DRIPPING SPRINGS – In 1991, a group of men from Dripping Springs Methodist Church got together to spend time together and fellowship. They all enjoyed barbecuing “wild game” and after years of gathering, it was transformed into a way to give back to the community — the Dripping Springs Wild Game Dinner.
“It's a charity fundraiser,” explained Bill De Winne, chairman of the 2025 Wild Game Dinner. “The great majority of any proceeds that we earn gets reinvested right back into this area. There's a small portion that we use to fund some of the church missions. We have a Panama mission trip. We have a building of [a] home in a week building project. But the great majority goes to, for example, the Burke Center for Youth, [which is] a long running program to help young men that are on the wrong track to help them get back on the right track. Something as simple as making sure kids have enough to eat. We've always been a great supporter of our Hill Country Senior Center.”
The Wild Game Dinner not only supports the immediate Dripping Springs community, but others around it. Some of its previous beneficiaries include The Adam McCauley Family Cancer Foundation, Young Life Dripping Springs, Ancora, The Founder's Day Hospitality Breakfast, Heading Home and Kairos Prison Ministries.
“Kairos is a prison ministry where men go into prisons and help inmates understand a little bit about faith and brotherly love,” he continued. “That's done twice a year; some of the thank you letters that we receive from prisoners, unbelievable. [The Wild Game Dinner] is just to raise money and give it away to people that need it.”
Since its inception, the Wild Game Dinner has only grown. It started its journey in the early 2000s at the previous Dripping Springs Middle School, then moved to the Dripping Springs High School and finally landed at the Dripping Springs Ranch Park and Event Center.
“We expect this year to probably serve about 800 people and we have chairs for 900,” said De Winne.
The fundraising part of the event is kicked off with an auction during dinner. At that time, the professional auctioneer will be auctioning off high price items, with all the proceeds going to the charities and organizations sponsored by the dinner.
The total funds raised last year were approximately $120,000, according to De Winne.
“Each year, we pick a primary beneficiary for what we call ‘paddles up’ and that's part of the auction where the auctioneer will introduce some people from this [chosen] organization and then they'll talk a little bit about their mission. [Then] the auctioneer will ask the audience, ‘Who would like to donate x?’ And then, they will raise their paddles,” he explained.
This year's “paddles up” beneficiary is Patriots’ Hall in Dripping Springs. According to De Winne, the facility is a “phenomenal retreat that was built to support and help integrate veterans coming off deployment and coming back into the workforce … As the chairman, it was my privilege to nominate Patriots’ Hall as our paddles up beneficiary.”
When the live auction is not ongoing, live music will be played by Jillian Hudson, a local up-andcoming artist.
“You're going to get a full meal, plus [entertainment], including dessert for $25,” said De Winne.
As mentioned by its name, most of the dishes served are made with wild game: “It's been called the Wild Game Dinner forever and some people are scared away by that,” said De Winne. “We have brisket and turkey and sausage and traditional type barbecue. But then, we also [have] exotic, white tailed deer, very plentiful.
This year, we have a cape buffalo or I think it might also be a water buffalo. We have axis deer; we have red deer. We might have an alligator [and] we have a scimitar… Then, [there’s also] all kinds of sides — ranch-baked beans, cream corn — and a whole table full of desserts.”
De Winne emphasized that all of the hunting that supports the Wild Game Dinner is done very intentionally.
“It's done environmentally conscious because of land management. It's much more fit and friendly to the ecosystem if we are managing some of these wild populations of wild game, as opposed to starvation and drought, which can be very detrimental to those populations,” said De Winne.
The Wild Game Dinner is volunteer-run, with many from the Dripping Springs Methodist Church, where the dinner originated.
“We have a core of about 25 volunteers, but the day of the event, we’ll probably have close to 50 or 75 volunteers between the [Methodist] Church and [Dripping Springs] Ranch Park,” said De Winne.
“Friday is the prep day; the day before [the event] we do all the prep work and the meat cutting and the sausage making. They start smoking it all evening long. Then Saturday, it's a beehive of activity at Ranch Park.”.
The Dripping Springs Wild Game Dinner will be held from 6-9 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Dripping Springs Ranch Park & Event Center, located at 1042 Event Center Drive. Doors open at 5 p.m. to allow for viewing of the silent auction. Tickets will be sold online prior to the event, as well as at the door. Tickets for ages 16 and up are $25, $15 for kids between ages six and 15, while children five and under are free.
“I would just challenge our community: try it once. I don’t think you’d be disappointed,” De Winne concluded.
The Wild Game Dinner is always looking for more volunteers to serve and help with the event. To learn more about the event or how to volunteer, visit bit.ly/4hjxbu0.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The Dripping Springs Wild Game Dinner will be held from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at the Dripping Springs Ranch Park & Event Center, located at 1042 Event Center Drive.
Pictured, guests mingle at the 2024 event, where the organization raised approximately $120,000 during the course of the night.
