An estimated 5,000 people attended the Golden Sweet Potato Festival this week, a multi-day event with pageantry, worship and community traditions. Festival board representatives said they were pleased with the turnout and hoped for continued growth.
Saturday's live auction raised $32,000 for the festival foundation, above the organizers' overall $30,000 target. Separately, bidding on a donated handbag reached $26,000, with all proceeds going to the scholarship fund of newly crowned 2026 Golden Sweet Potato Queen Campbell Shrum. Shrum said she was grateful to everyone who helped and encouraged her.
Miss Texas Stephanie Wendt visited Golden and hosted a booth for signed photos. Saturday's parade drew crowds along FM 779 and FM 1799 in Downtown Golden and was led by the Alba-Golden High School Prowling Panther Band. The festival also held its first Rotten Tater Contest for contestants ages 60 and up, which Vicki Walker, a retired Alba-Golden educator, won. Walker said winning "meant everything."