Upcoming Potjie Festival

Here are the details for Texas Potjie Festival 2012:

Potjie 2012 will be our 12th annual TX Potjie Festival, and as before, we expect that it will be a magnificent event…

On this page:

• Location
• Types of Visitors
• Accommodation
• Festival & Campground Fees
• Radio Texas Potjie
• Potjie Competition
• Texas Potjie T-shirt
• Burn Bans & Fire Prevention
• Rusk Weather

Location

Where: KOA Campground in Rusk, TX – Address: 745 FM 343, Rusk
When: Aug 31 – Sep 3, 2012 (Labor Day weekend)

Types of Visitors

The Texas Potjie Festival has two types of visitors:

1. Campers: People who are staying in the KOA campground for the whole weekend of the Festival.
2. Day Visitors: People staying outside the campground in hotels and who enter the campground during each day for one or both days. (If you will be a day visitor, here is how to get the most out of Potjie.)

The rest of the information on this page applies to Potjie 2011. Much of it will be the same for Potjie 2012, but there could be minor changes, which would be updated and announced as it becomes available.

Accommodation

Call Rusk KOA at (903) 683-6641 to make reservations for cabins, RV stands, or tents. Mention that your reservation is for the Potjie Festival. To help with your reservation, here is a map of the Rusk KOA campground.

KOA Reservations Information

• 10% discount on reservations made and paid in full by 6/1/2011 (June 1).
• Attention RV campers: Subject to availability, KOA offers guaranteed RV sites for reservations made by 3/1/2011 (March 1) and a non-refundable full payment by 4/1/2011 (April 1). Any reservation not paid in full by 4/1/11 will not have a guaranteed site # and will be a reservation request with no assigned site (as in the past). KOA will strive to keep the RVs in the preferred locations wherever possible, but will have the right to move RVs to accommodate the campground needs.
• KOA will collect Potjie Festival fees at time of making reservations to simplify the check-in process during the Labor Day Weekend. Potjie Festival fees are $14.50 for adults (18+) and $9.50 for children (ages 5-17).
• To accommodate late-comers, KOA will offer unreserved RV and Tenting in two areas. The unreserved tent area will be in the open area behind Cabin 5 (see the KOA map) while the unreserved RV area with electric and water will be where the main tent was in 2010. Naturally, any available space on the campground’s main area will be offered first.
• For people booking multiple sites, or with multiple people on one site, KOA needs the following:
  • Each site must be in the name of the individual who will be occupying it – KOA cannot hold multiple sites in one person’s name.
  • KOA needs the names of all adults who will be staying on sites. This should help them get people registered more quickly and on the proper sites.

KOA Dog Policies

• Please understand that these dog policies are intended to cover KOA for liability issues and for no other reason.
• No dogs over 25 lbs will be allowed.
• If you bring your dog:
  • A $50.00 deposit for pets will be collected at check-in.
  • Contact your Homeowners Insurance and add “KOA Rusk Campground – 745 FM 343 East Rusk, TX 75785″ as an ADDITIONAL INSURED  to your policy for Sep 2 – 5, 2011 (this is free and takes about 10 minutes). Bring a copy of the policy declaration to provide to KOA at check-in.
  • Bring proof that your dog has had all the required shots. Dogs will not be allowed on the campground without the required paperwork.
• Dogs HAVE TO be on leash whenever the dog is outside its dog cage or outside the owner’s RV or cabin. Owners who refuse to keep their dog(s) on a leash will forfeit their $50 deposit and will be asked to leave the festival.
• If you want to bring your dog/cat, you can use the Vet boarding facilities in Rusk. Call (903) 683-5315 to make arrangements in advance to check you dog in.

Hotels Nearby

There are also hotels near the campground to consider. If you stay in a hotel, you will be entering the KOA campground and the Festival as Day Visitors:

• Weston Inn & Suites (1 mile from the grounds) : (903) 683-8383
• La Quinta Inn (15 miles away in Jacksonville): (903) 586-6504
• Holiday Inn Express (15 miles away in Jacksonville): (893) 589-8500
• Southern Motor Inn (2 miles from KOA) : (903) 683-2688

Festival & Campground Fees

Generally, there will be two fees to pay, one for the Festival itself and one to Rusk KOA for the use of campground facilities.

