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PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHERINE DRYE
A student from Sunrise Christian Schoolhouse helps serve desserts.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHERINE DRYE
Attendees at the dinner go through the serving line.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHERINE DRYE
Volunteers replenish the ice tea during meal service.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHERINE DRYE
One of the auction items was a large quilt featuring 63 National Parks.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHERINE DRYE
Prior to the auction, Rob Linton makes sure everyone has their paddles.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATHERINE DRYE
The auction featured a wide variety of items.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TALIA WADE
Volunteers season the meat on prep day.
The Dripping Springs Wild Game Dinner (DSWGD) wrapped up its 36th annual event in February, raising approximately $145,000 for local charities. This year’s “Paddles Up” recipient was Sunrise Christian Schoolhouse, a faith-based K-6 school in Dripping Springs that is currently expanding. Longtime DSWGD member Bill DWinne said the response from the crowd was record-breaking.
”We just presented them a check the day before yesterday for a little bit over $43,000 - and that was just from Paddles Up,” DeWinne said. “We’re lucky if we can get $25,000, so it was very rewarding.”
DeWinne said students from the school attended the dinner and delivered a Bible verse reading that visibly moved the crowd.
”It’s hard to get 850 people to be quiet, and it was very impressive,” DeWinne said. “It was emotional and it was spiritual, and it clearly impacted the crowd. I was really proud of those little kids.”
The event, held at Dripping Springs Ranch Park and Event Center, drew an estimated 800 to 850 attendees for an evening that included wild game dinner, live and silent auctions, live music, and a raffle.
”It was actually a great event,” DeWinne said. “Mother Nature really cooperated with favorable weather. We had struggled the last two years with some really chilly weather and did our best to heat that building, but this year was really nice.”
Both the live and silent auctions set new records, DeWinne said, crediting in part a new auctioneer the committee brought in from San Antonio.
”They really got the energy and the excitement going,” DeWinne said.
DeWinne struggled to put the atmosphere of the evening into words, but said that energy is part of what keeps people coming back year after year.
”When that building is full, it’s got a vibe and electricity. You just have to feel it,” DeWinne said.
Doors opened at 5 p.m. to allow guests to browse the silent auction and find their seats, but DeWinne said people were arriving even earlier than that.
”People were showing up at like 4 o’clock. It was crazy,” he said. “It was unbelievable the amount of people.”
Among the evening’s highlights, DeWinne pointed to the national anthem.
”When they did the Star-Spangled Banner and everybody is singing, that’s pretty impressive,” DeWinne said. “That’ll give you chills.”
Planning for the event starts the October prior, and really ramps up during the final week. Over the course of several days, volunteers gather for meat cutting, prep, and sausage making. They also show up on event day to set up tables and chairs and staff the evening.
The event’s 37th edition is already in the works, with Jeremy Peele set to serve as chairman. The dinner is scheduled for February 27, 2027.
DSWGD has raised nearly $1 million for local charities since its founding in 1991, when a group of men from Dripping Springs United Methodist Church first gathered to cook a meal and give back to their neighbors.
”I’ve done it for over 20 years and I still get excited about it,” DeWinne said. “I’m really glad to be a part of it, and I can’t wait for next year.”
