February means Mardi Gras parades, Valentine’s getaways, and hints of spring
Head scratcher. For the reason that late Nineties, three Easter Island Heads have mysteriously watched over the Zac Lentz Parkway (Loop 463) within the northeastern nook of Victoria. It seems the replicas of the moai, the islanders’ phrase for the heads, had been constructed and put there by Alvin T. Dincans, an area rancher and plumber who handed away final yr on the age of 87. Principally, he did it for the enjoyable of it and to see if he might. He finally made 15 of his 7-ton, 13-foot “concreations.” One was donated to Riverside Park in Victoria and positioned on the intersection of Memorial Drive and McCright Drive. The opposite concrete statues are on property he owned in Seadrift and on his ranch exterior of Victoria. Alvin did his homework on the Polynesian statues that common twice the dimensions of his statues. He even copied the markings of a ship on their chest from the originals.
These will not be Texas’s solely Easter Island statues. There are two pseudo moai in Ingram on the Hill Nation Arts Basis. One is carrying a sombrero or possibly it’s a pukao.
Easter Island Heads, Victoria, northbound frontage highway of Loop 463, south of Jung Tile & Granite, 5208 NE Zac Lentz Pky., free.
The Burnt Bean Firm in Seguin landed on the James Beard Awards checklist for the second time. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
Bon appétit. Congratulations to the 19 Texas eating places and cooks (plus one other 20 within the Greatest Chef: Texas class) chosen as semifinalists within the 2024 James Beard Awards final month. When you think about the a whole bunch of 1000’s of eating places across the nation, simply being a semifinalist is sort of an honor. Among the many checklist of Excellent Cooks had been David Kirkland and Ernest Servantes of Burnt Bean Firm of Seguin. It’s at all times nice to see conventional Texas barbecue get the nationwide credit score that it so justly deserves.
This isn’t the primary time Kirkland and Servantes have appeared on the James Beard checklist since opening in 2020 in a retailer entrance throughout the road from the Guadalupe County Courthouse. In 2021 they had been proclaimed fourth finest barbecue joint in the whole state by Texas Month-to-month.
Servantes honed his smoked-meat chops on the barbecue cookoff circuit. Within the aggressive world of Texas barbecue, pitmaster Kelli Nevarez on the award-winning LaVaca BBQ has credited him with being a mentor. The corporate’s identify comes from when a buddy, sarcastically joked, “you’re in all probability going to burn the beans.”
The James Beard Awards have acknowledged the very best in American meals tradition since 1990. Winners might be introduced on June 10 in Chicago. For daytrippers, the checklist of semifinalists is a culinary highway map to locations to take a look at across the state and nation.
Burnt Bean Barbecue Co., 108 S. Austin, Seguin, Thur.-Sat. 11am-3pm, Solar. 8am-2pm, www.burntbeanco.com.
Journey Notes:
Should you can’t make it to Valentine, Texas, to place a love lock on the fence, have your Valentine’s Day card postmarked from there. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
From Valentine, TX, with love. Every Valentine’s Day the postmaster receives a whole bunch of requests to have their valentine postmarked from Valentine, Texas. To have your valentine despatched from Valentine, place your card in an envelope pre-stamped and addressed to your particular somebody. Place this in one other envelope and mail it to: Valentine’s Day Postmark, Postmaster, 311 W California Ave, Valentine, TX 79854-9998. The postmaster will mark your envelope with a particular postmark from Valentine, TX. With the intention to be sure greeting playing cards obtain the particular postmark and are delivered in time for Valentine’s Day, requests ought to be despatched to the deal with above by Feb. 5. There is no such thing as a added cost for requesting as much as 50 Valentine, TX, pictorial postmark cancellations.
Underground artwork. A brand new site-specific media and sound set up by artist Rachel Rossin involves the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern on Feb. 2 and stays till Nov. 2. In a journey across the Cistern, characters, and symbols will seem on LED hologram screens, whereas kinetic options and lighting increase the structure of the area and play upon the water’s reflective floor. Taking key inspiration from sources together with the traditional youngsters’s story, The Velveteen Rabbit, the work will take viewers on a journey that questions each the true and the imagined.
