Bret Michaels to Headline Gonzalez Thunder Rally
Motorcycles and hard-rocking riffs are a potent combination, and revved up rockers are guaranteed to have "Nothin' But A Good Time" when Poison frontman Bret Michaels takes the stage as the headliner for the Gonzalez Thunder Rally. A three-day deluge of chrome and leather over 20,000 strong will descend October 10 - 12, 2008 at JB Wells Park for a party with a purpose, as proceeds from the festival benefit Norma's House, an organization which helps children of domestic abuse.
Tickets are already on sale for the event, and special VIP tickets are in demand for die-hard heavy metal fans. Not only will attendees with VIP tickets enjoy such velvet rope amenities as seating near the stage, VIP parking, a private restroom and bar, free food and a souvenir T-shirt, each VIP ticket holder is automatically in the running to win autographed memorabilia and a back stage meet and greet with the performers.
From "Talk Dirty To Me" and "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" to songs heard on his VH1 reality series "Rock of Love," Bret Michaels will rock your world on October 11th. Other acts scheduled to take the stage over the course of the three-day events are Great White, AXE and Electric Ocean.
For more information: • visit
www.GonzalezThunderRally.comLabels: Festivals
posted by Grace Sydney @ 11:03 AM
San Marcos Plans Summerfest for July 4
This year marks a new location with a larger stage for Summerfest, San Marcos' Independence Day celebration on Friday, July 4, a free event. This year the event will be held at the City of San Marcos' San Marcos Plaza Park.
The Parade: The annual Children's Parade is scheduled for 5 p.m. Line-up will begin at 4:45 p.m. Costumed kids will be judged in "most patriotic" and "cutest divisions" with prizes awarded in each category and a "best overall" named.
Music: This year's musical lineup will feature the high-engery Austin band JUMPSTART with all types of music. Opening the musical entertainment at 4 p.m., Alton Rex and the Crabby Grass Boys will be making their fourth Summerfest appearance. Immediately after the Patriotic Program and the Children's Parade, San Marcos native David Ybarra and his LA Blues Band will take the Summerfest stage at 6:15 p.m. JUMPSTART will play its popular music mix from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., leading up to Summerfest's expanded fireworks exhibition. Closing the day for Summerfest with a performance immediately after the fireworks is the local band Trio-Faze, who plays a mix of original rock, soul and blues.
Fireworks: The fireworks show will be staged from the parking lot on the west side of Bobcat Stadium on the Texas State University-San Marcos campus.
Food & Fun: Food and activity booths will open at 4 p.m. A variety of food and other items will be available from on-site vendors. No glass containers or alcohol are allowed at San Marcos Plaza Park.
Parking: Parking for Summerfest will be available at Texas State's Bobcat Stadium and Coliseum parking lots.
For more information:• visit
www.summerfestsanmarcos.comLabels: Festivals, Hill Country
posted by Paris & John @ 4:48 PM
Messina Hof Plans 31st Annual Harvest Celebration
It's almost time for the
31st annual Harvest Celebration at Messina Hof in Bryan. Get ready to stomp some grapes!
This year's harvest events are:
Moonlit HarvestFriday, July 18, 2008
Here's your chance to pick and stomp grapes, get a souvenir t-shirt to imprint with your purple feet, and enjoy a Vineyard Cuisine dinner at The Vintage House. Price: $69.95 plus tax and gratuity.
Harvest DaytimeSaturday, July 19, 2008 – Sunday, August 17, 2008 (Saturday and Sunday only)
You'll have your choice of four options at different prices:
Option 1: All day activities: including picking, stomping, t-shirt, lunch, food and wine pairing seminar
8 a.m.
Price - $69.95 plus tax and gratuity on Saturdays
$59.95 plus tax and gratuity on Sundays
Option 2: Picking, stomping plus t-shirt
8 a.m.
Price - $39.95 plus tax and gratuity
Option 3: Picking, stomping and lunch
8 a.m.
Price - $39.95 plus tax and gratuity
Option 4: Food and wine pairing seminar
1:30pm
Price - $19.95 plus tax and gratuity
Murder Mystery DinnersSaturday, July 19, 2008 – Saturday, August 15, 2008
All Murder Mystery Dinners begin at 6:30 PM and cost $69.95 plus tax and gratuity.
