Luckenbach's 161th Birthday

Birthday celebration and Memorial Weekend in the world famous Texas town of Luckenbach.

Business Owners' Breakfast - 5/27

Celebrating National Small Business Week, please join Chase Bank, 150 East Main, Thursday from 7:30-9 am for coffee, juice, and breakfast to mix and mingle with other Business Owners.

Military Blood Drive - 5/26-27

Memorial Day MILITARY BLOOD DRIVE - for Fredericksburg area and community. We will also be supporting our own local National Guard Unit (E Co., 536th Brigade Support Battalion) who are currently deployed to Iraq. Did you know that if the military runs short of blood, they have to purchase it at retail rates? FISD is joining hands with our community to Support Our Troops with The Ultimate Care Package, life saving blood. Walk-ins are welcomed but if you want to schedule a specific time to donate, please go to: www.militarydonor.com and search by zip code 78624. Remember one donation can save up to 3 lives. Homemade cookies are served here, plus receive a great military blood donor T-shirt. You must be at least 17 with parental consent, or older. If you cannot donate blood, but still want to participate, we also will be collecting durable goods at the post office to send to our troops in Iraq. For more information about this or what can be shipped, call Molly Sagebiel 830-997-7797 or go to http://www.westendpizzacompany.com/FBG_Deployed_Soldiers.html for a list of items.

Book Signing at National Museum of the Pacific War - May 31

The afternoon of Memorial Day, May 31, at 2 pm at the National Museum of the Pacific War, author Bruce Gamble will be here with his new book, Fortress Rabaul: The Battle for the Southwest Pacific, January 1942-April 1943. Rabaul was the headquarters for the Japanese Imperial Forces in the Southwest Pacific as well as the target for hundreds of missions by the American air forces.

Ducks Unlimited Raffle - 5/25

Ducks Unlimited is a conservation organization that is focused on preservation of our nation's wetlands, which are threatened by development and modern farming practices. We're having our first event - a raffle night at the Fredericksburg Social Turn Verein, 103 W. Travis Street - to raise money for DU. Food and beverages will be provided. Tickets are $20, and each person purchasing a ticket will get a free membership to DU, which is a value of $25. The event is geared to be family friendly, and kids under 12 get in free and receive a free membership to DU's youth club. The raffle includes several guns, including shotguns, rifles and pistols, as well as a variety of wildlife and outdoor art. Due to our location, the raffle will include items that would appeal to non-waterfowl enthusiasts. For tickets, please call Eric Parker at 830/990-2221 or Todd Willingham at 830/997-7693.

GCFFA Appreciation BBQ - 5/22

Gillespie County Fair Association Appreciation BBQ, at the Fairgrounds on Highway 16 South in Fredericksburg. Call (830) 997-2359 for details.

Roots concert features Bluegrass/Newgrass - 5/22

Rockin' Acoustic Circus headlines an evening of newgrass and bluegrass music coming to the Pioneer Museum in Fredericksburg on May 22, 2010 for the first of the season’s five Roots Music concerts.

All three acts are performing for the first time in the hill country. Rockin’ Acoustic Circus comes in from Tulsa for its only Texas show to play a fresh blend of bluegrass inspired by classical, folk, jazz, and country. All except one member are ages 15 to 17, but the group includes several champion pickers and even a “bluegrass cellist” for a new sound and style. The band features strong vocal harmonies and high-energy picking.

The other two acts offer more traditional bluegrass sounds. Christy and the Plowboys start off the evening with old-time, country, and hillbilly music. Their repertoire includes some gospel, blues, rags, and string-band arrangements.

Live Music

Volunteer Mixer for the Former Texas Rangers - 5/18

Interested in helping out at an upcoming fund-raiser for the Former Texas Rangers Foundation (FTRF)? The public is invited to join members of the FTRF at a Volunteer Mixer at the Inn on Barons Creek Spa & Conference Center, 308 S. Washington Street, tomorrow from 5:30 - 7 pm. Food, drinks and door prizes will be available. The FTRF is looking for volunteers to serve on its event committee for its annual fund-raiser, Silver Stars & Six Guns, A Gathering of Friends of the Texas Rangers, scheduled for October 9 in Fredericksburg. To attend the mixer, please RSVP to 1-888-766-4055 or erinh@ktc.com.

