CC expects big crowd for contest

 Clarendon will be bustling with people this weekend when the annual Clarendon College Invitational Judging Contest is held Saturday.

The contest doubles the town’s population and regularly attracts around 2,000 high school FFA students and 4-H students from around Texas and nearby states and as of Tuesday afternoon more than 1,500 students had pre-registered. This number doesn’t include the hundreds of parents and coaches who accompany the students to the contest.

According to the 2010 US Census, Clarendon has a population of 2,026.

Past contests have had huge impacts on the local economy. Restaurants are typically packed for the event, and this year will hopefully be equally successful.

In fact, the annual judging contest is the single biggest event to attract visitors from out of county for one day. By comparison, the July 4th Saints’ Roost Celebration barbecue annually attracts about 1,000 people and the Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff records between 1,000 and 1,500 visitors each September. Each of those events, however, has hundreds of local residents in attendance. The greatest number of people at the judging contest will come from outside of Donley County.

In addition to helping local merchants, the event also presents a great opportunity for CC to showcase its campus, faculty, and programs for prospective students. Johnny Treichel, Clarendon College livestock and meats judging coach, said the event is a big recruiting tool for the college.

“This is the only time each year the college has this many potential students on campus,” he said. “And we are pleased to have such positive support from the community year after year.”