Viva Big Bend Festival, July 24-27!

Make your plans NOW to attend the Viva Big Bend Festival later this month, taking place in Alpine, Marathon, Marfa and Fort Davis....and this year, the bonus shows at Lajitas on July 22 and 23!

Click HERE to purchase tickets!!
Click here for the schedule, July 24-27!

Viva Big Bend is coming up soon!

For the first time, there will be shows in Lajitas as well as Alpine, Fort Davis, Marfa and Marathon! Get your tickets now!

Visit the Viva Big Bend website for information on tickets, shows and venues! 

Dining Along Historic Highways presentation today at the Viva Big Bend Food Festival!

 

Today, as part of the Viva Big Bend food festival, we'll be presenting a FREE program about "Dining Along Historic Highways" at the Hotel Paisano in Marfa at 4pm.  

We'll be sharing old photos, recipes and samples of food from the region, with a special emphasis on the 1930s when the highways were being paved and some of our historic hotels (still in operation) were just beginning to serve travelers.  Come join us!

#30DaysofBiking

Many travelers learn Marfa is a great place to ride a bicycle...and some of our hotels have bikes for loan or rent.  We found this lovely photo from early Marfa as we were doing research for our "Dining Along Historic Highways" presentation, see above!

Dining Along Historic Highways: Viva Big Bend Food Festival on Saturday!

Our Texas Mountain Trail non-profit is happy to be participating in the Viva Big Bend Food Festival this Saturday, with a free program with photographs, recipes and samples on Saturday at Marfa's historic Hotel Paisano at 4pm.  Everyone is welcome! 

Today, we feature images from the Paisano's sister property in Van Horn, the Hotel El Capitan, now fully restored and operating as a hotel and a place to have dinner at the Crossroads of the Texas Mountain Trail.

#30DaysofBiking

One of our favorite roads to cycle is the first 30 miles or so (which are paved) of FM2810 heading southwest from Marfa.  Called "Pinto Canyon Road," this scenic stretch was featured in the film "No Country for Old Men," and has little vehicular traffic too, making it great for bicyclists.

Dining Along Historic Highways at Viva Big Bend Food Festival

At next weekend's Viva Big Bend Food Festival, our Texas Mountain Trail is presenting a special free program at the historic Hotel Paisano on "Dining Along Historic Highways."

From the Viva Big Bend website:

Dining Along Historic Highways Saturday, April 12, 4 pm Hotel Paisano Ballroom in Marfa - 207 Highland St What was it like to travel in the early days in Far West Texas? Join Beth Nobles, Executive Director of Texas Mountain Trail, to see historic photos and enjoy samples from regional recipes in this presentation on our historic hotels and restaurants. We'll focus on several locations and time periods, but will pay special attention to the early 1930s when Marfa's Hotel Paisano was built and our regional highways were being paved. Our program is free, but there are other TERRIFIC programs at the festival you can enjoy. Click here to get to the festival's ticket page!

#30DaysofBiking We're celebrating the cycling assets of our Texas Mountain Trail region every day this month!  Did you know that El Paso's Franklin Mountains State Park has terrific trails for mountain biking?  Visit our friends at www.geobetty.com for information on trails, elevations, maps, etc. for your own mountain biking adventure.  Though right in the city, once you're on the trails, you never feel you're in the city!

Texas Mountain Trail Events Summit THIS Thursday Night!

Booths at Fort Davis' Coolest July 4th

We've been building an events calendar so visitors (and residents, too!) can find fun events and gatherings and performances and outings in our Texas Mountain communities.  We saw the opportunity to deliver more value, to bring event planners together to build a comprehensive planners calendar, to share ideas and resources and learn more about marketing events to our audiences.

 

FREE Tri-County Event Planning Summit: February 27, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. at Big Bend Telephone Company community room in Alpine, Texas! 

Do work with an organization that is planning a large event, music festival or fundraiser?   Do you work with a business that caters to tourists?  THIS SUMMIT IS FOR YOU.

Bring a list of your planned events from March 2014 through the end of May 2015, so we can build a comprehensive regional events calendar together!  Let's find opportunities in the calendar for strategic scheduling to boost our local economy, as well as opportunities for cooperative marketing.

Includes:  "Publicity 101: How to Get Media Attention for your Event"
with  KTSM 9 El Paso's Andra Litton, CBS7 Midland/Odessa Tatum Guinn,  KRTS General Manager Tom Michael, and Alpine Avalanche Jonathan Wimp

Enjoy live music from Terlingua singer/songwriter Trevor Richman and food from Alpine's Saddle Club!

We are grateful to our generous sponsors:  City of Alpine and the  Museum of the Big Bend with Sierra la Rana, St. James Episcopal Church, Hotel Paisano, Holland Hotel, Blue Sky Productions, Big Bend Resorts and Adventures, Saddle Club, Chihuahuan Desert Nature Center, Gage Hotel, Maverick Inn, Century Bar and Grill, Texas Mountain Realty, Senator Jose Rodriquez.

