Rattlesnake Roundup

It's hard to believe that I have lived in Thomasville/Thomas County for almost five years and I have never gone to the annual Rattlesnake Roundup in Whigham, GA. I will have to kick myself for not going. I had a very good time, I have to admit. On Saturday, Stacey, David and I loaded up and joined up with some other friends and headed to Grady County for this awesome festival. I did a little research beforehand (I had to get the history!!) and found out that Rattlesnake Roundups actually have a purpose. They originally started to help control the rattlesnake population. Today, the snakes that are rounded up in Whigham are milked and the venom is used to make anti-venom, so it helps to save lives (except in 2002, when the snakes collected were sold to a company for their skins and meat...) Ok. Enough about the history. On to the good part, the pictures! And I warn you there are a lot, so I will let them do the talking!

Fun Rides for the kids

There were way more vendors than this. I was totally shocked!

Petting Zoo

How cute. But those poor little bunnies took a beating that day. Those kids were so rough with them.

Purses, I mean pures anyone?



How about some scoks then?

My one purchase for the day, a lovely gold turtle wind chime made from silverware (kidding, of course!)



They had a cool helicopter on display

Me and the boyfriend. He was sweet to let me wear his Northface. I had on two jackets and I was still cold, even though it was a gorgeous, sunny day.

This hamster wheel thing in the pool looked like lots of fun.

 Ok. Now that you have seen what the Rattlesnake Roundup had to offer in normal things, let's get on with the good stuff...the snakes!

Getting the snakes out of the containers that people had just brought in

He was a monster!

This one was a tiny baby compared to big daddy above

Gentleman bringing around a cane-break rattlesnake to look at it's beautiful skin

The milking table

One of the many boxes that the snakes were placed in until it was time to collect the venom..and this was still early. The people were still bringing in box after box of snakes in. It was awesome. And I HATE snakes!

After watching the actual round up for a little bit, we journeyed off to see what other rattlesnake treats we could find.

Snake anyone?

 

David, being brave decided to give it a try. I tried it too. It was ok (tasted like a fatty chicken.) I tried it and never want to eat it again!

 Plenty of nice rattlesnake gear for you to choose from :-)





There's a new sheriff in town

I had to show this beast who was boss

But we quickly made friends

Ok folks! That was the Whigham Rattlesnake Roundup 2012. What weird festivals have you been to lately?