Chairman
Daisy Scheske Freeman

Co-Chairman
Keith Schauer

Secretary
Allison Davis

Treasurer
Naomi Brown

Food & Beverage Chair
Linda Menking

Entertainment Chair
Britney Jones-Caka

Activities Chair
Kasey Condel Rhodes

Finance Chair
Darla Machacek

Marketing Chairman
Jessie Holt Campion

Grounds and Safety
Kenny Hyden
Frank Wallace

Parade Chairman
Blanca Hernandez

Arts and Crafts
Chamber of Commerce Staff

Check back for event information!

Vendor Booth Application Form

Submit for a 10 ‘ by 10’ vendor space for the Come and Take It Celebration. Downloadable PDF includes all instructions and a three-page form. Form can be mailed to the Chamber, dropped off, or emailed online. Forms submitted online are not considered submitted until payment is received by the Chamber of Commerce.  Mailing address is  304 Saint Louis St, Gonzales, TX 78629

2023 Come and Take It Parade

The “Come & Take It Parade” is held on Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m.; with judging beginning promptly at 9:00 a.m.  Please be in place as early as possible. Please read the application carefully, as there are deadlines and signatures required.

Gonzales Noon Lions Club T-Bone, Chili, & Beans Cook-Off

• Download Event Flyer
• Download Entry Form
• Download Sponsorship Form
• Download Contest Rules and Information

Entry fees include: T-Bone (steak provided) $60, Chili $25, Beans $25, Appetizer $15, Kids Pork Chop $15, Cocktail $25.

Sponsorship opportunities are available! A $500 sponsorship includes entry in all categories, business logo and name on all promotional materials and signage, plus 6 team cooling cloths! A $250 sponsorship includes entry in 3 of the 6 categories of choice, business name on promotional signs, plus 3 team cooling cloths!

Please complete and return your sponsorship form with payment no later than September 15, 2023! All sponsorship documents may be mailed to Gonzales Noon Lions Club at PO Box 1881 Gonzales, TX 78629 or hand delivered to Lion Britney Jones-Caka at Gonzales Texas Farm Bureau located at 1731 Seydler St Gonzales, TX 78629.

Come & Take It Golf Tournament

Gonzales Independence Golf Course

In Memory of our Fallen Heroes in Vietnam: Cpt T. Chenault, CPL L. Schatteet, SP4 D. Tomas, LCPL C. Bolden, CPL J. Tuch, CPL B. Baker, SGT R. Asher. Proceeds go to” The Community Foundation of The Gonzales Area (CFGA)” Providing Gonzales area, Student and Faculty Educational Scholarship opportunities.

Come and Take It Celebration Mullet Championship

Prepare to flaunt your mullet at the highly anticipated Come and Take It Celebration Mullet Contest! Winners in each division will be awarded a custom Come and Take It Mullet Belt Buckle, and prizes await the reserve champion in every age group. With four distinct divisions based on age (0-5 years old, 6-12 years old, 13-18 years old, and 19 years and up), there’s a place for mullet enthusiasts of all ages.

To secure your spot in this epic championship, the entry fee is set at $20 per mullet. Pre-registration for this event will be accepted by Gonzales Main Street at City Hall until Tuesday, October 3rd. Pre-registration is not mandatory but only those pre-registered by October 3rd will be considered for the PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD. Walk up registrations are available between 9:00am & 4:30pm at the Gonzales Main Street booth , located on the west sidewalk between the jail museum and the courthouse.  Registration will close at 4:30 PM on Saturday, October 7. Judging will begin at 5:00pm at the front of the stage.

Additional information can be found on the Gonzales Main Street event page.

Download pre-registration forms here.

Get ready to impress. It’s your time to shine, so join us for a day of mullet excitement and see who claims the coveted mullet crown!

Commercial Food Vendor

Become a commercial food vendor for the Come and Take It Celebration. Download packet for more information.

The Come and Take It Celebration commemorates the firing of the first shot of the Texas revolution on Oct. 2, 1835, which took place near Gonzales. Come and help us celebrate history with the firing of the first shot!

The town of Gonzales was established by Empresario Green DeWitt in 1825, two and one-half miles east of the confluence of the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers. It was the westernmost Anglo settlement until the close of the Texas Revolution and was named in honor of Don Rafael Gonzales, provisional governor of Coahuila, Mexico and Texas. The town was laid out in the shape of a cross, with seven squares. During the colonial period of 1825 to 1835, there were many problems with Comanche and Tonkawa Indians, but Gonzales flourished. It was the thriving capital of the DeWitt colony by 1833. In 1831 the Mexican government loaned the citizens of Gonzales a six-pound cannon for protection against the Indians. In September of 1835, as political unrest grew, Mexican officials at San Antonio de Bexar demanded the cannon be returned. A corporal with five soldiers and an oxcart were first sent by Col. Ugartechea, Bexar military commander, to Gonzales. The corporal carried a request that the small reinforced cannon, a bronze six-pounder, be returned to the Mexican Army. Andrew Ponton refused to relinquish it, stalling for time, the little cannon was buried in George W. Davis’ peach orchard, near the Guadalupe River.

Lieutenant Castaneda and 150 mounted soldiers were sent to “take” the cannon. When the soldiers appeared on the west bank of the Guadalupe River, there were only 18 men in Gonzales, but these ‘Old Eighteen’ stood at the river in defiance, denied the Mexicans a crossing by hiding the ferry and sent out a call for volunteers to assist them. As the soldiers scouted the river for a place to cross, they moved upriver a short distance, near the present-day community of Cost and camped for the night. There, in the early-morning hours of Oct. 2, 1835, the colonists crossed the river with their cannon, surprising the troops and waving their hastily fashioned flag, which proclaimed “Come and Take It.” Almost immediately the cannon was fired, killing one of Castenada’s men and scattering the rest, forcing them to retreat to San Antonio de Bexar. Thus was fired the shot that set off the struggle for Texas independence from Mexico. When the smoke cleared, the Mexican troops had taken off. The Texas Revolution had begun. Gonzales became known as “The Lexington of Texas”, where the first shot was fired, and where the first Texas Army of Volunteers gathered. A few months after the first shot, men and boys from the region would gather in Gonzales, sending the only reinforcements ever received at the Alamo. Each October, on the first full weekend of October, the citizens of Gonzales gather to celebrate their Texas heritage in a three-day festival called “Come and Take It.”