One of Texas’ Top 10 Festivals is just north of here in April. Those sticking around a little longer might want to stop on their way home or make a special trip to check out the Poteet Strawberry Festival, April 11-13. Poteet is sure to be entertaining. Poteet is located 20 minutes south of San Antonio on Highway 16.
A total of 14 areas will provide continuous music and family entertainment. Headliners include Tracy Byrd on Saturday at 5 p.m. and Ray Price on Sunday at 5 p.m. Hypnotists, always popular with the crowd, will provide entrancing entertainment while gunslingers, patrolling the fairgrounds, will give a look of what it was like in the Old West.
Special events include an Elvis Extravaganza where Elvis impersonators from across the country will compete to be named the best Elvis. This takes place Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.
New this year is the Pirates of the Columbian Caribbean exhibit will feature pirate fights 25-feet above ground.
Michael Mezner and the Drum Café will return with everyone in the audience receiving a drum to add to the excitement of the event.
There will be plenty to eat with the annual barbecue cook-off of brisket, chicken, pork spare ribs and beans. The Taste of Texas will feature competition for cakes, pies and cheesecakes, and breads, jams and jellies. There will also be competition for salsa and salads.
No festival would be complete without the rodeo to be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. A 40-head bullring will be on hand. Participants will compete in events such as bareback riding, saddle-bronc riding, tie-down calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding.
The Texas Dogwood Trails Celebration will be happening March 29-30 and April 5-6 around Palestine. Enjoy the scenic woodland and the blooming dogwood trees on the route back home. Davey Dogwood Park near Palestine is the main attraction for the annual Dogwood Trails.
While in Palestine plan a trip through the Big Thicket area on the Texas State Railroad, which operates an old steam engine powered train. The train leaves Rusk or Palestine at 11 a.m. each day and winds through the woods of the Big Thicket for one and a half hours before arriving at the other city. For schedule on where the train will depart call 1-800-987-2461.
Round Top and Winedale will hold their Winedale Spring Festival and Texas Crafts exhibition the first week in April. Some of Texas’ leading contemporary artists will show their art, woodwork and metal work in Winedale's restored pioneer building complex. Demonstrations of crafts such as spinning, weaving soapmaking, fireplace cooking, corn shucking and rawhide chair making will be available. A German play, a hands-on pottery demonstration, and musical and dance performances will be included.
Also on April 11-13 the annual Burnet Bluebonnet Festival will have three days of live entertainment, shopping air shows, a destruction derby, and wiener dog races.
April 18-20 The Bluegrass Festival and Grand Jam will be held in Fayetteville. It’s a free bluegrass concert featuring top band and jamming in the Texas Pickin’ Park. For more information, call (979) 378-2753.
The General Sam Houston Folklife Festival will be held the third week in April in Huntsville. The festival honors Sam Houston who led Texans to victory over Mexico making Texas an independent country. Houston, who lived in Huntsville, served as governor of the Republic of Texas.
The festival celebrates the Indian, German, Hispanic, Irish, Polish, and Scottish heritage of the people who settled Huntsville. Ethnic food and folk art demonstrations will be included. Music, storytellers, dancing, singing and dramatic performances will be held on the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum where Houston’s homes were located.
To learn Texas history visit West Columbia the third week of April with their tribute to the Texan victory over the Mexican Army at San Jacinto in 1836, when Texas won its independence from Mexico. West Columbia became the capital of the Republic of Texas and the meeting place of the Columbia Congress, which elected Sam Houston president and signed the constitution.
Events include historical tours, the Belle of the Brazos pageant, helicopter rides and other entertainment.
For those who love Magnolia trees, Kirbyville in east Texas is home to the tallest Pyramid Magnolia in the United States. The tree has a circumference of 76 inches, height of 57 feet and a crown spread of 37 feet. The largest Southern Magnolia is located outside nearby Jasper. The tree has a trunk circumference of 104 inches, is 112 feet tall and has a 47-foot crown. The festival is a hometown celebration with a parade, contests, arts and crafts, sales, and a carnival. Call (409) 423-5827 for information.
Those of Czech heritage may want to detour for Snookfest, held the third Saturday of April in Snook. Events include a 10 a.m. parade, an antique farm equipment exhibit, an arts and crafts fair, and a horseshoe, washer and domino tournament. Czech music will be heard in the park all day and ethnic food will be on sale. Call (409) 272-3021.
For those heading east, the Freeport RiverFest takes place April 25-27 in Freeport. The festival celebrates life along the Old Brazos River. Call (979) 233-3306 for information.
Jazz lovers heading north through the Dallas area can check out the Denton Arts and Jazz Festival on April 25-27. There will be continuous music, fine arts and crafts and entertainment. For information, call (940) 565-0931.
Travelers heading northeast through North Texas might want to stop and enjoy the Azalea and Spring Flower Trail which includes tours of area homes, a Civil War re-enactment, square dancing, a 10K run and much more. The trail goes through April 6.
Those headed through Central Texas around April 26-27 might want to stop in Georgetown for the Red Poppy Festival. Events include a parade through downtown at 10 a.m. and a car show opening at 11:30 a.m. Music will be held throughout the day with the Lone Star Bluegrass Band appearing at 12:30 p.m. On Sunday at 4 p.m. the Clickety Cloggers will entertain along with Riverdance performers.
Country music lovers heading north through the Panhandle at the end of April might want to plan their travels to coincide with the Bob Wills Tribute in Turkey. The Toot Family and the rest of the gang from the Chicken Opry will be there entertaining. For information on RV spaces, call Bob Reed at (501) 733-9520.
Fiddle players might want to stick around and plan their trip for the fourth weekend in April when the Texas State Championship Fidder’s Frolics will be held. It includes two nights of live bands, country and Cajun. Dancing, arts and crafts, food, and a barbecue cook-off are on Saturday. On Sunday, the champion fiddler will be selected and inducted into the Texas Fiddler’s Hall of Fame.
Those heading straight east the last weekend of April may want to attend the Texas Crab Festival on Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula near Galveston. Events include a crab cook-off and a sandcastle-building contest. There will also be crab races, a crab legs contest, a variety of seafood, and beach games.
Winter Texans who love air shows and who are not leaving until the end of April might want to make a stop in Temple to see the Central Texas Airshow on May 2-4. For information, call (245) 298-5601.
Motorcyclists will want to catch the Hill Country Run taking place in Luckenbach on May 2-4.
The German colonial town of Fredericksburg will hold their annual Crawfish Festival on May 23-24. Red beans, rice, boudin, gumbo and crawfish will be the fare of the day. A gumbo cook-off will be a highlight of the festival.