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Peruse our database of Texas events –
from
community plays and cook-offs to mega-festivals and touring productions.
We highlight a few of options here.
 Wildflowers … Wow!
TH Traveler will celebrate National Wildflower Week at the Lady
Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin with a special showing of the
springtime images featured in April TH. The Serendipity of Wildflowers 2012,
which showcases the work of such photographers as Fred R. Hight, Lance Varnell,
and Fred Hirschmann, will be on view in the center’s McDermott Learning Center
from May 7-13.
Other upcoming fests at the Wildflower Center include the Spring
Plant Sale & Gardening Festival (April 13-15), Gardens on Tour (May 12;
access to several private gardens and tours of the center’s displays), and the
opening of the Mollie Steves Zachry Texas Arboretum on May 19. Call
512/232-0100; www.wildflower.org.
And for details about the annual wildflower photo contest—cosponsored
by Texas Highways and the Wildflower Center—go to www.wildflower.org/photocontest. The
entry deadline is May 7!
Style by the SeashoreGalveston goes retro for the 4th annual Galveston Island
Beach Revue on May 18-19. The weekend kicks off on Friday with the Bands and
Bombshells concert at 7 p.m. in Saengerfest Park and features live music from
The Gourds and the John Evans Band. The Revue encourages attendees to dress in
vintage outfits, and in past years they’ve had a mix of ’50s-style pinup girls,
quirky costumes, and street clothes at the show. The event includes themed
vendors and classic cars to add to the night’s throwback atmosphere.
On Saturday at 2 p.m., 50 contestants don vintage or
vintage-inspired swimwear and parade along Galveston’s shoreline for the
popular Bathing Beauties Contest. The outfits don’t stop at the swimsuits,
though—participants wear floppy hats, retro sunglasses, fancy footwear, and
parasols to complete their looks. Galveston’s original Bathing Beauties
contest, dubbed the “Pageant of Pulchritude,” ran from 1920-1932. For details,
visit www.galvestonbeachrevue.com.
Glass Gardens
Splashes of intricately crafted, multicolored glass decorate
the Dallas Arboretum for the Dale Chihuly exhibit from May 5 through November
5. The Dallas show marks Chihuly’s 12th garden exhibit, though he’s displayed
work in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. His freestanding glass
sculptures and installations scatter throughout the 66-acre grounds and include
a piece that will make its debut opening night. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday nights from May to July, the Arboretum holds Chihuly Nights and
illuminates the sculptures for evening viewing. The annual Concerts at the
Arboretum series accompanies the exhibit (Tue and Thu) and features music
ranging from ’80s bands to Elvis tributes. The Arboretum also offers
Italian-inspired dining options for guests as they stroll through the garden at
night. For other Chihuly events, call 214/515-6500; www.dallasarboretum.org.
Indies in Fredericksburg
Channel your inner movie critic during the Hill Country Film
Festival at the Stagecoach Theater in Fredericksburg from April 26-29. The
festival, in its third year, screens work from independent filmmakers around
Texas, the United States, and the world.
Throughout the weekend the HCFF holds panel discussions with
the directors, and hosts parties and other events for festival attendees. The
award categories are for features, shorts, documentaries, animations, and music
videos. A new addition this year is the 3-D short film category, the first in
Texas film festival history. Film fans can purchase an all-access weekend
package, day passes, or tickets to individual screenings.
The Stagecoach Theater is at 2254 S. US 87. For ticket and festival
information, call 424/238-5672.; www.hillcountryff.com.
 More than 60,000 visitors annually flock to the Rothko
Chapel, an internationally renowned, nondenominational sanctuary in Houston founded
by John and Dominique de Menil in 1971. The chapel, faced by Barnett Neuman’s
sculpture Broken Obelisk (right), fosters medi-tation, reflection, and
immersion in the transformative power of art.
The chapel also hosts public programs that have featured
such leaders as the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, and President Jimmy Carter.
Upcoming programs include Father Heyman Vasquez, who will talk about Central
American immigration through Mexico, and author Cedric Johnson, who will
discuss the Katrina disaster. Also this spring, the chapel hosts musical
performances by the Intersection New Music Collective, Aperio, classical
guitarist Valerie Hartzell, and the Turkish-American Cultural Orchestra. (The
latter two will perform on April 14, as part of the Menil Community Arts
Festival.) For details, call 713/524-9839; www.rothkochapel.org.
On April 28, drive—or fly—to San Marcos for the 3rd annual
Biplane Fly-In, held outside the Centex Wing of the Commemorative Air Force
hangar. About 50 planes, from the World War II Stearman to modern experimental
biplanes, fly in from all over Texas and nearby states to the event, which
lasts from 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. Children and adults can watch the skies as
various aircraft descend to the scene—and even crawl into the planes once
they’ve landed. Enjoy a picnic lunch at the event and chat with the pilots of
different aircraft. This year’s fly-in is dedicated to World War II Stearman
pilots, who will ride co-pilot in each plane during a four-ship formation fly-over.
The Centex Wing of the Commemorative Air Force hangar is at
2200 Airport Dr. For ticket information, go to www.biplaneflyin.org/index.html.
For a free printed copy of an even more detailed, quarterly
schedule of events, write to Texas Events Calendar, Box 149249, Austin
78714-9249. Or, call 800/452-9292 from anywhere in the U.S. or Canada, between
8-6 Central.
For Texas travel questions, call 800/452-9292 to reach a
TxDOT Travel Infor-mation Center, where a professional travel counselor will
provide routing assistance, advise you of any emergency road conditions, and
send brochures (including the official Texas State Travel Guide and map,
accommodations guide, and quarterly Texas Events Calendar).
Send future event information to: Texas Events Calendar, Box
141009, Austin 78714-1009; fax: 512/486-5879; e-mail: trv-tec@dot.state.tx.us.
Listing deadlines: Spring (Mar, Apr, May) Dec 1; Summer (Jun, Jul, Aug) Mar 1;
Fall (Sep, Oct, Nov) Jun 1; Winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) Sep 1.
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