Summer Bash a big hit for city

Caldwell County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce”s First Annual Summer Bash drew hundreds of visitors to Lockhart City Park for a variety of events this weekend.
Friday evening”s events included a motorcycle show and the first round of the Battle of the Bands.
The motorcycle show was a success, with dozens of participants from throughout the area displaying their Har

leys and Hondas, among others. When the judges were complete, the winners included: Billy Chandler from Lockhart – Best Lighting; Johnny Solis from San Marcos – Best Sound; Pablo Ruiz from Lockhart – Best Classic; and Tony Zamarippa – Best Chrome. Lockhart resident Richard Prather picked up two awards: Best Copper and Best Overall. The Caldwell County Bike Club came through with the most entries, according to Lisa Garza.
The Battle of the Bands got off to a bit of a rocky start, as organizers said the first band scheduled did not appear to perform. Still, the crowd was delighted with the variety of music, ranging from Country and Western, Tejano and Christian Hip-Hop sounds.

Saturday”s events started with the especially entertaining Raft Race on Lockhart City Pond. Two teams, Garage Door Services led by Terry Wright, and the Caldwell County Republican Party, led by Delbert Johnston took part in an intense, but good-natured rivalry immediately upon launching their crafts.
Both teams were plagued by equipment failures during the first race, which ended in a dead-heat finish after a water-war waged by the Republicans, and some minor injuries suffered by GDS.
After a 30-minute break, after tending to their injuries, drying off and addressing equipment problems, the teams returned to the starting line, where GDS took an immediate and commanding lead. The teams attacked one another again with both water cannons and water balloons mid-race, but ultimately, the Republicans were not able to overcome their craft”s malfunctions, and GDS earned a resounding win.
Although the GDS team took First Place and won the Grand Prize, the Republicans did not walk away empty-handed, earning an award for Best Design.
Saturday afternoon”s attractions included both the softball tournament and the First Annual Car and Truck Show, and a surprise feature, a fundraiser presented by the CFPO Football Team the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders offered people a workout by giving them a chance to pay to hit a car with a sledgehammer. According to Car and Truck Show organizer Martin Mojica, the booth proved to be more of a draw than expected.
“They thought at first it was just going to be a fun thing for people to come in and do,” Mojica said. “Through the day, it seems like they”re the most popular thing over here [in the Main Pavilion area].”
Thirty-two entrants participated in the Car and Truck Show, including a variety of private individuals and local and regional car clubs. Mojica said the turnout was encouraging, not just for this year”s event, but as an indicator of things to come.
“We had this many entries, and this was just the first year,” he said. “It was great, and we had some really nice cars and trucks. In future years, I think it”s only going to get better.”
The winning entries for the Car and Truck Show were:
Best Classic: George Sanchez
Best Import: Phillip Haideman
Best Lights: David Hand
Best Truck: Larry Rivera
Best Sound: Steve Zuniga; and
Best Overall: “Boo-Boo”

The Grand Prize winner was a 1968 Roadrunner belonging to Ben and Virgie Sanchez of South Austin.
The softball fields were occupied all day with the Softball Tournament having a turnout that impressed both organizers and spectators. The final rankings were: First Place – Mix It Up; Second Place – U Know; Third Place – the Dragons; and Fourth Place – the Blue Angels.
Saturday evening, the crowd was treated to the final round of the Battle of the Bands.
The evening began with the Rap and Hip-Hop stylings of a group from Lockhart”s The Door Christian Center. They were followed by the Country and Western vocals of the Snell Brothers Band from Bastrop, and the Killa Hogs Classic Rock & Roll and Rythym & Blues out of San Marcos.
The Killa Hogs” Grand Prize winning performance was so pleasing to the crowd that after their initial performance, they were invited back for an encore when another entrant failed to appear. The Snell Brothers took First Runner-Up. The winners took home a variety of goods and services provided by Mazak Music.
Sunday morning”s golf tournament was dominated by Team Kinfolk, sponsored by Patrick Matal. The team took home the $400 cash prize for winning the tournament, and team member Ruben Caudillo took the prizes for both Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin: Par 3, Garza said.
Hispanic Chamber representatives were pleased with the event on the whole.
“This was our first year, and we put it together in a short period of time,” said Paul Martinez. “We”ve had a good crowd, and when the word starts to spread, next year”s event will be even better.”
Organizer Lydia Serna agreed.
“We had a few rough spots,” she said. “This was only our first year, though. We fixed problems as they came up, and we”ll use what we learned to keep improving. This year was great, but next year will be even better.”