• Saludos! Get ready for the “Big Bend Border Wall Barbecue” tour happening in Marfa, Alpine, Terlingua and Presidio, to bring the people of the Big Bend region together to discuss our sentiments, concerns and ideas about the border wall between Mexico and Texas. ReVIVA Collective will be recording all concerns to consider for the upcoming Big Bend Border Wall Conference that has been moved back to sometime in May. This will be a chance for people of surrounding communities to come out and have a good time while creating an open dialogue about an important issue.
The first stop will be Marfa on Thursday, April 3 at the Tillie Arts Gallery, 6-9 pm. There will be live music and barbecued brisket and fish, along with vegetarian-friendly choices as well. Feel free to bring your own dish to share. Tillie Arts is located at 102 South Plateau in Marfa, Texas, which is off Highway 90 behind the Dairy Queen and Dollar Store.
The next stop will be Alpine on April 12th. For more information, email revivacollective@gmail.com or call 432.837.5736. Ride sharing will be available. !Que todos vengan!
• Here’s an event sure to please the aficionado of regional native plants: three newly-released books will be featured at a triple-header book signing at 6 p.m. Thursday April 3, Front Street Books Reading Room, 201 E. Holland Ave., Alpine.
Authors Michael and Shirley Powell, of the Alpine area, will autograph their brand-new Cacti of Texas: A Field Guide (with James F. Weedin), just out in soft cover from Texas Tech University Press. The first authoritative and indispensable field guide to Texas cacti, it supplants the out-of-print Cacti of Texas and Neighboring States (1983, 1988), by Del Weniger. The book is exceptionally well designed, includes range maps, detailed species descriptions, and more than 300 photos of the cacti in flower and in fruit; and features a botanical key to help distinguish the various species.
Photographer/writer Roy Morey, of Terlingua, will be present to sign his stunning Little Big Bend: Common, Uncommon, and Rare Plants of Big Bend National Park (Texas Tech University Press). In beautiful photographs and in-depth descriptive essays, Morey presents 109 species found only in Trans-Pecos Texas. Little Big Bend is not a typical botanical treatment, but rather a personal book that is as much a pleasure to read as to enjoy visually.
Finally, Jackie M. Poole will sign Rare Plants of Texas (Texas A&M University Press Nature Guide), a milestone botanical achievement. Lead author Poole, a state botanist, was assisted by three other authors, William R. Carr, Dana M. Price, and Jason R. Singhurst, who together have distilled countless years of research into a beautifully designed and executed manual. At 640 pages, with hundreds of color photos, line drawings, and range maps; detailed species descriptions and details, thorough discussions of habitats, lengthy bibliography, and index, Rare Plants of Texas is an instant classic.
• An organic gardening presentation happens at 7 pm on Fri., April 4 at the Front Street Books Reading Room, 201 E. Holland Ave. Master organic gardeners Mark Foster and Deborah Tout, whose beautiful produce is highly sought at the Saturday morning Alpine Farmer’s Market, will discuss their growing techniques and provide tips for successful production of organically grown fruits and vegetables.
Following at 2 pm on Sat., April 5 at 614 S. Mountainside Dr., participants may gather in Foster and Tout’s burgeoning garden for a walk-through and onsite demonstration of the couple’s gardening practices.
• The Big Bend Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas will visit the native plant gardens at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) on April 5. The day-long trip to El Paso will carpool from Alpine at 9 am. and arrive in El Paso in time for lunch in the university area. An escorted tour of the garden will begin at 1 pm and the group will leave for home at 3 pm, arriving back in Alpine around 8 pm
Reservations are necessary (must be made by noon on April 4) and may be made by calling One Way Plant Nursery in Alpine, 432.837.1117.
•The April meeting of the Texas Mountain Trail Writers will be held Tues., April 15, from 7-9 pm in the Fiesta Room at the Hallmark Apartments in Alpine. Everyone is welcome – whether you are a writer, poet, songwriter – or aspiring to be one. Questions? Contact Jackie Siglin at 432 364-2399.
• The 2008 annual Banquet sponsored by Big Bend Friends of NRA is set for Tues., April 22, at 5 pm in the Alpine Civic Center. This is a change from previous years, when the banquet was held in September.
Besides a delicious dinner, the banquet features both a silent and a live auction, raffles, door prizes, and games. All net proceeds benefit The NRA Foundation, which has funded youth firearms safety and education programs; hunter education; range development and improvement; support materials for training classes; women’s safety classes; and wildlife conservation efforts.
In another break from tradition, this year’s banquet will feature a chicken breast garnished with fresh tomatoes, with mashed potatoes and other side dishes, which is being catered by the chef of Alpine City Limits. The meal was previewed by the banquet committee, which unanimously declared it to be delicious.
Tickets are $25 per adult, and $15 for youth under 16. Table sponsorships are available. For tickets and sponsorship information, please contact Dawson Young at Morrison’s True Value Hardware in Alpine: 432 837-2061.