No present. The College of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) has discontinued public excursions on the Amos Rehabilitation Hold (ARK) in Port Aransas. The abrupt halt to the excursions was as a consequence of a change in allow insurance policies applied by the U.S. Division of Agriculture for captive species enclosures for birds. The ARK amenities have rehabilitated sick and injured birds and sea turtles since 1999. Excursions of the power, which started in 2021, gave the general public a behind-the-scenes take a look at the animal rescues that always started with notification from beachgoers. The ARK will proceed its essential mission of rescuing and rehabilitating birds, sea turtles, terrestrial turtles, and tortoises from Mustang and San Jose islands, in keeping with a press launch. A minimum of 270 cold-stunned sea turtles had been delivered to the ARK through the January chilly snap. The turtles had been launched as they recuperated and the water temperature rose above 50 levels. UTMSI presents different public education schemes on the Patton Heart for Marine Science Training and Wetland Training Heart in Port Aransas and the Bay Training Heart in Rockport.
On the transfer. A number of research have proven that African Individuals make up a small proportion of tourists to nationwide and state parks. That’s why it was information in 2021, when Outbound Collective, an outdoor group, claimed that Slim Pickens Outfitters in Stephenville was the one Black-owned outside recreation retailer within the nation. Jahmicah and Heather Dawes opened the store in a former Rexall Drug Retailer in town sq. in 2017. Final month they introduced they’re shifting the operation to Mingus in mid-February. The brand new store might be subsequent to the historic Smokestack Restaurant on I-20. It’ll even be simply up the highway from the brand new Palo Pinto Mountains State Park exterior of Strawn which is scheduled to open later this yr. Mingus is throughout the freeway from the ghost city of Thurber, the positioning of the W.Ok. Gordon Heart for Industrial Historical past of Texas. Till 1931, Thurber was well-known for making bricks that had been used across the state, together with paving Congress Avenue in Austin.
Eat Extra BBQ in 2024. Low cost tickets are on sale for eleventh Annual Houston Barbecue Pageant on April 14 within the Humble Civic Heart Enviornment. I point out this three months prematurely of the occasion as a result of, if I wait till April, the tickets could also be bought out. With greater than 30 pitmasters in attendance, this pageant outgrew the beer corridor at Saint Arnold Brewery. The cooks might be handing out a combination of tried-and-true smoked meats and experimental recipes.
Different February Occasions:
Soar to a area: Huge Bend | Gulf Coast | Hill Nation | Panhandle | Piney Woods | Prairies & Lakes | South Texas | Out of State
BIG BEND
Watch the rock climbers at Hueco Tanks State Park. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
Lone Star Cowboy Poetry Gathering
Feb. 15, Alpine, www.lonestarcowboypoetry.com
Hueco Rock Rodeo
Feb. 16-18, El Paso, americanalpineclub.org/huecorockrodeo
Valentine’s in Valentine
Feb. 17, Valentine, www.valentineinvalentinetx.com
GULF COAST
Galveston welcomes everybody to the annual Mardi Gras celebration. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
Radiant Nature: See the Backyard Glow
By way of Feb. 25, Houston, www.hbg.org
Mardi Gras! Galveston
Feb. 2-13, Galveston, www.mardigrasgalveston.com
Mardi Gras SETX
Feb. 8-11, Beaumont, www.mardigrastx.com
Pardi Gras
Feb. 10, Aransas Go, www.aransaspass.org
Barefoot Mardi Gras
Feb. 10, Corpus Christi, www.barefootmardigras.com
Rice College Strolling Tour
Feb. 10, Houston, aiahouston.org/v/event-detail/Rice-College-Strolling-Tour/29q
Clay Expo and Bountiful Bowl
Feb. 10-11, Rockport, www.rockportartcenter.com
Crowning the North: Silver Treasures from Bergen, Norway
Feb. 11-Might 5, Houston, www.mfah.org
Hen Banding
Feb. 17, Lake Jackson, www.gcbo.org
All types of shore birds might be on show on the Whooping Crane Pageant in Port Aransas. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
Whooping Crane Pageant
Feb. 22-25, Port Aransas, www.portaransas.org/whooping-crane-festival
Dive Into the Gulf Exposition
Feb. 23-25, Galveston, www.moodygardens.com/dive-expo
Houston Livestock Present and Rodeo
Feb. 27–March 17, Houston, www.rodeohouston.com
Charro Days
Feb. 29-March 2, Brownsville, www.charrodaysfiesta.com
HILL COUNTRY
Carnaval Brasileiro
Feb. 3, Austin, www.sambaparty.com
Previous Gillespie Jail Tour
Feb. 3, Fredericksburg, www.pioneermuseum.org
Kerrville Renaissance Pageant
Feb. 3-4, Kerrville, www.kerrvillerenfest.com
Hill Nation Wine Symposium
Feb. 5-7, Horseshoe Bay, texashillcountrywineries.org
Dwelling Historical past
Feb. 10, New Braunfels, texashandmadefurniture.com/livinghistory
Valentine’s Farm to Desk Balloon Expertise
Feb. 10, Fredericksburg, thebestoftexas.org
Come and Style It
Feb. 15, Gruene, www.grapevineingruene.com
Suzanna’s Kitchen Coffeehouse Concert events
Feb. 15, Wimberley, www.wimberleyumc.com
Strive a bowl of crimson on the Castell Retailer Chili Cook dinner-off. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
Castell Retailer Chili Cook dinner-off
Feb. 17, Castell, www.fb.com/teams/142869584063
U.T. Trombone Choir in Live performance
Feb. 18, Fredericksburg, www.fredericksburgmusicclub.com
Texas Testicle Pageant
Feb. 24, Fredericksburg, thebestoftexas.org
PYO Tulips
Late Feb. (relying on climate), Marble Falls, sweetberryfarm.com/index.html
PANHANDLE
Keep in mind Lubbock’s native son on the Day the Music Died. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
N.C. Wyeth and the Golden Age of American Illustration
By way of March 31, San Angelo, www.samfa.org
The Day the Music Died
Feb. 3, Lubbock, ci.lubbock.tx.us/departments/buddy-holly-center/occasions
Buffalo Soldier Heritage Day
Feb. 25, San Angelo, www.fortconcho.com
PINEY WOODS
Winter Fantasy Faire at Faire of Champions
By way of Feb.11, Palestine, www.faireofchampions.com
Helen Lee’s Daffodil Backyard
Mid-Feb.-March, Tyler, www.fb.com/profile.php?id=100083016203161
Jail Metropolis Movie Pageant
Feb. 23-March 2, Huntsville, www.prisoncityfilmfestival.com
PRAIRIES & LAKES
Dinosaurs Dwell!
By way of Feb. 19, McKinney, www.heardmuseum.org
Central Monitor: Crossroads of Deep Ellum
By way of Might 31, Dallas, aamdallas.org
Lunar New Yr
Feb. 2-4, 10-11, Grand Prairie, www.asiatimessquare.com
Pearl Texas Bluegrass Jam
Feb. 3, Gatesville, www.pearlbluegrassjam.org
First Saturday Service Day
Feb. 4, Bastrop, pplt.org/occasions
Black Historical past Month Particular Occasions
Feb. 4-23, Dallas, www.aamdallas.org
Czech Pageant
Feb. 17, Ennis, www.ennisczechmusicfestival.com
Gemboree
Feb. 17-18, Georgetown, www.wcgms.org/gemboree.html
Nationwide Margarita Day
Feb. 22, Dallas, www.visitdallas.com/food-drink/margarita-mile
Texas Fly Fishing and Brew Pageant
Feb. 24-25, Mesquite, www.txflyfishingfestival.org
Dallas Blooms
Feb. 24-April 8, Dallas, www.dallasarboretum.org/events-activities/dallas-blooms
SOUTH TEXAS
The San Antonio River Stroll hosts Mardi Gras river parades. (Picture by Gerald E. McLeod)
Washington’s Birthday Celebration
By way of March 2, Laredo, www.wbcalaredo.org
Birding Pageant
Feb. 7-10, Laredo, www.laredobirdingfestival.org
San Antonio Inventory Present and Rodeo
Feb. 8-25, San Antonio, www.sarodeo.com
Mardi Gras Celebration and River Parades
Feb. 10, San Antonio, www.thesanantonioriverwalk.com
Jalapeno Pageant
Feb. 17, Laredo, www.jalapenofestival.org
OUT OF STATE
Chocolate Fantasia, XOCLATL: Mayan Chocolate
Feb. 10, Silver Metropolis, NM, www.chocolatefantasia.org
2024 Kentucky Bourbon Traditional
Feb. 21-24, Louisville, www.bourbonclassic.com
Gerald McLeod has been touring round Texas and past for his “Day Journeys” column for greater than 25 years. Hold updated together with his journeys on his archive web page and comply with him on Fb.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.