Mystery Dinner themes:July 19 - “Pirate Murder Mystery”
July 26 – “Celebrity Celebrations”
August 2 – “Storm Survivors”
August 9 – “Case of the Missing Matchmaker”
August 15 – “Murder on the Mound”
Harvest Vintner’s DinnersFriday, July 25, 2008 – Saturday, August 16, 2008
All Vintners’ Dinners begin at 6:30 PM. Cost of the dinners range from $69.95 to $125 plus tax and gratuity.
Harvest Vintner’s Dinners:
July 25 – French Chateau Wines
August 1 – Beringer Wines
August 8 – Terlato Wines
August 16 – Grand Finale – Italian Wines
For more information or to register:• call (800) 736-9463 ext. 34.
To reserve a Harvest Festival package:• visit
http://www.messinahof.com/docs/MH_%20Harvest_Reg_Form_08.pdfFor information or reservations for the Villa Bed & Breakfast at Messina Hof:• call (800) 736-9463 ext. 22
Labels: Festivals, Prairies and Lakes
posted by Paris & John @ 4:13 PM
Amazing Texas Author to be Featured at Clute's Mosquito Festival
There's a new Texas guidebook coming out this month: Amazing Texas (Jefferson Press). Recently TexasTripper caught up with the author to ask her more about this unique guide to a unique state; check out
our interview just posted on TexasTripper.
Author T. Jensen Lacey will be signing books at the
The Great Texas Mosquito Festival in Clute on July 24.
Labels: Festivals
posted by Paris & John @ 2:37 PM
Willie's Place Set to Open This Week
The long-awaited opening of Willie's Place (as in Willie Nelson) will take place later this week in the town of Carl's Corner near Hillsboro. You might be familiar with this facility; it operated for many years as a truck stop named Carl's Corner on the southbound side of I-35. After an extensive renovation and expansion, it is now reopening as Willie's Place at Carl's Corner. It's appropriate that the reopening take place on the July 4 weekend because in its Carl's Corner days, this was the setting for several of Willie Nelson's famous picnics.
The events kicked off on June 30 with a sold out private benefit but the coming days bring several public events. On July 1 and 2, the facility's Whiskey River Saloon will be host to David Allan Coe & Ray Wylie Hubbard from 8pm to midnight.
On July 3 in the Willie's Place Theater, the day will be filled with free music. Here's the schedule at present:
10am Mike Siler
1pm Heather Myles
6pm Merle Haggard
8pm Ray Price
10pm Willie Nelson
Along with three stages, Willie's Place has a restaurant, gift shop and general store, facilities for truckers, and Willie's biodiesel fuel.
For More Information:• visit
http://www.biowillieusa.comLabels: Festivals, Prairies and Lakes
posted by Paris & John @ 9:37 PM
Legendary Texas Authors Sign Books in Fredericksburg
If you love Texas books, here's an upcoming event for you: a book signing by two legendary Texas writers. Elmer Kelton and Mike Cox will be signing books on Saturday, July 5 at Fredericksburg's Books Books Books from 1-4pm.
Kelton is a seven-time Spur Award winner and Cox is a Texas Institute of Letters elected member. The two have a long list of Texas-related titles including Cox's newest book,
The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900 (Forge, 2008).
For More Information:Books Books Books
155 East Main
Fredericksburg, Texas
phone 830-997-5259
posted by Paris & John @ 10:44 AM
Arlington Promotes Staycation
Arlington has long been a top summer vacation destination thanks to Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, the Rangers Ballpark at Arlington, and lots more, but this year the city is promoting another good reason to vacation in the Metroplex: the "Staycation." With the price of gas and food on the upswing, vacation budgets are being pinched...but can still go a long way when you vacation close to home.
The Package: The Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau has come up with the Staycation Central Package. The Staycation Central package allows guests to choose their dates and from a myriad of hotel options, ranging from budget to full-service.
The package comes with coupons, a free visitors guide, a map and more information about Arlington and its incredible vacation values. The only way to buy a three-day Six Flags Over Texas park pass, which is interchangeable between Six Flags and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor is with a package on http://www.arlington.org.
Price: Vacation packages start at only $59 a night, quad occupancy, two-night minimum stay, based on availability.
For more information:• call (817) 265-7721 or (800) 433-5374
To book a vacation directly:• call 1-866-656-FUNN
• visit
www.arlington.org/staycationLabels: Prairies and Lakes
posted by Paris & John @ 9:12 AM
The Woodlands Planning Texas-Sized Fireworks Show, Celebration
Are you making your Fourth of July plans yet? We've just received a detailed schedule for the
11th Annual Red, Hot & Blue Festival and Fireworks Extravaganza in The Woodlands, home of one of the greatest fireworks displays in the greater Houston area.
