Features

The Raptors return to Blue Hole Regional Park, 10 a.m., Saturday, March 31. The free Friends of Blue Hole event will be the fourth annual landing for these mighty birds of prey. Adults and kids will be within a few feet – sometimes inches – of several species of the magnificent birds as they fly, dive on artificial prey and display their tremendous wing-spans and immense, powerful eyes.

“People just keep asking us to bring them back,” says Friends of Blue Hole executive director Susan Nenney. “It’s a perfect Friends event – fun, educational and appealing to adults and kids. It’s probably our most photographed activity.”

South by Southwest is a pretty big thing around these parts. Artists come from all over the world to participate. There are the big buck stages and then there are the non-sanctioned events (mostly free) where the performers come and play.

KWVH, Wimberley’s low power powerhouse radio station, used available technology and streamed live FOR FREE during the festival. The venue was all courtesy of Hector Ward and the Big Time.

Hector and a few of his band-mates appeared on the “Over Easy with Coach Show” which is on from 8 to 10 a.m. daily and “Name in Chalk” on Wednesdays 6-8 p.m. The shows, feature musicians within a 75-mile radius, so there are a lot of bands familiar with KWVH and they listen to the station.

It may have been a celebratory atmosphere for the grand opening of the new food truck Lean Green Veggie Machine at The Junction Drinkery and Eatery, but there was a serious fundraiser going on. 

The grand opening turned into a benefit for fallen San Marcos Police Officer Kenneth Copeland and awareness of domestic violence.

“Fill up and kick back and have the benefit for the officer and raise awareness for domestic violence. We wanted to make it friendly for children,” Faith Harrison, owner of the Lean Green Veggie Machine, said while stirring the food on the cooktop.

There were all sorts of family friendly events going on with face painting, balloons and music to go along with the staple food and drinks. 

If all the world’s a stage, then the Wimberley live theatre community is going to need a bigger spotlight. San Antonio-based nonprofit Texas Light Opera is closing out its small professional tour of Jason Robert Brown’s 2001 musical “The Last Five Years” at the EmilyAnn Theatre and Gardens the first weekend of March.

The tour, which includes three cities and kicked off at the Texas Theatre in Seguin, and has since completed its run at the Roxie Theatre in San Antonio. It is an inaugural venture from Texas Light Opera, headed by San Antonio-based actor Joseph Urick. Urick also headlines as Jaime, the lead male role of the show.

Quinton Mendoza, an eighth grade student at Danforth Junior High, has reached the semifinals of a statewide video contest called “Take Care of Texas.”

The contest requires votes from the public to determine who moves on.

The contest, put on by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality, asked students to submit a video that “encourages all Texans to help keep our air and water clean, conserve water and energy, reduce waste and save a little money in the process.”

Mendoza shot his video with his twin sister Kathryn in a field just off of Flite Acres Road. Quinton starts out the video by saying “We should start taking care of the environment.” His sister says “That sounds like a lot of work,” and Quinton fills her in on the simple ways recycling, shortening showers and scheduling your AC to turn on and off can help the environment.

Only in rare cases does the public hear the neglected and abused child’s story. That is where the Court Appointed Special Advocates come in. Started in the Central Texas area in 1985, the organization is a voice of the children that are going through the court system and often associated with neglect and abuse.

CASA recruits, trains and supports community volunteers who agree to be an advocate for those children in the court. 

“We are part of a national network, but work independently to serve our local communities’ needs. When there is concern that a child in the care of Child Protective Services needs an advocate in and out of the courtroom, the Texas Family Code states that either an attorney or CASA may be appointed,” Eloise Hudson, the Community Relations Coordinator for CASA of Central Texas, said.

New Years Day is noted for fireworks, champagne and college football. But there is a new addition added on January 1, 2018. For the first, but not last time, Blue Hole Regional Park held its first Polar Bear Plunge. Only Frosty the Snowman would be comfortable in the frigid temperatures.

The temperature overnight was 26 degrees and, at the 2 p.m. jump-in time, it was in the low 30s. But around half of the 90 people attending actually jumped into Cypress Creek. And it was freezing living up to the name Polar Bear Plunge.

“Absolutely the coldest jump in the area. People said that the Barton Springs and other jumps were cold, but not as cold as Wimberley’s. The cold, freezing air had time to lower the temperature of the water. It was really cold,” Becca Manning, Wimberley’s Parks Director. 

One of the most popular TV Game Shows in the world featured a Wimberley resident on their December 20, 2017 program. Local Katy King was a contestant on the show. Spoiler alert. She didn’t win a car or the game, but she had a great time doing it.

Katy is a member of the Wheel Watchers Club and sent an application into their website and received an email saying that tryouts would be held at the Hyatt Regency in Austin. About 50 others competed with her and 25 of the contestants were picked, after playing the game.  

Of course, WOF producers taped the game’s contestants for perusal. The producers at the tryouts would be the same producers from start to end of their appearance on the show.

From houses of worship to houses of blues, Ruthie Foster has always been a rafter-rattler.  With a soul-filled voice honed in Texas churches, she can move audiences to tears or ecstasy — sometimes in a single song. Ruthie Foster brings that amazing voice back to Susanna’s Kitchen Coffeehouse on January 18th.

As most of know, Santa is way too busy to appear at so many places at once. He has the shop to run and supervise the elves at the North Pole in their toy making. He has been known to ask some of his friends to represent him in order to spread the good cheer of Christmas around to everyone. 

Three Santas in town were nice enough to share some Santa secrets, just enough to enlighten us about the magical world of Christmas. The most tenured Santa in town is probably Ron Campbell who has been doing it 28 years.

“It’s not the suit…you got to do it right. I hate to see somebody doing a Santa that’s not good,” Campbell said. One of his favorite Santa moments was when he was dressed in overalls and a flannel shirt.