BAYVIEW – Attendees of the Ninth Annual Mango Festival will have a chance to try 80 different varieties of mangos this Saturday in Bayview. Katy Paycheck and her husband, Ed Paycheck, owners of River’s End Nursery, started the festival.

“We went to Fairchild’s Tropical Gardens in Florida years ago, and they have an international mango festival that we attended and it was an incredible experience,” Katy Paycheck said. They decided to borrow the idea of the festival and bring it home.

“I’ve always had a thing for gardening and it just kind of got out of control,” Ed Paycheck said.

The couple has grown many rows of mango trees in their orchard. They came up with a special way to keep pests away by covering each with a mesh bag.

“They look like little presents, don’t they? This is a way of keeping the birds and others critters off the fruit,” Katy Paycheck said.

With all the varieties of mangos on their property, it is no surprise that it benefits someone attending the festival. Those that attend can sample all 80 mango types as long as the supply lasts. Anyone at the event will be able to vote for their favorites.

The weather can sometimes be a problem with the festival in the South Texas region.

“When we decided to do the nursery and the mango festival we knew that would be a problem,” said Ed Paycheck, “but so far it’s working out.”

The heat can also affect the number of attendees at the festival.

“Unfortunately, mango season is the hottest time of the year. That’s the toughest part of our event because it’s so hot. That’s why we only have it in the morning. It starts from 9 to 1,” Katy Paycheck said.

The heat has not stopped Valley residents from discovering the festival for themselves the past few years. Katy Paycheck said, “Every year it’s grown a little more. Last year we had over 900 people in attendance.”

The Ninth Mango Festival takes place Saturday, July 15 at 9 a.m. There will be a $10 admission fee.