Gonzales Riverfest postponed

Gonzales Riverfest, not to be confused with Float Fest, has been postponed for at least a year. Lou Garino, the festival’s co-promoter, cites a lack of time as the primary reason for the delay. In an email to the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce he wrote, “it is with some disappointment and a lot of relief that Cheri and I have decided to wait until 2020 to have the first festival. We just don't have the time or help to do it right.”

Garino further explained to the Inquirer that the work requirements between him and his wife Cheri, who is also a co-promoter, occupy too much of their time to give the festival the attention it needs. 

“My wife has Comfy Pet and she’s working like 7 days a week; 10, 12 hours a day. She can’t get away from there. So, she comes home from work 9, 10 o’clock and she doesn’t have time to do this website,” Garino said. “I’m the writer, she’s the tech. We really need to wait until next year.”

The festival was planned for August 16-18 and was to be held at the J.B. Wells Expo Center. Among the events Garino had planned included a battle of the bands competition and multiple river-based races. The idea for the event spawned from the Float Fest saga that engulfed the city at the beginning of the year.

“[Float Fest is] fine for all of those out-of-towners but we want to have something for ourselves; for the families here in Gonzales,” Garino said.

Though J.B. Wells confirmed that Garino’s August reservation had been canceled, he did leave the door open to do a scaled back event this year. In any event, when asked if Garino plans to host a full-scale version of the event in 2020 he simply stated “oh, absolutely, yeah we can’t wait.”