More info about the Summit on our Texas Mountain Trail events calendar, HERE. 

Viva Big Bend music performance at the
Holland Hotel in Alpine

Parade at Marfa Lights Festival
Labor Day weekend in Marfa

Click on the flyer for a closer view!

Very special thanks to our major sponsors, the City of Alpine and the Museum of the Big Bend.  Y'all are great! 

Viva Big Bend Tickets on Sale Now!

Early Bird tickets are now on sale for the VIVA Big Bend music festival set for July 24-27, 2014!

Click HERE to purchase yours!

And put another terrific festival on your calendar, the VIVA Big Bend Food Festival, April 10-12, 2014.  Details to be available soon!

Monica Pope cooking class at last year's Viva Big Bend
Food Festival at Padre's in Marfa

RIDE FOR READING in Fort Davis today!
Meet at the Fort Davis Chamber of Commerce at 11 am with your bicycle, helmet and a bookbag or backpack.  We'll ride to the elementary school together!

Click on image for a closer view!

And in Terlingua on Friday!
Meet at Big Bend Resorts and Adventures at 11 am with your bicycle, helmet and a bookback or backpack!  We'll ride to the elementary school as a group!

Enjoy Viva Big Bend Yet Today!

Today is the last day of this year's music festival, Viva Big Bend.  Is it too late to enjoy the festival?  No!

You can watch the progress of Artwalk Alpine's Mural-in-a-Weekend project in downtown Alpine at 5th and Holland.


Tonight there will be music performances at Railroad Blues in Alpine, and Padre's in Marfa.  (Click here to download a schedule.) Here's a shot from last night's Patrice Pike show at Padre's.

Next year, plan early!  This year's festival hosted five days of performances in four communities (Alpine, Marfa, Marathon and Fort Davis), some of them free, like this Shelley King show in Fort Davis.

Or the free Breting Engel show at the Holland Hotel in Alpine, pictured above!  Everyone is having so much fun!  Add Viva Big Bend to your summer fun next year, and join us in the mountains!

Viva Big Bend! Terrific Music Festival THIS Weekend!

Click on the image for a closer view!

 

If you aren't in the region already this weekend, and don't have plans to take in Viva Big Bend (a terrific Texas music festival) we're sorry you're missing all the fun.  At locations all over Alpine, Fort Davis, Marathon and Marfa are already hopping, people are already dancing and having the time of their lives!

It isn't too late to join in the fun, visit www.vivabigbend.com for a schedule of the concerts and festivities.  And if you're too far away to get here, plan to come to the mountains, NEXT YEAR!  You'll have a terrific time.

Viva Big Bend!

Next month, there's a terrific music festival in the region--in various venues in Marathon (Gage Hotel), Marfa (Padres, Lost Horse and more), Fort Davis (Mountain Trails Lodge and Fort Davis Drugstore) and Alpine (Holland Hotel, Granada Theatre and more)--the second annual Viva Big Bend.  The festival's website is here:  www.vivabigbend.com

Who's playing?  Check out the lineup!  (Butch Hancock, Tessy Lou and the Shotgun Stars, Texas Tornadoes, Joe Ely Band, Doug Moreland, and many more) LOTS of terrific bands playing in our best Far West Texas music venues. 

You won't want to miss being a part of this great event.  Tickets are available here. FAQ page is here.

Get Ready for Viva Big Bend!

Last year, the region was packed with music lovers.  This year proves to be the same.  Make your reservations now, buy your tickets now for Viva Big Bend, July 25-28, in Alpine, Fort Davis, Marfa and Marathon!  Already some accommodations are sold out, so act now!

Want to learn more?  Here's a link to the festival's FAQ page.  And one to their lineup page!

Viva Big Bend Food Festival

Houston chef, James Beard
Award nominee Monica Pope
conducts a cooking class
at Padre's in Marfa

The Viva Big Bend Food Festival's opening party
at the Granada Theatre in Alpine featured great food
and great music, here Tessy Lou and the Shotgun Stars
 

Thursday night, the first Viva Big Bend Food Festival opened in Alpine's Granada Theatre with terrific food and wonderful music....starting the festivities to take place in Alpine, Fort Davis and Marfa. 

The Festival continues today, but we'd like to share some images from all the fun yesterday...cooking classes, demonstrations, insight into new techniques and cuisines. 

A portion of the proceeds goes to benefit West Texas Food Bank...what could be better than that?

Monica Pope cooking class participants at Padre's in Marfa

 

Sahar Arafat-Ray demonstrates at the Hotel Limpia in
Fort Davis, treating festival participants to Middle Eastern
Hors d'Oeurves

Plate from the fajita buffet at the Mountain Trails
Lodge in Fort Davis

Music in the Mountains

One of our cycle-friendly and historic hotels, Marathon's Gage Hotel, is sponsoring a singer/songwriter's show next month!  Call for dinner and show tickets 432-386-4205.  Show will include Drew Kennedy, Walt and Tina Wilkins.

Gage Hotel

Looking for more music events in the region?  Check out Viva Big Bend's Music Festival in late July!