Located in Texas Hill Country, Bertram’s 48th Annual Oatmeal Festival (September 28,2025) pays honor the nearby hamlet of Oatmeal located in Burnet County. Launched in 1978 by Ken Odiorne as a playful spoof on chili cook-offs, this weekend event draws thousands and raises $25,000 for 200 youth scholarships, celebrating small-town unity despite no oat fields in sight.
The festivities kicked off with a 3.3-mile “Run For Your Oats” race, a pet parade, a “kids zone,” sack races, washer tournaments, live country music at the Globe Theatre, a street dance, vendor crafts and food dishes. The highlight was the Grand Parade through downtown, with floats, vintage tractors, and “Miss Oatmeal Cookie” waving to crowds.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) Camp No. 2353 (Lampasas) and Williamson County Grays Camp No. 502 (Georgetown) secured third place with “The Judge,” a full-scale 6-pounder cannon, showcased with a caisson. Members, including one member’s wife, donned period attire, embodying the 1860s, marched in the parade and passed out candy treats to children.
Their booth featured Confederate weapons and accurate history books, with members engaging the public on Southern history. Founded in 1896 in Richmond, Virginia, as the successor to the United Confederate Veterans, the SCV is a historical, patriotic, non-political group preserving the 1861–1865 era. Membership welcomes men with lineal or collateral Confederate ancestry. Today, there are nearly 100 active SCV camps in Texas, organized into four brigades covering regions like the Panhandle, West, Central, Southwest, Northwest, and Northeast.
Many SCV members will attend artillery school on October 3rd -5th at Ft. Concho and receive hands-on training with “The Judge.” The next Camp meeting will be in San Saba County for the annual Central Texas - SCV Muster to include a black powder rifle and pistol shoot on Saturday, October 18th. For more information about the SCV contact Lampasas Camp Commander Michael Oliver at (254) 432-0322.