Free Concert: The fun starts on Thursday, July with a free “Star-Spangled Salute” concert by the Houston Symphony at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Bring a blanket and enjoy the show beginning at 8:00 pm. The pavilion’s gates will open at 6:30 pm.
Parade: On Friday, July 4, the celebration starts at 9 am with the South Montgomery County Fourth of July Parade, featuring marching bands from around the Houston area, classic cars, floats, fire trucks and more. Bring a lawn chair and sit along the route, which begins at The Woodlands United Methodist Church, continues along Grogan’s Mill and culminates at Market Street.
Fireworks & Fun: From 6-10 pm, the 11th Annual Red, Hot & Blue Festival takes place at Waterway Square, the newest development in The Woodlands, located between Waterway Avenue and Woodloch Forest Drive. The Fountains at Waterway Square contains a water wall spanning 120 feet. As part of the festivities, it will feature choreographed displays of dancing columns of water, cascading waterfalls and “boomer” jets shooting water more than five stories high.
Entertainment will include live music from Texas native Rodney Hayden and the local Lord Stirling's Fifes and Drums. Face painting, caricatures, strolling entertainers, food and beverage concessions and the children’s interactive fountain.
Food Contests: What’s a Fourth of July without a hot dog and watermelon eating contest? H-E-B will host the hot dog and watermelon eating contest at Waterway Square every 15 minutes from 6:30 pm - 8:45 pm. Register in advance for the eating contests at
www.redhotblue.org.
The July 4 Schedule: A festival activity lineup for July 4 is as follows:
6:00 p.m. Presentation of Colors
6:05 p.m. God Bless America
6:10 p.m. Rodney Hayden
6:55 p.m. Opening remarks from local notables
7:05 p.m. Parade Awards
7:20 p.m. Rodney Hayden
8:55 p.m. Retiring of Colors
9:15 p.m. Fireworks Extravaganza
Parking: Parking is available for $5 in the Town Center Parking Garage located on Six Pines Drive. Visitors may park for free at the orange, yellow and green lots along Timberloch Place. Trolleys will operate from 11 am to 8 pm on July 4. For a map, visit
www.redhotblue.org or call 281-363-2447.
Road closures for the festival include Timberloch Place between Woodloch Forest Drive and the I-45 South feeder. This area will be shut down and barricaded on July 3 and remains closed until given the all clear by a public safety officer on July 4.
Water Taxis: Water taxis will operate along The Woodlands Waterway on July 3 from 11 am -10 pm and July 4 between 11 am and 11 pm. The water taxis will not operate during the fireworks display on July 4 from 8:45 pm - 10 pm, but will resume operation after the fireworks have completed. Special water taxi pricing for July 4 includes an All-Day Pass for $4 and a Seniors/Youth/Disabled Pass for $2.
Photos courtesy Red, Hot & Blue FestivalLabels: Festivals, Gulf Coast
posted by Paris & John @ 11:46 AM
Austin City Limits Festival Announces Lineup
The Austin City Limits Music Festival (also called the ACL Music Festival) is one of the city's most popular annual events...and a time when hotel rooms are at a premium. The lineup for the 2008 event, scheduled for September 26-28 in Zilker Park, has been announced. This year's event (which will include about 130 bands) will include Beck, Robert Plant, Allison Krauss, The Foo Fighters, Erykah Bad, and Manu Chao.
Hotel & Pass Package: The Austin Convention & Visitors Bureau is also offering exclusive access to discounted three-day passes and a minimum of two nights hotel accommodations through an
ACL travel package.
For more information on the festival:• visit
www.aclfestival.comLabels: Austin, Festivals
posted by Paris & John @ 9:19 PM
Motorcycles and hard-rocking riffs are a potent combination, and revved up rockers are guaranteed to have "Nothin' But A Good Time" when Poison frontman Bret Michaels takes the stage as the headliner for the Gonzalez Thunder Rally. A three-day deluge of chrome and leather over 20,000 strong will descend October 10 - 12, 2008 at JB Wells Park for a party with a purpose, as proceeds from the festival benefit Norma's House, an organization which helps children of domestic abuse.
