Forge Ahead 🔨

Here's what's up in SETX,

We’ve got a free entrepreneur night in downtown Beaumont on Thursday, muscadine rows open to anyone who turns up Saturday in Orange, and fajitas on Calder Avenue that arrive sizzling. Busy week ahead, folks.

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Tailored Financial Solutions.

Let's get into it. 👇

Entrepreneur Night Runs Thursday at The Forge in Beaumont

Side Hustle Central : The room is for owners, side hustlers and people still at the idea stage, and What's Up SETX is co-hosting.
Strike While Hot : Thursday, 6 to 8 PM, at The Forge on Pearl Street. Free, no RSVP. Walk in with an idea and leave with a connection.

📍 The Forge, 268 Pearl Street, Beaumont · 🕐 Thu Aug 20 · 6 to 8 PM · 🎟️ Free

Orange Winery Opens Its Muscadine Rows Saturday Morning

Photo: Free State Cellars

Red Letter Day : August 22 is the red grape day. The white grape day was August 8, so this is the winery's last pick of the year.
Beat The Heat : Free, and it runs 6:30 to 11 AM. Everyone who turns up picks muscadines by hand, ahead of the August heat.

📍 Free State Cellars, 4702 Tejas Parkway, Orange · 🕐 Sat Aug 22 · 6:30 to 11 AM · 🎟️ Free

Carmela's Serves Fajitas and a Molcajete on Calder

Photo: Google Maps

Sizzle Reel : Carmela's Famous Fajitas is the headliner: beef, chicken or mixed, with grilled onions and peppers, rice, beans, guacamole, pico and tortillas.
Stone Cold Showstopper : The Molcajete for Two lands in a volcanic stone bowl of mixed meats, cheese and salsa, under hand-painted murals.

📍 3925 Calder Ave, Beaumont, TX 77706 · (409) 898-4745 · carmelasmexicanrest.com

🤤 Had a great meal somewhere in SETX lately? Reply and tell us — we feature reader picks.

Former Buckner Campus Becomes a Youth Mental Health Hub

Photo: Buckner International

Ground Work : reVision bought the 30-acre former Buckner campus on Manion Drive in January for $2.8 million, with a $5 million state grant behind it.
Sixteen Beds First : Phase one is 16 residential beds for Spindletop Center, plus vocational training and mentorship across five counties. Commissioners Court votes in mid-September.

✅ Head to The Forge on Thursday : Forge What's Next runs 6 to 8 PM at 268 Pearl Street, Beaumont. Free, no RSVP.
✅ Grab a Tasting ticket before Tuesday : The Tasting for Some Other Place runs 5 to 7 PM Tuesday at the Beaumont Civic Center. Tickets online or (409) 832-7976.
✅ Weigh in on the Beaumont ZIP routes : A 30-day comment period is open on realigning the Laurel and North 11th route toward Delaware and Dowlen. Council votes September 22.
✅ Register for Saturday's mural walk : AMSET's free Art in Motion tour steps off at 8:30 AM Saturday from 500 Main St in Beaumont. Registration is required.

❝

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📅 THIS WEEK IN SETX

📅 SETX Events Website

Everything further out lives at events.whatsupsetx.com — browse the full calendar and submit your own. 🎉

THIS WEEK

Aug 18: The Tasting for Some Other Place | Beaumont Civic Center, 701 Main St. 5 to 7 PM. The 24th annual tasting fundraiser. Tickets online.

Aug 18: Punch Needle Embroidery | McFaddin-Ward House Visitor Center, 1906 Calder Ave, Beaumont. 10 to 11:30 AM, adults 21 and over.

Aug 18: AMSET Book Club | AMSET Cafe, 500 Main St, Beaumont. 5:30 to 7 PM, free. Discussing The Slip by Prudence Peiffer.

Aug 20: Port Arthur Recycling Center Grand Opening | Behind the Bob Bowers Civic Center, Port Arthur. The city's first recycling center, cardboard only for now. First 50 visitors get a $10 H-E-B card.

Aug 20: Forge What's Next | The Forge, 268 Pearl St, Beaumont. 6 to 8 PM, free, no RSVP.

Aug 21: Summer Stargazing | Tyrrell Park Nature Center, 3930 Babe Zaharias Dr, Beaumont. 7:30 to 10 PM, free. Telescopes on the Moon. Bring a red flashlight.

Aug 21: Movie Night, Ferris Bueller's Day Off | Jefferson Theatre, 345 Fannin St, Beaumont. 7 PM, doors 6. $6.

Aug 21: White Linen Night | The Event Centre, Beaumont. 6 to 9 PM. A fundraising evening built around local art.

Aug 21: Coffee with the Chamber | Vidor Chamber of Commerce, Vidor. 8 to 9 AM.

THIS WEEKEND

Aug 22: Beaumont Farmers Market | 6525 College St, Beaumont. 8 to 11 AM, free. Local produce, baked goods and makers, rain or shine.

Aug 22: Art in Motion Mural Walking Tour | AMSET, 500 Main St, Beaumont. 8:30 to 9:30 AM, free. Registration required.