Fredericksburg Salutes Our Wounded Warriors - 5/15

Fredericksburg Morning Rotary Club, the Nimitz Museum, Rockbox Theater and a number of local restaurants will host wounded service personnel and their families for a day of rest and relaxation in the Hill Country. The honorees will be bused to Fredericksburg from Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Ft. Hood in Killeen, and Audie Murphy in San Antonio for a day of shopping, dining, and a show at Rockbox Theater. The event, called Wounded Warriors, reaches out to the military men and women currently residing at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, a premier facility for military medical procedures. Arriving by bus mid-morning, the servicemen and women and their families are greeted upon arrival at the MarketPlatz in Fredericksburg by a crowd of patriotic supporters. Following lunch and shopping along Main Street, the group will attend the Saturday 4:30 matinee at Rockbox Theater. Tickets to the Wounded Warriors Rockbox show can be purchased by calling the Rockbox Theater ticket office at (866)349-6688. For more information on FSOWW, please visit www.fsoww.org.

San Antonio Opera Benefit - 5/15

Fredericksburg residents Charles and Rebecca Trois have opened their home on RR 965 to host a benefit in support of the San Antonio Opera this Saturday, May 15 from 6:00-9:00 p.m., entitled Opera Enchantment at the Trois Estate. This special evening will include a reception and dinner, live auction, and wines by Serendipity Wine Imports, and will feature a 45-minute opera program by San Antonio’s 3 Tenors and by the new all-female group, Stiletto. Tables are available for $1500 and individual tickets may be purchased for $150 each. Attendees will receive with their tickets an orchestra ticket for the opera Rigoletto by Verdi (a $72 value) to be performed June 18, 19 and 20th in San Antonio at the Municipal Auditorium. (Table purchases will include 10 tickets.) To lend your support to this fund-raising effort, call the San Antonio Opera box office at 210-225-5972.

Hill Country SPCA Dog Trot - 5/14

This year's Dog Trot is all about the runners/walkers - but will still benefit the animals of the Hill Country SPCA, 2981 Highway 16 South . In an effort to protect our furry friends from undue heat stress, the Dog Trot will not allow dogs to run or walk this year. However, for you and your pets, we will have Dogtoberfest in October when the weather is more hospitable. ***THIS EVENT WILL BE CHIP TIMED*** Registration: $25 per person before May 5, 2010; $30 thereafter or $35 on race day Day of race registration opens at 7:30am. Register online at: www.getfittrisports.com or www.hillcountryspca.com or print the Registration form and mail it to: Hill Country Racing, 251 West Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX 78624.

Hill Country Wine and Music Fest - 5/15

The Hill Country Wine and Music Festival, pairing great Texas wine and food with music, premieres this Saturday, May 15 at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds in Fredericksburg. Enjoy a day of tasting wines from Texas wineries and listening to live music. Area restaurants will be on hand to share samples and to offer free cooking demonstrations. A portion of the proceeds from this event, sponsored by Torre di Pietra Vineyards and with assistance from the Texas Department of Agriculture GO TEXAN program, will go to the proposed Texas Center for Wine and Culinary Arts in Fredericksburg and to area school art enhancement programs. Advance tickets for $25 are available online. Follow the festival on Facebook for information.

Highway 290 East Road Construction

Hwy 290 East is currently undergoing bridge construction over the Pedernales River and motorists are cautioned to take special care as the road in this area narrows to two lanes. There’s lots to see that way (Wildseed Farms, wineries, LBJ Parks, etc.), so please be careful.

FMC Presents Kay and Friends - 5/16

The Fredericksburg Music Club will present Kay and Friends, an instrumental ensemble concert this Sunday, May 16 at 3:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church at 1800 N. Llano St. in Fredericksburg. There’s no admission charge but donations are appreciated.

