Join St. Joseph Catholic Church in Spring Branch in celebrating over 50 years of their annual Honey Creek Festival.

This popular event is a Hill Country favorite with a German meets Tex-Mex variety of foods, refreshing drinks and plenty of games, live and silent auctions, arts and crafts and entertainment for the whole family. This year’s grand prize is a $5,000 Visa Gift Card. Festival admission is free and food and drink tickets are sold at the festival. For more information, please visit honeycreekfestival.com.

What began as an annual parish festival and homecoming has turned into a community event combining German heritage foods with Tex-Mex fun and festivities.

Founded in late 1876, St. Joseph Honey Creek has stood as a center point of the Bulverde-Spring Branch area providing services and caring for the community. From the Society of St. Vincent De Paul to our Honey Bee Prayer Quilters, the ministries of St Joseph Catholic Church – Honeycreek do much for one of the fastest growing communities in Texas.

Learn a little about our historic church founded by German settlers. Feel free to tour the old church, now the air conditioned Day Chapel.  Brochures and information on our ministries are also available in the old church.

Comal County is helping provide a drop-off location for residents’ household hazardous waste on Saturday, Oct. 19.

County residents can drop off items such as paint, gasoline, insecticide or bleach in the parking lot of New Braunfels City Hall, 550 Landa St., from 8 a.m. to noon. Participants should enter the parking lot from Laurel Lane.

To verify residency, residents are asked to bring a state-issued picture ID with current address. The last car in line at noon will be the last to participate in the collection.

Participants should not mix any items and transport them only in a car trunk or truck bed. When possible, items should be in their original, properly sealed, labeled containers, which cannot exceed five gallons for liquid wastes. To minimize wait times, trailer loads will not be accepted.

Prohibited items include ammunition, explosives, flares, fireworks, compressed natural gas cylinders, medical waste, pharmaceuticals, radioactive materials, commercial waste, tires, trash and electronics.

More information can be found at www.comalcountytx.com/hhw.htm.

Check out the fresh produce (and other delectables like fresh-roasted coffee, farm-fresh eggs and new vendors!) at Farmers Market, hosted by Fischer Store Saturday Market. Call 830-370-1554 for more information.

by the Canyon Lake Noon Lions

It wouldn’t be October without the Canyon Lake Noon Lions semi-annual Shrimpfest!

Over the years, this extremely popular event has drawn over 600 guests to enjoy the fresh gulf shrimp, brought to you straight from the shrimp boats in Palacios. Delicious sides include baked potato salad, cole slaw, tartar sauce, and cocktail sauce. Iced tea and water beverages. Very generous portions of fresh, boiled peel-and-eat shrimp are offered for $12.00 per person! More value for your money than you’ll find anywhere else.

Home-made desserts are for sale for $1.00 each at the dessert table. Get there early, and you might still have a chance to buy a slice of pecan pie–this is the crowd favorite! Entertainment provided by our own local talent, Brenda Varne .

In preparation for the Shrimpfest, Canyon Lake Noon Lions will sell raffle tickets at Lowe’s in Startzville and Sattler; Ace Hardware, and Brookshire Brother for $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00 for the chance to win one of four $250.00 grand prizes: $250.00 gift certificate from Brookshire Brothers; $250.00 gift certificate from Lowe’s Markets; $250.00 VISA gift card; or $250.00 scratch-off lottery tickets. The drawing takes place during Shrimpfest and you don’t have to be present to win.

Did I mention the Shrimpfest also offers an arts and craft show? There will be many local artists showcasing their talent during the event!

So who does the money we raise from these fundraisers benefit?

Both the local community and the numerous humanitarian organizations that Lions support. In Canyon Lake, we help support the Community Resource and Recreation Center Food Pantry; Tye Preston Memorial Library large print books and summer reading program; Canyon Lake High School Scholarships; Canyon Lake Little League; New Life; 100 Club of Comal County; CASA; St. Jude’s Ranch for Children; CLHS Project Graduation; Little Free Libraries; and Almanacs for Startzville Elementary School fifth grade. Each fall, Lions conduct vision screening at Comal County elementary schools. Lions support the Lone Star Lions Eye Bank (for cornea transplants); Eyeglass Recycling Center (to distribute eyeglasses worldwide for the visually impaired); Texas Lions Camp in Kerrville for children with disabilities and diabetes; and Guide Dogs of Texas (for service dogs for the visually impaired).

Meet your fire chiefs, firefighter/EMTs and Emergency Services District Commissioners.

Fun includes bounce house, hands-on activities for kids, complimentary lunch prepared by firefighters, station and apparatus tours, equipment demonstrations, kids’ hose spray activity and drop-tank demo at 12:30, equipment demonstrations and vehicle-extraction demonstration at 1 p.m.

Second Annual Dam Fine Car Show runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 20. Enjoy over a mile of cars across the dam and around Overlook Park.

To enter your vehicle in the fundraiser, email walkcanyondam@gmail.com. Cars, trucks, jeeps and motorcycles are eligible to enter.

The event is sponsored by Dam Community Alliance, whose mission is to unite the Canyon Lake community and to raise funds to restore and enrich access to the park.