Beaumont, Texas (June 25, 2021) – Coming Saturday, July 10, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Event Centre in downtown Beaumont, Beaulympics (Beaumont's Olympics) are the summer games for all. A one-day extravaganza of games, music, and entertainment, the five rings represent the major travel themes that best exemplify Beaumont with events in the categories of food/drink, kid-friendly, active/adventure, art, and Cajun culture, all with a crazy twist. Many activities will be available all day to participate in, along with featured events to watch on the main stage. There will be a schedule of competitions and headline attractions you don't want to miss. For each activity, participants will have the opportunity to earn Beau-bucks that can be traded in for prizes like at a carnival. Everything is completely free to participate in.

We're talking gator races and reptile yoga hosted by Gator Country, food competitions like a Zummo sausage eating contest, hot wing contest sponsored by Wing Junkies, a hot pepper challenge from our friends at Favor, relays like the Ultimate Cajun hosted by Del Pappa and Giglio, and a Texas “Try”athalon with checkpoints like the shrimp scampi, crawfish crawl, and a boudin ball toss where unathleticism is rewarded and participation trophies are coveted, all meant to let loose and not take ourselves too seriously. The Beaumont PD will be holding a Highland Games demo (yes, you'll see your favorite officers in kilts!), Pour Brothers will be hosting Survivor Flip Cup, and there will be plenty more surprises throughout the day.

Over 40 groups, organizations, non-profits, and for-profits will be running game and craft booths intending to introduce businesses in the area to locals and visitors and showcase the breadth of attractions Southeast Texas has to offer. The sheer volume of groups participating shows just how ready the community is to come together after a tough year for fun and comradery. A number of new and recently opened businesses will be included such as Spindletop Cruisers, who offer glow in the dark bike tours, MAKE Creative Space, a new craft and splatter paint room downtown, and Rent EBoards, which offers one-wheel hoverboard rentals. 

Standout attractions to look forward to include: face painting with princesses from Jack & Jill's Storybrook Co., make your own board games from AMSET, mini gushers from Spindletop, kayak lessons from Big Thicket Outfitters, a snow machine from Sea Rim Striders, fishing and crabbing demos from Visit Port Arthur, Sea Rim State Park and Museum of the Gulf Coast, along with a number of Cajun carnival games and crafts, and a selfie station to document the fun.

As our flagship event partners, The United Way “Way” will feature 10 of their non-profit partner organizations with a unique way to fundraise for a good cause by having prominent community members in a dunk tank (because we all know there's that one person you want to see get dunked). The ExxonMobil Kids Zone will feature family-friendly, oversized lawn games, an inflatable obstacle course, and Bubblepalooza (bubble pools) available all day for anyone to use. Also in attendance will be a number of food trucks and live music throughout the day.

“After the year we just had, we wanted to do something memorable that southeast Texas has never seen before. Part of our 2021 'Bon Temps Beaumont' campaign promised good times for all and to surprise and delight the community, and we're out to do that in a big way,” said Marketing and Tourism Developer Lauren Monitz.

“The idea stemmed from Lodolympics, an event I used to run for my university alumni association in Colorado, which was basically a downtown pub crawl. I always wondered what would happen if we blew it up into a complete city takeover, made it family-friendly with fun and games, and threw in the craziest things we could think of.”

After the success of Artaco, the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau saw the potential and got behind it, as they look to host four flagship events a year. While Texas travel spending was down 31.5% in 2020, the City of Beaumont only saw a slight 10% decrease and still contributed $310.1M to the local economy due in part to their creative pivoting to target the regional drive market. With at least one thing on the calendar every quarter, locals and visitors will always have something to look forward to and plan around. While the summer Olympics are an extra special occasion, the event will morph into a summer field day of sorts next year.

It's definitely a day you don't want to miss, and we hope as many people as possible make it out and take part in the fun, but you can also use the rings to guide your summer explorations. Check out our website -- we have tons of suggested themed itineraries and challenges anytime you visit or are just looking for something to do on the weekend. We are also offering discounted hotel packages all summer long if you're looking to plan a staycation in your own backyard.

About Visit Beaumont: On the border between Louisiana and the Lone Star State, Beaumont is a little bit Cajun, a lot Texan, and 100% unique for the South. Come explore the bayous, birding, and unique culinary landscape and see where the world was changed forever in one of America's original Boomtowns.

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