Albert Dancehall Grand Opening - 5/8

The Easley's will host the Albert Dance Hall Grand Opening Concert featuring Abilene-based country music artist Aaron Watson, who just released his eighth album, Angels & Outlaws. Doors open at 7 p.m. Advance tickets are $20 through Front Gate Tickets: www.frontgatetickets.com; tickets will also be available at the door. The Easley family, led by Ed and Connie Easley and their son Brandon (elected as Town Manager), bought Albert as a fun family project, to rejuvenate its tradition of Texas hospitality for locals and Hill Country travelers, to renovate the property as a must-see destination and venue for reunions, rallies, corporate retreats and the like, and to care for and share the beauty of its pecan trees and ancient live oaks, stands of Texas wildflowers, and ever-flowing Williams Creek. Already a popular gathering spot, Albert Ice House is enjoying extended spring/summer hours, lots of live music and barbecue by Riley's BBQ of Blanco. The bar area has been expanded and Texas Star bar stools added. Outside, the patio/beer garden deck and its picnic tables, shaded by two massive 500-year-old live oaks, have been repaired and refinished; a stone fire pit built; the parking lot expanded and Iron Horse Corral (for bikers' rides) added; and the bathrooms glammed up. Albert, founded in 1892, 20 miles east of Fredericksburg, had a general store, a school that a young LBJ would attend and a post office. Despite efforts by descendants of the first residents, it had lost most of its population and a series of owner-caretakers and the school had been converted into the community center by the time the Easley family took the reins in fall 2009. The Dance Hall's grand reopening points to a future the Easley's envision, in their words, "a special place where friends and family gather and experience the simple pleasures and traditions that make the Texas Hill Country special."

Artisans at Rocky Hill Presents "His, Hers and Possibly Yours" - 5/7-22

Artisans at Rocky Hill proudly presents The Art of Tom and Maryneil Dance, "His, Hers and Possibly Yours". The presentation of Tom and Maryneil's latest works will be for sale and on display through Saturday, May 22nd. Tom and Maryneil will be in attendance on Saturday, May 8th for demonstrations from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm. Tom and Maryneil Dance met twelve years ago working on the same job. She an Interior Designer and he an Architect. After finishing the project in East Texas they both decided there was more to their relationship than the common thread of their life work. She had always loved the Hill Country and had a furniture store and design studio in Dallas called The Hill Country Experience. He had an architecture practice in Dallas for 32 years and was looking to slow down in the quite hill country. He had moved to Fredericksburg but had not yet been able to break his architectural ties to Dallas. With the help of their horses, longhorns, and donkies, the two were able to close the door on Big D and start a new life together in the beautiful hill country. It was painting that helped draw them together. Maryneil had studied and painted in the summers in Hunt. Tom found New Mexico and Santa Fee a place to develop and sell his art. As the two merged their talent, a new direction came forth. Maryneil began to paint animals and Tom found pleasure in the rural landscape. Both lean on each other for advice and critique as their paintings evolve. Both are members of the Die Kunstler Von Fredericksburg (The Artists of Fredericksburg). Maryneil won People's Choice and Artists Choice last year at their annual show and Tom serves as president. Their new life in the hills is now 10+ years old, and the paintings just keep coming. "There is a painting ready to happen just around the bend of the road". Artisans at Rocky Hill is located at 234 West Main St. next door to West End Pizza in Fredericksburg.

Walking tour - 117 West San Antonio – Old Gillespie County Jail

Turn left on Crockett street, then turn left on San Antonio Street.

117 West San Antonio – Old Gillespie County Jail

In 1852, the Gillespie County Commissioners authorized construction of the first jail. It was to be 18 by 18 feet wide, with an 8 foot high, two foot thick wall. It was built near where City Hall stands today, on the corner of North Orange and Main Street. The county's first courthouse was across the street where the old Post Office stands today. But this first jail was not well built, and after a couple of escapes, the second jail was authorized in 1859, and built by Ludwig Schmidt behind the Court House, about where Nimitz Parkway runs. The third jail was built in 1874 on the South Side of the Courthouse. At daybreak January 7, 1885, fire broke out in the jail and a prisoner named William Allison, indicted for the 1884 murder of John Braeutigam, lost his life. According to once source, Allison set the fire himself, hoping to burn his way out of jail, but the fire got out of control.

By this time, the second courthouse, the McDermott building, had been constructed, and the Commissioners authorized a fourth jail to be built by C. F. Priess and Bro. for almost $10,000 on the townlot originally granted to Justus Herber. The contract called for the jail to be 25 feet wide, 35 feet deep, and 20-22 feet high with two stories. The contract also called for “waterclosets, privy, sinks, wash sinks, water tank,” etc., and bids were advertised in the San Antonio Express, Austin Statesman and Friederichsburger Wochenblatt.

