Victoria is gearing up for a party. The second annual Bootfest will begin Friday from 5-9:30 p.m. in downtown Victoria and continue on Saturday from 9:45 a.m.-10:30 p.m.

This free festival is a great chance for members of the community and others from outside Victoria to come and enjoy the food, fun, music and unique atmosphere Victoria has been working to cultivate, as well as investigate some of the businesses that have been growing and developing in the downtown area.

According to LaRue Roth, Victoria Convention and Visitor's Bureau director, this year's Bootfest will feature all kinds of fun activities. Throughout the festival, there will be live music performed by local bands, such as the Scott Taylor Band, Whiskey Sin, Clay Crockett & the Shotgun Riders, Black Dutch Sioux and Bart Crow. The two headliners will be Stoney LaRue and country music star Easton Corbin. Kids will be able to enjoy themselves in the children's area, which is once again sponsored by Caterpillar and will feature 15 inflatable attractions, such as the Velcro wall, the mechanical bull, bounce houses, alligator slide and the water balls, as well as new activities for families and children of different ages to enjoy. Invista is sponsoring the children's stage area, which will feature events including kids' karaoke, karate and gymnastic demonstrations, dancing and more. The festival will also feature about 75 arts and crafts vendors, three boot makers, a boot shiner and a washer tournament.

According to Roth, the city estimates between 20,000-23,000 people attended last year's Bootfest, with peak attendance being on Saturday night. This year, the city has seen a major increase over last year's interest based on visits to the event website. With that in mind, they estimate there will be an even bigger crowd this year. Roth attributes some of this increase to the star power of Easton Corbin, but says there is lots of interest about the festival itself. A list of downtown businesses will be available, including their hours of operation specially adjusted to continue the fun after Bootfest ends each night to encourage participants to explore downtown Victoria.

We are excited to see this festival return to Victoria. Several towns in the Crossroads have their own cultural festivals, from Turkeyfest in Cuero to the Flip Flop Festival in Port Lavaca. This festival is Victoria's invention and a chance to promote more business and tourism in our area. And we encourage both local residents and outsiders to come out and enjoy the fun. If you want to learn more about what will be offered, check out the Victoria Advocate's Get Out entertainment section in Thursday's paper. We hope to see you all downtown.

This editorial reflects the views of the Victoria Advocate's editorial board.