The Zwolle Tamale Fiesta revealed their 2025 T-shirt designs at the recent poster unveiling.
Queen Kennedi Green and Teen Queen Bella Hood were asked to come on stage for the poster T-shirt unveiling, which features this year’s design by Dorothy Calhoun, who was given a complimentary shirt due to her hard work. The poster shirt is sponsored by Weyerhaeuser, a first for the festival, and free T-shirts were then given to Operations Manager Anthony Ebarb and Site Manager Stephen Peskar.
Since the 50th anniversary of the Tamale Fiesta is coming up next year, it was decided to pay tribute to the past. A big part of the festival’s success is due to faith. It was then explained that each Tamale Fiesta meeting begins with prayer, and each day at the Fiesta there is prayer. The Fiesta was built on faith and still is. At the very first Tamale Fiesta they held a Spanish mass in November of 1976 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and at that mass two flags were flown. That flag design has been updated, and the two flags were combined to make this year’s t-shirt design that pays tribute to our history. And one of the people that helped make those flags out of felt was Carolyn Rivers. The front of the shirt pays tribute to the past queen’s cape with the beautiful senorita on it, that many of queens wore.
This shirt’s sponsors were then invited on stage. Rivers Builders Supply and Interstate Building Materials made the decision to sponsor the shirt. They were offered thanks for their second year sponsoring the T-shirt.
It was then explained that two sets of the aforementioned flags had been ordered, which will be flown during the Spanish Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Another set was ordered to be displayed at the Zwolle Museum on the Bend, which celebrated its grand opening in the past few months after years of hard work to make it a reality.
This year’s last shirt design is a salute to the six military branches of the United States. It is sponsored by VFW Post 5187. Walt Korb and Sylvester Martinez were awarded T-shirts as a sign of appreciation.
After its unveiling members of the military and veterans were asked to stand for recognition.
The shirt was inspired by Sharon Leone Pearce, whose father, Bill Leone, was a former Tamale Fiesta King and veteran. Her mother, Sissy Leone, was the First Lady in 2013.
A special thanks was also offered to Sabine State Bank of Zwolle.
The shirts are currently