Happenings in the region in September

• Come fly with us at the 2011 Big Bend Balloon Bash 16th Anniversary weekend in Alpine on September 3, 4 and 5 (Labor Day Weekend). Over twenty colorful hot air balloons will soar early each morning above Alpine and dance across the Davis Mountains of the Big Bend. Be a part of the viewing crowd or lend a hand helping crew for a balloon. Pilot briefings begin at 7 am each morning and balloons usually launch by 8 am. The flights are usually completed by 10 am, allowing visitors to enjoy the other events, activities and touring of the Big Bend.
On Sunday evening is the Fire Glow and Concert at Alpine’s Buck Stadium, featuring the balloon pilots as they “play” their burners in a fun and memorable outdoor concert. When the balloons simultaneously fire their burners, the audience experiences the heat of over 150 million BTUs—enough energy to heat 1,500 three-bedroom homes!
The Big Bend Balloon Bash weekend will be held at the Alpine-Casparis Municipal Airport in Alpine, on Highway 118, 1 mile north of downtown. Along with the balloon launch, there will be food booths and concessions with t-shirts, balloon merchandise, and memorabilia.
(This event is dependent upon appropriate weather conditions and can change without notice. No pets allowed due to liability.)
For more information, call 432-837-7486 or visit www.bigbendballoonbash.com.

• Marfa Public Radio (KRTS, 93.5 FM) and the LIVESTRONG Foundation welcome riders to the second annual Marfa 100. This 62-mile/100K charitable cycling event will benefit the ongoing fight against cancer and contribute to the cultural enrichment of far West Texas.
The Marfa 100 course starts Saturday morning, Sept 10., at the Capri Events Center on Highway 90. From there, the ride proceeds west through town and then turns south on Ranch Road 2810. Riders will go about 30 miles to the turnaround point/hospitality station, then back to the Capri along the same route.
Both serious and casual cyclists are encouraged to sign up.
“The beauty of the FM 2810 course is you can ride as far as you like and turn around at any point,” said Marfa 100 Founder/Chairperson Todd Widell. “Given the charitable nature, we welcome cyclists of all levels to come out and give their best effort.”
Registration is $100 and tax-deductible. All proceeds benefit KRTS Marfa and the LIVESTRONG Foundation. All participants will get a Marfa 100 T-shirt, and enjoy an evening party at Padres Marfa.
KRTS thanks all those helping with the event, including Hotel Thunderbird & Capri, Padres Marfa, and LatinWorks, an Austin-based advertising agency.
For more information, visit www.marfa100.org or call KRTS Marfa Public Radio at 432-729-4578.

• Ride in the Fort Davis Cyclefest Tour & Hill Climb, arguably the best and most scenic bicycle tour in the state of Texas with beautiful vistas, easy novice routes and challenging hills. Cyclefest is a “must do” for every cyclist.
The annual Cyclefest Bike Tour and Hill Climb is held in the scenic “Texas Alps” of West Texas in Fort Davis. The tour provides varying distance routes from 10, 25, 55 and 75 miles. The event is staged at the historic Prude Ranch in Fort Davis on Saturday, September 17.
Cyclefest activities include Friday night registration, a peaceful night’s rest, Saturday morning registration, Saturday scenic bicycle tour, post-ride massage therapry available on site, and post-ride pasta dinner, door prize, best legs contest, and Sunday morning hill climb.
For more information, visit the Permian Basin Bicycling Association’s website: www.pbbatx.com/html/cyclefest.html.

• Texas Mountain Trail Writers are ending our summer hiatus with a kick-off meeting to resume our fall, winter, and spring season of activities on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at Reba and David’s place in Sunny Glen (8 Rim Road), 6:30 to 9 pm. We’re planning a good time, packed with writers’ camaraderie and useful information. If you love to write, or have dreamed of putting pen to paper, join us like-minded souls and get on the creative bandwagon. We’ll have refreshments, too. For more information call Jackie Siglin at (432) 364-2399 or Reba Seals at (432) 837-2919 in Alpine or Eleanor Taylor at (432) 426-3050 in Fort Davis. Website: www.texasmountaintrailwriters.org

• Saturday, September 24 is National Public Lands Day. This means free entrance into Big Bend National Park, a chance to join with others to support public lands, and have a fun-filled weekend.
National Public Lands Day is born out of a commitment to protect and preserve our natural treasures. It is an opportunity for all Americans to celebrate the majesty of our open spaces and contribute a direct effort in the work of conserving our public lands. In the 18th year of this event more than 175,000 Americans will pitch in for National Public Lands Day 2011 at more than 2,000 sites nation-wide.
Big Bend National Park will host a special volunteer project on September 24 to help with grasslands restoration. We will continue work that was performed this summer in a fuel reduction project to protect park facilities in the event of a wild fire. The brush from this project is now being recycled in a long-term effort to help control erosion and re-establish grasses in historically heavily impacted areas. We need your help; there is a lot of brush to spread over a large area. This brush will keep the native grass seed from washing away and serve as a bit of shade to allow these seedlings to become established. It will be very rewarding to watch your grasses over the coming years. Participation in the project is free and open to the public. Please call Jane Brown or Natasha Moore at 432-477-1196 or e-mail [email protected] for more information and to reserve your spot.
For other information, visit: www.publiclandsday.org/.