By Marcy Stellfox
Photos by Marcy Stellfox
What better way to welcome autumn than by partaking in the merry-making of a Hill Country outdoor festival? Poke around in tents full of artisan treasures and crafty creations. Inhale the earthy aroma of locally grown herbs and flowers. Imbibe in festival food and drink. Need more convincing?
On Saturday, October 10, the Lampasas Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual Herb & Art Festival downtown on Courtyard Square in Lampasas. Traditionally, celebrating local artists and area flower and herb growers, this year’s festival offered a little more.
The 2015 Lampasas Herb & Art Fest is in full swing on the square in downtown Lampasas! The Rustic Chicken out of Copperas Cove offered housewares & decor made from cabinetry wood scraps.
Decades of estate sale finds form the basis of Debbey & Alice Hardin’s whimsical birdfeeders & wind chimes.
A gorgeous sampling of the plants available from The Herb Place of Weatherford, TX.
Grapes & Grains Are Artsy Too
It’s no secret that the Hill Country is bursting with vineyards, wineries, and craft brewers. New this year, the Grapes & Grains Wine & Beer Garden Tent was the perfect chance to beat the heat and tantalize the taste buds by sampling some local liquid goodness. $20 got you a signature bag, commemorative tasting glass, and 15 tickets to sip some of the succulent “bevvies” on offer.
Representatives of the Hill Country wineries included Pilot Knob, Pillar Bluff Vineyards and Texas Legato Winery. From a little farther afield came Red Road Vineyard & Winery of Naples, Texas and newcomer out of Eddy, Texas – Kissing Tree Vineyards (named for the tree in which owners Chris & Crystal Grider shared their first kiss as freshmen in high school).
Beer lovers could also sample some suds from Hill Country fav Real Ale Brewing Company, specializing in unpasteurized, unfiltered brews crafted in part using water from the Blanco River. Brews available for quaffing included popular Fireman’s #4 among others, and out of Houston,
German style brewer Karbach Brewing Company featured Love Street, a Kolsch style Blond.
Women from the Lampasas Chamber of Commerce welcome a friend to the new this year Grapes ‘n Grains Wine & Beer Garden
Chris Grider of newly opened Kissing Tree Vineyards of Eddy, Texas pours up samples with a smile!
Merrill Grove Proprietor & Vintner of Red Road Vineyard & Winery poses with Sedoga, a semi-dry white….”a bottle of love”.
Ex Homicide Sergeant Brian Foster spins tales about the funny side of crime.
Every festival has an artisan or two offering something different than your standard arts and crafts. This year ex-cop-turned-writer Sergeant Brian Foster won the “unique artist” award.
A veteran of the Houston police force, Sgt. Foster spent 23 years in the homicide division. As you can imagine, the depressing nature of this job could eat at a person, so upon retiring Sgt. Foster decided to write his memoirs. Using a lighthearted, humorous approach and mixing fact with a good dose of fiction, his three volume series boasts titles such as Homicidal Humor and The Clot Thickens. If tales of bumbling criminals tickle your funny bone, then check out Foster’s work at Texas True Crime. (Published in paperback – $12.95 and e-book format – $3.99).
Freshly hand cut fish filets courtesy of this Knight of Columbus from Copperas Cove
The Knights of Columbus Are Serious Fry Daddies – Outdoor festivals are famous for guilty pleasure food. Slow roasted sweet corn on a stick, fruity, melty sno-cones, smoky beef briskets tacos all beg to be consumed. And when lunch time rolled around, I found myself in front of the Knights of Columbus of Copperas Cove food trailer drooling over fried catfish and hush puppies. Stepping right up to the window, I placed an order for the Fish ’n Chips plate for $8. As my generously portioned plate was handed over, my eyes feasted on two gorgeous cornmeal dusted filets of freshly fried catfish and crispy, caramel colored hushpuppies nesting on a bed of french fries. Enough gazing at my plate, let’s eat!! I couldn’t have been more delighted at the moist cornbread yumminess bursting from the perfectly fried hushpuppies. The fish may have been some of the best I’ve ever tasted – fresh, flaky and cooked to perfection without a hint of greasiness. Oh yeah, baby, these guys know how to put a smile in your belly.
A plateful of yum thanks to the Copperas Cove Knights of Columbus
Along with the festive town atmosphere, face painting, locally made beef jerky and honey and additional craft booths, plus local musicians crooning boot-scootin’ favorites on the Courtyard Square stage, I’m already marking my calendar for next year!
Merry making musicians playing it up the Courtyard Square stage.
To make sure you don’t miss out on next year’s Herb & Art festivities, and all the other cool happenings around town, visit the Lampasas Chamber of Commerce website!
