Features

The third Annual KAPS’ Fire and Flavor Chili Cook-off and Cup Cake Wars were held at the school on Thursday January 28, which is a three-year tradition. The Cupcake War is serious, and the participants vie to be the Cupcake Wars Champion. The cupcakes were judged by local bakery Sugar Shack. But, also, the winning cupcake would be featured at the Sugar Shack throughout February with the proceeds from each cupcake sold would go back to the KAPS.

The top cupcake was the Chili-Chocolate Cupcake by Claire Burke and her cupcake will be featured all month this February and for sale at Sugar Shack. 

Originally located at the Junction at RR 12 and 32, the brewery and pub have come a long way in five years. The celebrated their five year anniversary by having musicians and a 250 lb. roasted pig. They invited the community to come out and have a pork taco with cilantro and lime and all the fixins.’

The brewery was just an idea of owner Dennis Middleton, a retired geologist, and his wife Kim a retired escrow agent. Looking to start a new venture, they fell in love with the Hill Country, Wimberley in particular. They decided to pursue their love for beers and brewing within reach of the community. 

Dennis was a home-brewer for 30 years, before the big boom in craft brews. His love for Belgian style beers was his passion, dating from his travels in Europe. They made the jump, opened the Middleton Brewery at the Junction. 

“When if comes to down ‘n’ dirty roots ‘n’ roll, nobody in the wide world of music today does it better than Ray Wylie Hubbard.”  Wimberley’s own treasure, and one of America’s premier singer/songwriters of Americana, Ray Wylie Hubbard will spend an intimate evening at Susanna’s Kitchen Coffeehouse on January 19th, letting us get to know his inspired and wacky self through his music, with a little conversation thrown in.

It all started in 1983. The first building out of town, or the first building coming in on FM 2325, was the lighted and decorated business yard of Dr. Dennis Bullock. He had just bought the property and built his business there. His brother Glenn bought the adjacent property.

The Christmas lights at that time had no competition from EmilyAnn or any other major business in town. When you went out of town, you were leaving civilization.

That was in 1986, brother Glenn’s Hill Country Foods opened and the two decided to light up the adjoining properties for Christmas. Dennis’ mother-in-law Donna called it Bullockville and the name stuck.

Donna decided that decorations such cutout wood figures of Santa and elves were needed and added. Soon other characters such as Mickey Mouse, the California Raisins, Charlie Brown and others were featured in the following years.

The weather outside was anything but delightful, yet Keep Wimberley Beautiful jurors carried on lest they forsake their duty as bearers of the town’s annual Christmas lights awards. The endeavor was somewhat compromised by ceaseless cold rain, which speckled windows and splattered inside the vehicle they were forced to abide within, while observing the town’s dazzle. 

To be fair, in past contests KWB jurors tiptoed about town on a night after hours as unseen “elves” giving attention to every detail of lighting decor. This time, unlike elves, jurors took turns dashing from a vehicle out into the soppy chill to glimpse features and trifles--and only if deemed necessary after a waffling dilly-dally debate.  

Technological changes have come so swiftly that one might not notice it, especially in the ways of technology and warfare. Information about the Air Force piloting, from the desert in the Nevada to the drones in Afghanistan, is not only true, but there are also drone pilots on duty in Afghanistan.

Susan Jaggers just returned home to Wimberley from a tour in Afghanistan working with drones and Air Force Intelligence in the Middle East.  As a woman in the military for 37 years, she has not lost her enthusiasm for it. 

At first, she started her military career in the Navy. Back in 1979, she started as an air traffic controller, got her pilot’s license and joined the Navy’s flying program. 

The Susanna’s Kitchen Coffee House Concerts happen every third Thursday, and last week’s was no different. Sam Baker appeared and sang his songs. He has been compared to the late Leonard Cohen, if Cohen had been born in Texas and was a Southern Baptist.

Although this might be true to some, his songs remind one of Bruce Springsteen. They are tales of the everyday men and women trying to make it in the 21st century. His poetry set to music is very insightful and heartfelt.

Baker has lots of stories to tell, but the most incredible one is how he got to be a singer-songwriter. He was born in Itasca, Texas a small town near Waco. Raised in West Texas, he became a bank examiner and worked in the Midland/Odessa area for a small bank.

The Friends of Blue Hole and the City of Wimberley present the second annual “Blue Christmas at Blue Hole Regional Park” on Saturday, December 3rd from 5 pm – 8 pm.  

Blue Christmas is back and better than ever! Come enjoy local music groups leading Christmas carols on the lawn of the Cypress Creek. Roast chestnuts over an open fire at the McCord-Welp Overlook and Fire Pit while sipping hot cocoa or cider. Take a stroll along the trails lit up with hundreds of luminarias. Children can enjoy a visit with Santa Claus in the Wood-Grinstead Amphitheater. Don’t miss a special reading of classic Christmas stories at the amphitheater by our Wimberley Village Youth Librarian Emily starting at 5:15. Top off the evening with a horse carriage ride around the park with friends and family! 

This year will be the 28th and like the last 27, it is absolutely free. That is the Wimberley Community Thanksgiving Dinner, held at the Community Center. It starts at 11 a.m. and goes until 2 p.m., and it’s absolutely free.

So how did this all come about? One word: Volunteers. Back when the town had only one blinking light at RR 12 and RR 3237, the unincorporated area was tiny. In fact, according to Dave Lewis, the organizer of the Community Thanksgiving, it sort of sprang out of the monthly potluck dinners that residents would hold in the Bowen Elementary gym.

Every Thursday, a corner of the Wimberley Café is a little loud and emanates laughter at 10 a.m. A sign in the shape of a pennant identifies them as the Deplorables, but really they aren’t. They are heroes, veterans of wars from Korea to Desert Storm. 

There are about a dozen of them, give or take, and the size depends on who shows up that Thursday. Yes, they are a little long in the tooth or gray in the beard, but the camaraderie and warmth of the group is unmistakable.

What they did in the military really doesn’t matter, friendship is the key to the group and each of them did their part when they were called upon to do their service. “We’re a mixed bag, everything from dog handlers to jet pilots,” Wayne Skaggs said. Every branch of the service is represented except the Marines and Coast Guard.