Time for Those Magical, Mystical Rice Balls!

By Gloria Way

  We have waited a whole year, and the wait will have been worth it! This past weekend hundreds of volunteers gathered at the parish hall at St. Louis Catholic Church to prepare over 16,000 rice balls to be sold at the Texas Rice Festival (TRF) this weekend.

  The rice ball has been the signature dish at the TRF since its inception in 1969. It consists of a rice mixture with cheese rolled around a ball of seasoned beef. The beef is the center of the rice ball. After the rice ball is rolled up, it is breaded, then fried to perfection.

  Monica and Scott Jones have volunteered for years to organize this tremendous undertaking. Monica said, “We do this all in one weekend. We want to make sure that the rice balls are fresh for everyone to enjoy at the festival.” Scott agreed. “We started cooking the rice at 4am this morning. We cannot thank the members and volunteers of St. Louis Catholic Church enough. Everyone shows up and works hard.”

  Volunteer Tammy Gilfillian stated, “Our church youth have really turned out for this project. We thank them and everyone who makes over 16,000 rice balls possible.”

  The St Louis Catholic Church rice ball stand is located on the west side of Lilton Sonnier Parkway just north of the TRF main stage. The cost is $5/ball. Proceeds benefit the mission of St. Louis Catholic Church.