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Lela and Bobby Bearden traveled from their home in Louisiana to attend the West Texas Western Swing Festival this weekend. The couple said the reason they like to attend western swing festivals is the family atmosphere of the attendees.
Attending the West Texas Western Swing Festival is like coming home for Louisiana natives Bobby and Lela Bearden.
Every year Bobby Bearden, 90, and Lela Bearden, 80, climb aboard an RV to make the 12-hour, 550-mile journey to Snyder.
“We keep coming because there’s good friends and good music,” Bobby Bearden said. “We’ve been to so many over the years, and we’re always meeting new people.”
The Beardens travel to several western swing festivals around the country with Snyder’s festival being one of their favorites.
“My favorite thing about coming to this western swing is because we’re family,” Lela Bearden said. “Everybody’s loving everybody’s neck here. It’s like a homecoming reunion.”
Though the Beardens enjoy traveling for western swing, they’ve also faced hardships in recent years. Lela Bearden has battled both lung cancer and breast cancer while Bobby Bearden developed a heart condition.
“God will give you miracles, but you’ve got to trust him to do it,” Lela Bearden said. “He’s healed us many times.”
Despite the medical conditions, the Beardens are thankful to be alive and are making the most of their lives.
“Bobby goes deer hunting every year and makes bacon venison burgers,” Lela Bearden said. “We even process our own meat. We keep a vegetable garden and I can things and share them with the people at the festivals. Last year, I canned 144 pints of preserves.”
Lela Bearden’s mayhaw jelly is a staple in the Snyder western swing community.
“The berries you use for mayhaw jelly look like a little red apple, and it grows in the wild in Louisiana,” Lela Bearden said. “I like to can it and give it away. I believe that if you share what you have, it keeps you going a lot longer.”
Though the Beardens bring their culture with them as they travel, they continue to admire the western swing culture too.
“Young people need to get involved in country music and keep it going,” Lela Bearden said. “I don’t ever want it to go away.”
Bobby Bearden agreed with his wife, saying that country music has a story to tell.