Campground Fees

If you are a Camper (i.e. you are staying in the KOA campground), your KOA fee is included in your camping fees.

If you are a Day Visitor (i.e. you are not staying in the KOA campground), there will be a KOA fee of $5 per visitor over 5 years old per day, or $10 per visitor for the weekend. (So if you’re coming for only one day, you will only pay $5 per person.)

Festival Fees

All Festival attendees (Campers & Day Visitors) will have the following Festival fees:

• Weekend Package: $14.50 per adult (18+) and $9.50 per child (5-17) for Potjie activities. You will get an armband to wear the whole weekend.
• Day Package: $10 per day per adult (18+)and $6 per day per child (5-17) for Potjie activities (sokkie, potjie eating, etc.). You will get an armband to wear.

Day Visitors: If you plan on attending both days, the Weekend Package for the Festival fee is a better deal.

Please be aware that these fees exclude tax. Unfortunately the state requires us to collect sales tax. Fortunately, for a family of 4 (2 adults + 2 children aged 5-17), the taxes on Festival fees would only be $3.96 for the weekend.

Radio Texas Potjie

Listen up for Radio Texas Potjie! This year we will be broadcasting music, daily announcements, and Sunday’s church service via an AM transmitter that covers the entire campground. So bring along your AM/FM radio and tune in! The frequency will be on the high end of the AM band, around 1700 kHz. If you have doubt about the frequency, ask at the KOA office what the exact frequency is.

Potjie Competition

Main Category: Chicken (to be sure, not turkey or any other type of bird)

Other Competitions

• Best boerewors in TX (Saturday)
• Bread, Dessert, Open Potjie
• Cook/campsite
• Biltong (new for 2011)

Texas Potjie T-Shirt

Would you like to have the official Texas Potjie 2011 T-shirt?

Here’s how to order:

Contact Derek North at (817) 416- 1815 or (817) 304-2296 or by email at derek[at]northinternational.com (replace the “[at]” with “@”). He has various sizes, including kids’ sizes available.

The T-shirt design is on the left.

Burn Bans & Fire Prevention

The following was sent to us by Rusk KOA:

As everyone from Texas is aware, record breaking heat and lack of rainfall have created serious drought this summer. Burn bans are in effect throughout Texas, including Cherokee County. To make sure that this year’s Potjie Festival is a SAFE one for everyone, please come prepared to follow a few simple rules:

• Cooking fires MUST BE CONTAINED in grills or fire rings.
• Pine needles, leaves, etc. are extremely dry; the KOA will provide rakes to clear vegetation from around grill areas to minimize the chance of a spark escaping and starting a fire.
• In addition to the water faucets back in the tent area, KOA will provide hoses in that area for a larger water source and to wet the area around your cooking fires.
• You must have a bucket with water and/or a fire extinguisher readily available at your site “just in case”. Please wet the area down before starting a fire.
• If you’re not at your camp site, you cannot leave an open fire burning. Unattended cooking fires will be extinguished. All fires MUST BE extinguished, all coals put completely out, before retiring for the night.
• SMOKERS: Ride along any interstate and see the evidence of fires started by cigarettes tossed out the window. Please come prepared to extinguish your cigarette butts somewhere other than on the ground – bring a jar, covered ashtray, ANYTHING that will prevent you from tossing a still partially lit butt on dry pine needles or grass.

In addition to the damage caused and danger posed to others, people deemed responsible for out-of-control fires, even if accidentally caused, are being fined in Cherokee County. Please exercise more than usual caution this year, and make sure your neighbors are being cautious and sensible as well. Report any unsafe practices to the festival committee or campground personnel immediately to prevent a larger problem.

These rules are pretty simple and common sense, but more important than usual in this summer of severe drought. The campground, Festival organizers, and your fellow campers will appreciate everyone’s thoughtful cooperation in keeping this a SAFE Potjie Festival.

Rusk Weather

Here is the weather for Rusk for the next few days: