The Bard is Back
"As You Like It" and "Othello" are atop the bill for the 34th Texas Shakespeare Festival beginning Thursday at Kilgore College. Read More »
Seeking Solitude, an East Texas Native Discovers an Island of Indelible Characters
When I moved away from the Piney Woods, my old canoe stayed behind. Years passed before I came back to fetch it ... Read More »
A Refurbished Baker Hotel Signals a New Beginning in Mineral Wells
The venerable but long-vacated Baker Hotel, which opened in Mineral Wells in 1929 and once hosted personalities such as Judy Garland, Clark Gable, and president Lyndon Johnson, is poised to surge back to life under a newly announced $65 million renovation slated for completion in 2022. Read More »
Horse Racing, Ferris Wheels, Dancing—Find it All at the Gillespie County Fair in Fredericksburg
The fairgrounds draw horse racing fans from El Paso to Beaumont and Amarillo to McAllen. “People like watching the races here because they can get so close to the track,” says Billy Roeder, who recently retired after 28 years as a Gillespie County commissioner. Read More »
50 Years After JFK’s Moonshot, Historian Douglas Brinkley Recounts Its Lasting Influence on Texas
Rice University professor of history, CNN presidential historian, and perennial bestselling author Douglas Brinkley takes us to the moon this summer with his newest book, American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race. Released in time for the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in July 1969, Brinkley’s historical page-turner brings to life the personalities and interplaying forces that made this American triumph possible. Read More »
San Antonio’s Juneteenth Educates Future Generations
Texans are celebrating Juneteenth with events across the state this week, including today’s state government holiday. Read More »
Hopscotch, An Immersive Art Exhibit, Announces Permanent San Antonio Space
Taking over 18,000-square-feet and two stories of Travis Park Plaza in the downtown area, Hopscotch features rooms that will house anything from light installations and adult playscapes to experimental architecture and gamified environments. It’s set to open late 2019/early 2020. Read More »
Hitch a Ride on the Texas State Railroad from Rusk To Palestine
Join Amberly, Rich, and Luke as they head to the Piney Woods of East Texas in the June edition of "A Piece of Texas". Read More »
How Sweden-born Artist Kent Ullberg Found His Muse Along the Texas Gulf Coast
Kent Ullberg’s bronze sculptures dot the landscape across Texas—a giant bison in Corpus Christi, a cougar on the hunt in San Antonio, and eagles with outspread wings in Houston and College Station. Read More »
My Hometown: Luther Hotel Innkeeper Jack Findley Talks History and Having Fun on Tres Palacios Bay
At the historic Luther Hotel in Palacios, proprietor Jack Findley often mingles with guests on the front porch overlooking Matagorda Bay. Findley’s path to Palacios was circuitous. Read More »
Retrace the Life and Legacy of World-Champion Boxer Jack Johnson in Galveston
“Jack Johnson was a real person from a real place called Galveston,” Collins says while standing in his church clothes outside Old Central Cultural Center, formerly Central High School, the first black high school in Texas. In the park behind Old Central, located on Avenue M, a life-size bronze statue depicts Johnson in his prime: roughly 6 feet, 200 pounds, and ready to rumble. Read More »
This June’s Texas Dance Hall Tour Showcases DFW Halls
Chances are you’ve spotted an old dance hall while cruising the backroads of Texas. At first glance, the large weathered structures of corrugated metal and sun-bleached wood may appear abandoned. Even their names—Tin Hall Wallis, Martinez Lodge, Farmer’s Daughter—are reminders of another era. But for music lovers who spend their weekends swinging in pearl snaps and ruffled dresses, historic Texas dance halls are cathedrals of culture, enchanted refuges from weekday demands. Read More »