Bastrop Chamber of Commerce Transitions Bastrop Patriotic Festival™ to City of Bastrop

Contact: Becki Womble, CCE, IOM
Bastrop Chamber of Commerce President/CEO
(512) 303-0558
bwomble@bastropchamber.com
 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 23, 2023
 
Bastrop Chamber of Commerce Transitions Bastrop Patriotic Festival™ to City of Bastrop
 
The Bastrop Chamber of Commerce has been honored to serve our community by hosting the Patriotic Festival for the past 31 years. In cooperation with the city, we are pleased to announce the City of Bastrop will begin organizing the festival in 2023. While the Chamber was available and proposed to manage the festival for a final transitional year, the City determined it was more cost effective to immediately take over full management of the festival starting this July.

The Chamber remains rooted in its mission to improve business prosperity and, thereby, the quality of life in Bastrop County, through leadership, advocacy, and collaboration. We will continue to partner with the City to support and advocate for our local business community, and we look forward to meeting new members at our events.

The Chamber wishes to express its sincere appreciation to its current and past Board members, the generous sponsors, countless volunteers, and most of all, the Bastrop community for their faithful support of the Bastrop Patriotic Festival™ over the last 31 years.
Questions regarding the 2023 event can be directed to the City of Bastrop, (512) 332-8984, kdanielson@cityofbastrop.org.

History of the Event
Celebrating our nation’s independence is a time-honored and beloved tradition of the Bastrop Chamber of Commerce. They began with Bastrop Homecoming & Rodeo in 1948 as a way to unite the area in the aftermath of World War II. After 40 successful years, the Chamber handed the event off to others to run in 1989.

Bastrop’s local tradition, now known as the Bastrop Patriotic Festival™ began as “Loblolly Days” taking its name from the lost pine forests for which the area was known. The intention of the Chamber was to take everyone back to the “good old patriotic, glad to be an American Fourth of July” celebration, “the kind all towns used to have.”  Loblolly Days were held in 1990, 1991, and 1992.

In 1993, with the historic 1924 Colorado River Bridge being opened to pedestrian traffic, the Chamber’s festival was renamed “The Old Iron Bridge Festival” and continued as a patriotic and community celebration.