The jail was finished in December 1885. Downstairs is a lockup, and jailer’s quarters. The lockup later was used as a women’s cell. Iron steps lead to the upper floor. On the east wall of the second floor are two steel cells, each with a crude lavatory and commode, and at one time steel cots were riveted into the walls. Going through a solid steel door, one reached the back room, or maximum security. Two cells stand in the center of the room with a “run around” around them where prisoners could get exercise. The only heat for the upper floor was a wood heater in the corner of the back room. Prisoners in the front cells were often moved to the back cells in extremely cold weather.

John Dietz built the wall surrounding the jail, complete with glass topping the walls, a crude but effective way to keep prisoners from scaling the wall, and often seen in Mexico.

When the current courthouse with its upstairs jails were built in 1939, the jail was converted into living quarters for William Heimann, the custodian of the new building, and his wife. When they moved out, the building was used for storage. In the late 1970s, Fredericksburg Heritage Foundation funds, matched by Texas Historical Commission dollars, restored the old jail. The sheriff’s office and kitchen are authentically furnished, as are the sheriff’s living quarters. Graffiti decades old still mars the cell walls upstairs.

The building is locked, but the wrought iron gate to the jailyard is kept unlocked so that visitors may examine the building’s exterior. The building is open for tours every year for the Candlelight Tour of Homes, held the second weekend in December.

Chorale Spring Concert - 5/6-7

Enjoy two nights of chorale music welcoming Spring time. Fredericksburg Chorale presents Hayden's "The Creation" in the Nimitz Ballroom at theAdmiral Nimitz Foundation and the National Museum of the Pacific War Nimitz Ballroom at 7 pm. Admission is by donation. Please call 830/997-6869 for more information.

Texas Stampede Art Show and Sale at InSight Gallery - 4/16 to 5/8

Thirty invited artists will present new works in a show at InSight Gallery, 244 West Main Street. If you love Western Art, you won't want to miss this incredible display of over 30 new works by three talented artists. Teresa Elliott, John Fawcett and Bruce Greene, CA will be the focus of InSight Gallery's April Showcase. Working in a variety of medium and styles, each artist has a deep connection with their subject that is evident on the canvas or in the clay. Teresa Elliott is known for her intimate portraits of longhorns with a modern edge. Her paintings have a characteristic sky with a moody feel. Her recent honors include the People's Choice award at the 2009 and 2010 Coors Western Art Show and Sale, The Best in Show at the 2009 Night Of Artists at the Briscoe Western Museum and the Artist's Choice award at the 2008 Cowgirl Up! event. John Fawcett is fresh off of his win at the Autry show in LA for best in show in watercolor. Fawcett started out painting mainly in watercolor but has introduced oils to his repertoire. "It depends on the subject matter and what medium I feel like painting with at the time." There is a certain softness and fluidness with watercolors, while oils provide rich color and textures and a buttery feeling." Mr. Fawcett will have 10 paintings available for the showcase in both oil and watercolor. Bruce Greene, CA is no stranger to the Western Art World. Greene has been a member of the prestigious Cowboy Artists of America since 1993 and a perennial favorite at the Prix de West Invitational Show. Greene will have an impressive display of work available for the showcase his both bronze work and paintings totaling 15 pieces. The April Showcase runs from April 16 - May 8 with an all artists in attendance for the artist reception on May 1. Pre-sale begins Monday, April 12th with most pieces going by draw.

Mother's Day at Becker Vineyards - 5/9

Honor your Mother in the beautiful setting of the Lavender Haus at Becker Vineyards on Mother's Day. Enjoy a 3-course lunch catered by Spice of Life and paired with Becker Vineyard wines. Cost is $60 per person. Reservations are required. Call (830) 644-2681 for information.

Alpaca Show - 5/7

This event is an alpaca composite show at the Gillespie County Fairgrounds, on Highway 16 South. Composite means the animals will be sheared prior to the show. The judge will judge the fleece separately from the animal. The 4H youth will be involved in showing of the animals. There will be vendors of alpaca related products, fiber arts and fiber processing demonstrations will be present. Other vendors include will be jewelry, tractor equipment, clothing and more. Hours are Friday & Saturday 9:00am - 4:00pm, Sunday 9:00am - noon.

Outdoor Family Learning at Enchanted Rock - 5/8-9

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will continue its Texas Outdoor Family learning session next Saturday and Sunday at the Enchanted Rock State Natural Area on FM 965. Families will receive hand-on experience learning basic outdoor skills. Cost is $55 per family (up to six individuals). Cost does not include food. To learn more about this fun family camping experience, call 512-389-8903.