the LeBron James Bubblicious® Ultimate Bubble Blowing League™ Tour came to our festival giving festival patrons an opportunity to participate in this national tour. One of our local participants won the opportunity to go to New York to the finals and had a once in a life time chance to meet LeBron James.
In 2004-2005, The Food Network was surfing the Internet and came upon our website. They were so intrigued that they sent some film crews down to film a portion of our BBQ Fajita Cook-off for a 30 minute segment on All American Festivals (Fajitas Festivals) that aired on January 17, 18, & 23, and again in April of 2005. This segment from our festival ran each year before our festival until 2009. We also generated a national interest in 2005 with the American Mosquito Control Association requesting the opportunity to do a satellite feed from our festival grounds on Saturday. This segment was seen on numerous talk shows throughout Texas and the United States with Willie as a back drop.
Besides local recognition, the festival has been seen in U.S.A. Today, Texas Co-Op Power magazine, Texas Hot Country Magazine, Gulfscapes Magazine, The Anchorage Daily News, People Magazine, Newsweek, Southern Living, Texas Highways, Bangkok newspaper, and many more. Live at Five has broadcasted from the festival grounds and CBS This Morning has picked it up by satellite. Real People, David Letterman, Johnny Carson Show, Nashville Now and Fishin’ Texas have all talked about the crazy festival down in Clute, Texas. “Willie-Man-Chew” and his group were photographed with Debra Duncan after the show in the summer of 2002. Radio stations across the United States have done numerous live interviews with the organizers – the SWAT TEAM members. The American Embassy in Japan and the U.S. Tourist office in London, England have made several inquiries about the festival over the years.
The BUZZ you hear in July is coming from Clute, Texas the Home of the Great Texas Mosquito Festival, where Willie-Man-Chew greets visitors from near and far to enjoy three fun filled days of entertainment, food, contests, and family fun. Our mascot is the world’s largest mosquito standing 26’ tall with a large cowboy hat, boots, and a large probiscus. Willie is the favorite of all the festival visitors and becomes the most photographed souvenir memory of all times. The festival has lots to offer with a carnival, games, contests, races, tours and Live Entertainment Nightly on stage. For the athletically inclined, there is a “Mosquito Chase” 5K Run and 600 meter Kids run on Saturday. Also on Saturday there are tournaments featuring double horseshoe pitching and double washer pitching. If you can cook then you must enter the BBQ Cook-off and Grill Master Competition. For the more mature (60+) there is BINGO and for the little ones, we have the Haystack Dives, Petting Zoo, Carnival, and more. There are food vendors and arts and craft vendors that will satisfy a variety of tastes. Then for some extra fun enter the Mosquito Calling or Mosquito Legs Contest.
The Great Texas Mosquito Festival in Clute, Texas is a family oriented fun event. We invite everyone to come out on July 28, 29, & 30, 2016 and join us, just for the fun of it. For more information, visit www.mosquitofestival.com; call 979-265-8392, 800-371-2971, or email at buzz@mosquitofestival.com.
