Among the towering pines of East Texas, dogwood trees bloom with star-shaped pink and white flowers to announce the arrival of spring. In Tyler County, this burst of color marks a beloved annual festival that has brought the community together for decades.
The 83rd annual Dogwood Festival in Woodville will span three weekends—March 21–22 and 27–28 and April 4. The event includes arts and crafts, live music, a weekend devoted to trail riders and a sanctioned rodeo, the crowning of a festival queen with dozens of area teens and children partcipating as royalty, and a performance detailing the area’s history. The festival relies solely on volunteers—there are no corporate sponsorships—and highlights local artists, artisans and performers.
Festival crowds are made up of more than just current residents. Folks who have moved away from Tyler County use the event as a reason to return and celebrate.
“It’s such a homecoming,” says Kim Shaw, festival president. “Everyone comes home because it’s dogwood time. It’s a huge part of this community.”
The 2024 Coronation Court, from left, Brad Davison and Kinley Barnes of Chester, Donald Calhoon and Bernice Pittman of Colmesneil, Mason McGallion and Kaylynn Deckert of Spurger, Sam Spurlock and Meredith of Warren, and Hayden Hunter and Ebony Lacey of Woodville. Meredith was crowned queen in 2024.
Becki Byrd
Nearly a Century of Festivities
Talk of creating a festival began when Judge James E. Wheat suggested sharing the beauty of Tyler County—particularly the blooming dogwoods around Woodville—with the rest of Texas. He envisioned an event replete with the selection and coronation of a Dogwood queen. On April 6, 1940, the first Dogwood Festival was held under the sponsorship of the Tyler County Chamber of Commerce.
“It began as a celebration of springtime,” says Jenna Rayburn, the festival’s marketing coordinator. “It was during the planting, and the drab days of winter were over, so we got to celebrate the renewal of spring.”
The festival has always centered around the selection of the Dogwood queen. In the early days, a young woman was chosen for grace, character and community pride, with community members buying ballots to cast their votes. Funds raised benefited the event, and the contestant who raised the most money was crowned queen.
As the festival grew, organizers were concerned popularity-based voting focused more on fundraising and less on candidates. So in the 1950s, they created a group called King’s Men—comprised of the county’s prominent businessmen—to screen queen candidates based on character, personality, appearance and the ability to represent Tyler County.
Read is the reigning Dogwood Festival queen.
Becki Byrd
Read and escort Cutter Lowe smile during the 2025 coronation, which was moved indoors due to inclement weather.
Becki Byrd
Today, high school senior girls from five Tyler County schools begin competing for the Dogwood queen title in January. King’s Men interview the candidates to narrow down the field.
“It’s a rather long night, with all the girls getting the same questions,” Rayburn says. “One princess is chosen from each school, and others are chosen as ladies in waiting. If you make it through the first night, you’re automatically on the stage (during the festival).”
In addition, 24 girls from nearby communities and occasionally far away, many of whom return to Tyler County as part of the homecoming, are chosen as duchesses. A few young girls and boys serve as flower girls and crown bearers, and a sixth- grade girl carries the queen’s massive train.
“It is a big ordeal, and we usually have 120 students on our stage,” Rayburn says of Queen’s Weekend, the last day of the festival.
Festival attendance grew in the 1950s, especially with visiting horseback riders joining the festival parade. Organizers added a second weekend to the event, known as Western Weekend, to accommodate the growing number of trail riders, a two-day rodeo and other events highlighting the area’s Western heritage.
The 2025 Princess Tea was held at Village Street Bed and Breakfast in Woodville and included all local royalty, 2024 queen Elyn Meredith and some of the girls chosen for the court.
Becki Byrd
Festival of the Arts
Festival of the Arts events will take place the first weekend, March 21–22, at Woodville’s Heritage Village, a living history museum showcasing East Texas life from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. Participating artists and artisans include quilters, textile spinners, blacksmiths and other vendors. Visitors may sample traditional Southern favorites such as fried chicken, hot-water cornbread and collard greens at the Pickett House Restaurant.
On Sunday, food is served family-style to live music at Dinner on the Grounds from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the gate and $5 for children younger than 12.
“It’s like an old-fashioned dinner on the grounds, like the ones you have after church,” Rayburn says.
The festival princesses make their first appearance this weekend. In addition, festival organizers honor a man every year—usually a politician, businessman or outstanding community member—with the title of Mr. East Texas.
“It’s an honor for someone who’s done a lot for our region,” Rayburn says.
From left, princesses Alyson Neville, Chloe Johnston, Carter Wright, Lily Read and Lillian Jalomo pause for a photo during the 2025 Dogwood Festival’s Western Weekend.
Becki Byrd
Western Weekend
For years, hundreds of trail riders descended upon Woodville on horseback and by wagon to participate in the festival’s Western Weekend parade Saturday afternoon through downtown Woodville.
“We used to be known as the second-largest trail ride parade behind the Houston Livestock Parade,” Shaw says. “I can remember thousands of horses who all ended up at the rodeo.”
Martin Spurlock, a lineman at Sam Houston Electric Cooperative’s Woodville office and a longtime volunteer at Western Weekend, remembers when visitors would camp out at neighboring ranches. Available land has decreased over the years, resulting in fewer trail riders.
Western Weekend 2025 saw seven large groups, about 200 members, riding horses and pulling wagons.
“It’s not as big as it used to be, but we’re working on getting it bigger,” Spurlock says.
The parade ends at Tyler County 4-H/FFA Rodeo Arena for the annual two-day Tyler County Dogwood Festival Rodeo sponsored by Woodville Lions Club. This year’s rodeo—at 7:30 p.m. March 27 and 4:30 p.m. March 28—is a Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association-sanctioned event produced by Branded for Christ Rodeo Productions.
The 2025 Dogwood Festival princesses, ladies in waiting, their escorts, children of the court and trainbearer ride on the Woodville float.
Becki Byrd
Queen’s Weekend
Queen’s Weekend starts with a private ball and party Friday evening, April 3. Public events begin early Saturday, April 4, with the Dogwood Dash 5K and Fun Run, followed by the opening of arts and crafts and food vendors throughout downtown. Motorcycles and classic cars are on display throughout downtown from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with some participating in the Queen’s Parade.
At 2 p.m., the Queen’s Parade rolls through town with cheerleader teams, politicians in cars, motorcycle groups, floats and a band comprised of the county’s school bands.
“There’s a lot of floats,” Rayburn says. “It’s a large parade.”
The queen candidates and their entourage line up on the stage at Joe E. Wheat Amphitheater for the coronation at 7 p.m. The name of the queen is kept secret until this moment.
Following the announcement of the queen, a historical play written by Woodville lawyer Laura Lou “Lala” Elrod is performed, and fireworks conclude the day.
It Takes a Village
Volunteers organize and run the festival, says Shaw, who has served for 28 years, starting as a “tiny worker bee” and eventually joining the board. She’s been a part of festivals in all kinds of weather, including sleet and rain—with princesses wrapped in blankets. It’s a job she enjoys doing again and again.
“The Dogwood Festival is something near and dear to my heart,” she says.
The work to organize and put on the festival doesn’t conform to a calendar, he says.
“When it ends, it starts again,” he says.
As for those dogwoods, it’s anyone’s guess if they bloom in time. Chalk it up to the whims of Mother Nature.
“If weather is right, then yes, there are tons of dogwoods,” Shaw says.
