WOODVILLE – The Tyler County Dogwood Festival is one of the most anticipated events in our community every year. Although the weather forced the cancellation of the parade and moved the coronation indoors, our community filled the seats, and a new queen, Lily Grace Read, was crowned.
Read, from Chester, is the daughter of Stacy and Wade Read. She was escorted by Cutter David Lowe, son of Laura David and Stacey and Teri Lowe. Lily was crowned by Rep. Trent Ashby (R-Lufkin), who was honored as the 2025 “Mr. East Texas” award. Spurger’s Carter Wright was named Princess of Tyler County.
Wright is the daughter of Chesney and Morgan Wright and was escorted by Landon Lee Guillory, son of Brandon and Nicole Guillory.
The Grand Duchess was Addie Nicole Williams from Beaumont. Williams is the daughter of Bethany and Thomas Williams. Wheat Award Winners were Diane Lewis, Tommy Williford and Mike Garess.
After the coronation, the audience enjoyed a play about the life of John Henry Kirby. “Prince of the Pines” was a revival of the historical play performed in 1989. All the actors, singers, and dancers were amazing, and this was a fun end to the night.
The Dogwood Dash, a 5K run sponsored by Citizen’s State Bank, took place Saturday morning. The race drew many enthusiastic runners from across the area, and all ages were represented. Autumn Hillhouse claimed the title of overall female runner, finishing with an impressive time of 25:19.58. Landon Helm was the overall male runner, crossing the finish line at 20:14.9.
As the curtain closes on the 82nd Tyler County Dogwood Festival, the memories made this weekend will carry on, just like the Dogwoods in bloom—beautiful, resilient, and deep rooted.
