In the heart of the industrialized southeast of Texas along the banks of the historic Neches River, Port Neches has grown from a sleepy orange and rice community to a 21st century hive of industrial activity. In Port Neches it is said people work, live hard, sleep hard, and have a good time in-between.

In May, the community and visitors to this community just southeast of Beaumont will all gather at the river - that's the historic Neches River which gave the community its birth - to celebrate life in southeast Texas and to witness the daring and death-defying spectacle on the water, the Port Neches Tunnel Boat races.

For long, since the invention of steam, man has desired speed!  The will to go faster and faster has given birth to the automobile and soon after the race car. Locomotives were getting faster, but not fast enough, so man took to the air in search of discovery, adventure and speed. From airplanes to jets to rockets, men are still trying to go faster, and the tunnel boat design boats of modern tunnel boat racing are nothing more or less than a step nearer the goal of going as fast as life and limb will allow. Sometimes a little faster.

Tunnel boats are the evolution of boat designers who having been trying to make water craft go faster since the Vikings rowed the North Atlantic (the faster the boat the less time on the frigid water!). These sleek, hi-tech craft are generally custom made by the driver and their team and fly across the water looking more like mini space shuttles than water craft. Call it the NASCAR of the boating world, but tunnel boat drivers and spectators have managed to grow the sport into a national spectacle and has garnered the attention of auto racing fans from the east coast to the West.

The Port Neches RiverFest offers four days of fun on the River for a celebration of  the beauty of Southeast Texas. The festival happens on the banks of the Neches River at the waterfront park in Port Neches. In addition to a regional carnival, there will plenty of live entertainment and special shows designed to entertain all ages. Throughout the event, the  "Thunder on the Neches" Tunnel Boat Races take place, enthralling the gathered crowd who cheer on their favorite boat and driver (pilot? captain?).

For more information about the RiverFest, call the Port Neches Chamber of Commerce, (409)722-9154.