The Bandera County Chamber of Commerce hosted the grand opening for the Smithsonian at Bandera Middle School on Saturday, June 21.
The exhibit features Crossroads: Change in Rural America, which discusses how small towns – like Bandera – responded to changes in America throughout the 1900s.
Mayor Denise Griffin also accepted the certificate recognizing Bandera as a Texas Music Friendly City from Gini Mascorro, a community relations rep from the office of the governor.
Speakers for the event included Sara Sandifer, Gary Bitzkie, Mayor Denise Griffin, Bandera County Judge Richard Evans and the State Coordinator for the Texas Heritage Trails Program, Teresa Caldwell.
“We have many to thank for their generosity, including the City Council,” Sandifer said. “The Bandera Economic Development Corporation is our largest sponsor, helping us promote this exhibit.”
In conjunction with the grand opening, Bitzkie took time to recognize a milestone for Bandera ISD.
“We are celebrating our 90th anniversary this year,” Bitzkie said. “We’re very proud of that.”
Mayor Griffin recognized the music friendly venues across Bandera that played a major role in obtaining the Texas Music Friendly City certification.
“These businesses bring tens of thousands of visitors each year to our area,” Mayor Griffin said. “Our small family-owned businesses thrive when we let Texas music guide us.”
The following venues were recognized: 11th Street Cowboy Bar, Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar, Monkey Cage Saloon, Kickback Korner and Grill, Boots N Saddles Saloon and
Crossroads: Cultural Change in Rural America will be open until Saturday, July 26, the National Day of the American Cowboy. BULLETIN PHOTO/ Veronica Rector
Dancehall, ACE Wine Room, The First National Ice Haus, Wild Horse Saloon, Bandera Brewery, Red Horse Saloon, Jake’s and The 4 Way Bar and Grill.
Caldwell discussed the special Smithsonian program for which Bandera was selected.
“The Smithsonian program has been shared with millions of people for over sixty-five years,” Caldwell said. “This program [at Bandera Middle School] is unique because of its focus on small, rural communities and an emphasis on organizational capacity building.”
Local businesses and organizations provided additional exhibits for the event.
Bandera Electric Cooperative created an exhibit representing Rural Electrification, Dudes, Dances and Delights provided an educational booth that showcased the birthplace of the Texas Dude Ranch and Music History of Bandera. Texas Tejano featured Pioneer Polly Rodriguez, and other features included Stompede Days and The Free State of Bandera, Schoolhouse Memories - which showcased Bandera schoolhouses from the past - Rodeo Round Up, and Living Off the Land: From Ranches to Travelers. Patrica Moore, Sasha Sutton, Lauren Davenport, Mary Shank, and other locals worked together to create a booth that featured a juke box and historical music records stitched on every wall.
But don’t worry if you missed the grand opening; there will be plenty of other events to attend.
“We have a calendar of events for the full five weeks of the exhibit being here,” Sandifer said.
The next event will be Thursday, June 26th at 5:30PM at Bandera Middle School, dubbed Becoming a Wool Farmer by Jennifer Nimmrichter of The Sheepwalk Ranch.
To ensure that exhibits are easily accessible across the county, satellite locations were created. To see which is near you and to check on the calendar of events, visit: banderacowboycapital. com/p/ Smithsonian.
.png)