Aug 22: Yoga at Cattail Marsh | Wetlands Education Center, 4233 Babe Zaharias Dr, Beaumont. 9:30 to 10:30 AM, free. Vinyasa flow, all levels.

Aug 22: Summer Spree Art Vendor Night Market | The Art Studio, 720 Franklin St, Beaumont. 6 to 10 PM, free entry. Twenty six makers and a live acoustic show.

Aug 22: Dallas Moore | Soggy Bottom Saloon, Beaumont. 9 PM. Touring outlaw country act.

Aug 23: Nature Walk, Learn About Longleaf | Big Thicket, Kountze. 10 to 10:30 AM. A family stroll on the Longleaf Pine Trail.

MOVIE NIGHTS @ JEFFERSON THEATRE

345 Fannin St, Beaumont. Every Friday — doors 6 PM, film 7 PM. $6, general admission, concessions available. Supported by ExxonMobil.

Aug 28: Cry-Baby

Sep 4: Singin' in the Rain

Which event are you hitting up? Reply and let us know. Missed one? Submit it at events.whatsupsetx.com 🎉

📌 GOOD TO KNOW

🚧 Beaumont Comprehensive Plan : The first three draft chapters are open for public input at planbeaumont.com, covering neighborhoods, transportation, infrastructure and resilience.

🚧 Port Arthur Certificates of Obligation : The city posted its notice of intention on August 7. The related Fire Station No. 2 build runs $11.675 million.

🩸 LifeShare Blood Center : A national blood crisis has reached SETX, with under a one-day supply of O-positive and O-negative. Donate at 4305 Laurel Ave in Beaumont.

🏆 THE SPORTS DESK

🔴 Cardinals Football : Fall camp is open with 32 letterwinners back and quarterback Aiden McCown returning. The opener is August 29 against Abilene Christian.

🔴 Cardinals Volleyball : The season opens August 28 at the Wildcat Classic in Abilene.

🔴 Cardinals Soccer : The women's team opened at UTEP on August 12, falling 2-0.

🏈 Friday Nights Loading : Previews are landing for Silsbee, Beaumont United, Port Neches-Groves and Jefferson. First games go late August.

TEA Hands Beaumont ISD a D and Nederland an A

Photo: Fox 4 Beaumont

Grade Spread : Beaumont ISD landed a D. Eleven campuses earned Fs, six Ds and three Cs, West Brook took the lone B, and Dr. Martin Luther King Collegiate Academy the only A.
Bright Spots Regionwide : Port Arthur ISD scored a C, with Houston Elementary earning an A. Nederland ISD and Bob Hope School in Beaumont pulled As of their own.

💡 The bottom line: A district rating is what shows up in a home listing and a relocation packet, so a D follows Beaumont ISD into every conversation about moving here.

📋 IN OTHER NEWS

🏭 Golden Triangle Polymers Starts Up : The $8.5 billion CPChem and QatarEnergy plant in Orange County has entered commissioning, with 500-plus permanent jobs coming online by 2027.

💰 Nederland Weighs a Tax Increase : The proposed FY 2026-27 budget is $35 million and the tax rate moves from 45.1 to 46.6 cents per $100. The budget hearing is August 24.

👏 A Port Arthur Man Takes Sertoma's Top Job : Financial advisor Tim Romero is serving as 2026-27 international president of Sertoma, the service group that funds hearing aids and screenings.

💧 Beaumont Reviews a Water Main Call : A homeowner came back on August 13 to water running into her yard and down her chimney while a repair crew was off site. The city is investigating.

📬 Which story caught your eye?

💼 JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Industry pulse: Refinery and petrochemical work is setting the pace: Golden Triangle Polymers is commissioning in Orange County with 500-plus permanent roles arriving by 2027. Healthcare is steady, with 340-plus nursing roles posted around Beaumont.

🔧 Instrumentation Engineer | Refinery sector | Beaumont
Instrumentation and controls work on the plant side. Listed on Indeed.

🔍 Senior Inspector | Refinery and petrochemical | Beaumont
Inspection and integrity work across refinery units. Listed on Indeed.

🩺 Registered Nurse | Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas and CHRISTUS | Beaumont
Multiple openings across both systems, $30 to $45 an hour.

🌿 Tailored Lawn Care | Golden Triangle
Looking for work? Outdoor work, local routes. Call or text Frederick: (409) 365-4887

🔜 Browse all local SETX job listings — coming soon. Want early access when our jobs board launches? Email [email protected] to get on the list.

💼 Hiring in SETX? Send us your listing at [email protected] and we'll get it in front of our readers.

📣 YOUR TURN

Every week, we ask a few questions because this newsletter is a two-way street. Hit reply — we read every single one.

🔨 Coming to The Forge on Thursday? Tell us what you are building.
🍇 Picked muscadines at Free State Cellars before? Any tips?
🌮 Where do you send someone for fajitas in SETX?
👏 Got someone to brag on? A graduation, a new business, a milestone, a neighbor who showed up. Reply and we'll put them in Community Notices.