Rice Rice Baby 🍚

Here's what's up in SETX,

The Texas Rice Festival opens tonight in Winnie with free entry, a Port Arthur kitchen fries Dominican tostones and empanadas, and a Beaumont bike shop that opened in 1997 leads a Saturday morning ride. Busy week.

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

Let's get into it. 👇

The Texas Rice Festival Opens Tonight in Winnie

Image: Texas Rice Festival

Crop Top : Opening night is free. The Blessing of the Crops is at 6 PM, then Louisiana Landfall plays at 7 and Travis Matte at 9.
Rice and Shine : Saturday's Grand Parade of bands, tractors and combines rolls at 10 AM. Wayne Toups plays at 4 PM, William Beckmann at 8 and Bag of Donuts at 10.

📍 Winnie-Stowell Park, 335 S. Park St., Winnie
🕐 Wed, Sept. 30 to Sat, Oct. 3 · gates 5 PM Wed and Thu, 10 AM Fri and Sat
🎟️ Free Wed · Thu to Sat $15 adults, $5 ages 6 to 18

Fire Festival Adds a Junior Obstacle Course Downtown

Image: Fire Museum of Texas

Hose and Tell : Beaumont Fire-Rescue opens Fire Prevention Month with live fire and EMS demos, food, crafts, bounce houses and prizes.
Stop, Drop and Fun : A new junior firefighter obstacle course teaches kids the basics, stop, drop and roll among them.

📍 Fire Museum of Texas, 400 Walnut St., Beaumont
🕐 Sat, Oct. 3 · 11 AM to 3 PM
🎟️ Free

J&Z Sabor Latino Fries Dominican Tostones and Empanadas in Port Arthur

Photo: Google Maps

Plantain Sight : Tostones (fried green plantain) run $9.30 and empanadas $7.83, in chicken, beef, chicken and cheese, or ham and cheese.
Mash Hit : Regulars order the mofongo, and a recent review singles out the white cheese shrimp and garlic shrimp versions. There's a drive-through too.

📍 5100 Gulfway Dr, Port Arthur, TX 77642 · (409) 300-4242 · jzsaborlatinotx.com

⏰ Opens 10 AM Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays. Call ahead for closing time.

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

Kickstand Bike Shop Runs a Saturday Group Ride in Beaumont

Photo: Google Maps

Spoke History : Tom Simon opened Kickstand in fall 1997 at Major and Phelan. After Hurricane Ike took out that store, it moved to the Colonnade Shopping Center.
Pace Yourself : The Saturday ride leaves at 7:30 AM, weather permitting, in four pace groups from a no-drop 12 to 15 mph loop up to 22-plus mph.

📍 6366 Phelan Blvd, Beaumont, TX 77706 · (409) 860-5532 · kickstandbikeshop.com

⏰ Mon, Wed, Fri 11 AM to 6 PM · Tue, Thu 11 AM to 5:30 PM · Sat 10 AM to 3 PM · closed Sun

🎯 3 FUN THINGS TO TRY THIS WEEK

Side quests this week: a Gulf beach, a 1901 oil boomtown and a battleground on the Sabine.

✅ Sign up for tonight's bird walk : Shangri La in Orange leads a guided 1 to 1.5 mile birding hike at 5:30 PM for adults 18+. Registration is online. Shangri La →
✅ Reserve a McFaddin-Ward tour : Free guided tours of the 1906 house on Calder run Tue to Sat at 10 AM and 1 PM, ages 8+. Book online. McFaddin-Ward House →
✅ Check your chargers by Sunday : Fire Prevention Week runs Oct. 4 to 10 and focuses on safe charging for phones, laptops, e-bikes and scooters. NFPA →

📅 THIS WEEK IN SETX

📅 Every SETX Event, One Calendar

View all the events in Southeast Texas at events.whatsupsetx.com. Browse the full calendar and submit your event to be featured.

Which event are you hitting up? Reply and let us know! 🎉

📌 GOOD TO KNOW

🚧 Free smoke alarms in Orange : City residents can pick one up at Central Fire Station, Mon to Fri, 8 AM to 5 PM, while supplies last.

🩸 Give blood on Laurel : LifeShare's donor center, 4305 Laurel Ave, Beaumont, takes donations Monday to Saturday. Call (409) 838-5289.

🎉 Restaurant Week sign-ups : Beaumont Restaurant Week runs Nov. 1 to 10, and restaurants can sign up now on the CVB Restaurant Week page.

🏆 THE SPORTS DESK

🔴 Family Weekend : Lamar's Saturday 6 PM Southland opener against Northwestern State is Family Weekend and Breast Cancer Awareness night.

🔴 Two goals, 35 seconds : Lamar soccer rallied from 2-0 down to tie Nicholls 2-2 Sunday on goals by Sofia Wilby and Kamryn Harvey. Next: at East Texas A&M Thursday, 7:30 PM.

🏈 Week 6 Friday : Bridge City visits Vidor at 7:30 PM. West Brook meets Memorial and Beaumont United meets Galveston Ball at 7.

🕰️ A SHORT SETX HISTORY

October 3, 1982 : A historical marker for Kichimatsu Kishi's Japanese rice-farming colony, founded in Orange County in 1907, was dedicated on Farm Road 1135 southeast of Vidor. Many of the colonists' descendants still live in the area.

Source: Texas State Historical Association, Handbook of Texas: "Kishi Colony, TX"

💼 JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Industry pulse: Sempra Infrastructure signed a 20-year deal Sept. 14 to supply Petrobras LNG from Port Arthur LNG Phase 2, now under construction. Its contractor, Bechtel, holds a Veteran Job Fair Oct. 7, 10 AM to 1 PM, at the Beaumont Workforce Center.

🚒 Fire Cadet | City of Beaumont Fire-Rescue | Beaumont
$4,000 a month in the academy, entry level. Ages 18 to 35 with a diploma or GED and a Class C license. Apply by Oct. 25. Apply →

🥗 Clinical Dietitian | Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas | Beaumont
A $10,000 sign-on bonus. Requires the RD credential and a Texas license. Apply →

📋 SETX Career & Opportunity Expo | Beaumont
Today, 10 AM to 2 PM, at Uptown Event & Studio, 2180 Sabine Pass Ave. Free, with Beaumont ISD and GTX Logistics among the employers. Details →

🌿 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.

🍚 Heading to Winnie for the Rice Festival? Which night?
🍌 Tostones or empanadas: what's your first order at J&Z Sabor Latino?
🚲 Ridden with Kickstand on a Saturday? Which pace group is yours?
👏 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.