2021 Hobo Cook-off postponed due to low participation

CHEROKEE COUNTY – The 2021 Texas HOBO State Champion Cook-Off slated for July 2-3 in Rusk has been postponed to a later date, according to organizers.

“The event has been postponed to a later date that is still to be determined due to insufficient numbers registering,” said organizer Willie Arnwine. “At this point, the registrations received are not an acceptable enough portion of the advertised pot to even consider pushing on.”

The 2020 Texas Hobo Cook-off & Gypsy Jamboree was shuttered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but interest was high for this year’s event, Arnwine said earlier this spring when its return was announced.

“After much consternation and with only two weeks until the planned event, I had to make a call,” he said. “Choosing to postpone now will hopefully give those who were planning to attend time to register for another event. Please accept my most sincere and humbled apologies and understand that with money being so tight in this post-COVID world, the Cherokee County 4-H Volunteer Leaders Association can, in no way, assume this level of debt and still survive to provide opportunities for our county 4-H youth. The well-being and operation of our overall youth program has to take precedence over the Cook-Off as a fundraiser.

Arnwine is the Cherokee County AgriLife extension agent who launched the event several years ago as a means of supporting the 4-H County Volunteer Leaders' Association (CVLA) of Cherokee County, which in turn supports local 4-H programs.

Visit www.txhobocookoff.com for updates.