'Year of Youth' at Buc Days 2024, new events aimed for younger generation

Buc Days is more than 100 days away, but the annual festival announced Friday some new events that will take place at this year's festival.

In an email, Buc Days announced 2024 is all about ushering in a "Year of Youth."

This year's festival will be dedicated to providing a platform for students to showcase their skills and passions throughout the year by participating in a Division Youth Rodeo Showcase and STEAM-approached events, to name a few.

"Our focus is providing scholarships and opportunities for the younger generations," the email said.

Yolanda Escobar, 2, and Isaiah Clark, 4, give a thumbs-up to their family at the Stripes Carnival at Buc Days on Friday, May 12, 2023.
Yolanda Escobar, 2, and Isaiah Clark, 4, give a thumbs-up to their family at the Stripes Carnival at Buc Days on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Events aimed toward youth

Buc Days Clays 4-H Shoot

  • Students from around Texas are invited to participate in the inaugural event where the Buccaneer Commission will award $25,000 in cash prizes and scholarships.

  • The event will be held at the Corpus Christi Gun Club, located at 2832 FM-763, on Saturday, Feb. 24 and the Championship Round will take place the following day for the top 20 contestants.

  • The event is limited to the first 160 entries. Shoot offs and tie breakers will occur as needed for Saturday's qualifying round.

  • The four divisions include Junior Open (third, fourth and fifth graders), Intermediate Open (sixth, seventh and eighth graders), Senior 1 Open (high school freshmen and sophomores) and Senior Open 2 (high school juniors and seniors).

  • To register, and for more information, visit bucdays.com/buc-days-clays-4-h-shoot.

Buc Days Food Challenge

  • Texas students are able to participate in the inaugural event that will take place on Saturday, May 11 at the Shops at Treasure Island.

  • There will be four rounds of competition followed by a final challenge in the afternoon.

  • The contest challenges teams of students to create a dish using only a predetermined set of ingredients. From said ingredients, team members must identify and prepare a dish and make a presentation about it to a panel of judges.

  • The contest will be divided into two age divisions, with each team having at least three, and no more than four, members. There will be a Junior Division (third, fourth and fifth graders), an Intermediate Division (sixth, seventh and eighth graders) and a Senior Division (high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors).

  • A total of $7,500 in prize money will be awarded at the event.

  • For more information, and to register, visit bucdays.com/buc-days-food-challenge.

Rodeo Corpus Christi - Division Youth Showcase

  • On Tuesday, May 7, enjoy an extra day with the fiercest young cowgirls and cowboys around the world as they compete for $55,000 in prize money. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 1 and can be purchased at 361-882-3242.

A child hangs onto the side of a sheep during mutton bustin' at Rodeo Corpus Christi at American Bank Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
A child hangs onto the side of a sheep during mutton bustin' at Rodeo Corpus Christi at American Bank Center on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Robotics Rodeo

  • The STEM event is an opportunity for students to flex their tech, engineering and robotics skills to win $10,000 worth of prizes. The Robotics Rodeo features students from seventh grade to high school seniors. It will be held on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.

FIRST LEGO League Challenge

  • The FIRST LEGO League Challenge engages students in research, problem-solving, coding, engineering, building and programming a LEGO robot. It will be held Sunday, May 5.

For more information, visit bucdays.com.

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John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at [email protected] or X @johnpoliva.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Buc Days 2024: This year is all about the youth