Pineywoods Autumn Trail: Athens To Palestine

Loop 7 - Athens, Texas

Each autumn in Athens and Palestine, the picturesque landscape transforms to the vibrant colors as leaves begin to turn throughout the East Texas woodlands.

The City of Athens Department of Tourism and Palestine Visitor Center have partnered to offer visitors a 145-mile scenic driving trail along breathtaking scenic highways and byways connecting the two cities.

Athens and Palestine are located in the Texas Forest Trail Region, where you will find beautiful autumn color displays of deciduous trees known to the region.

NY-TX Zipline Adventures

There are a plethora of activities for people of all ages. Enjoy local wineries, fishing, nature walks, public art and art galleries, zipline adventures, train excursions, local cuisine, and so much more!

Enjoy stunning views of the beautiful fall foliage as you zip through tree tops during the Fall Zipline Tours at NY-TX Zipline Adventures, located just minutes from Athens. Stroll down the interpretive wetland trail and learn about the hatchery at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center and identify local birdlife during TFFC's monthly Bird and Nature Walk offered the second Saturday of the month.

One of the best ways to enjoy the East Texas color show is to climb aboard the Texas State Railroad, which offers a historic ride on a restored vintage steam train. Enjoy fine dining with a side order of Pineywoods scenery on the Fall Foliage Brunch Train on November 8.

Davey Dogwood Park
Palestine, Texas

Fall in love with Davey Dogwood Park during the month of November. The fall season offers amazing color for picnics, photo shoots, hiking or just a drive in one of Palestine's beloved areas. The 200-acre park has five miles of hard surface roads, unincorporated hiking trails and scenic views.

To download the Pineywoods Autumn Trail: Athens to Palestine map, please click here. You can also contact the City of Athens Department of Tourism at 888-294-2847, www.AthensTX.org or Palestine Visitor Center at 903-723-3014, www.VisitPalestine.com to request a free visitor's guide and a map of the fall foliage trail.

Autumn color is expected mid to late November but it is recommended to call ahead.

For more information about the Pineywoods Autumn Trail: Athens to Palestine, please click here.

Halloween at the Hatchery Coming Up October 29

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center will host the annual Halloween at the Hatchery the evening of Thursday, October 29.

Local businesses and organizations will hand out free candy, and the center will be decorated throughout with a Halloween theme.

The event runs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. No one will be admitted before 6 p.m., and no pets are allowed. Minors must be accompanied by an adult.

Admission is $1 per person; proceeds will benefit local charities.

Halloween at the Hatchery is TFFC's way of giving East Texas families a safe place to go trick-or-treating while raising money for local causes. The Anglers Pavilion will be the site of a fright-free area featuring prize and game booths for small children. Parents wishing to visit this area should park in the overflow parking lot on Peninsula Point Road and enter through Gate C.

For more information about Halloween at the Hatchery, please click here.

9 to 5 the Musical begins October 1

Pushed to the boiling point by their boss, three female co-workers concoct a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot. They conspire to take control of their company and learn there's nothing they can't do, even in a man's world.

Set in the late 1970's this is a hilarious story of friendship and revenge in the Rolodex era. Outrageous, thought-provoking and even a little romantic. It's about teaming up and taking care of business.

For dates and performance times, please click here.

Jazz on Tap, Plus Two with Kirk Overmoe this Saturday!

Jazz on Tap, Plus Two! Playing those incredible jazz standards on the patio of Castle Oaks Winery from
7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, October 3.

Wine, Dine and Music!

Dinner is at 7 p.m. for $10 per person and music begins at 8 p.m. for $20 per person.

Call for reservations at 903-677-3776.

Come on out to Castle Oaks Winery for a great evening of entertainment.

Christmas Parade Entry Forms Now Available

The City of Athens is pleased to announce that 2015 Christmas Parade entry forms are now available at City Hall and on the City's website at www.AthensTexas.us.

The 2015 City sponsored Christmas Parade is called "Christmas Around the Square". All entrants are encouraged to decorate a float with a Christmas theme. Parade entries will be judged on creativity and overall appearance.

Prizes will be awarded to first, second, and third place winners; with first place receiving $500, second place receiving $300, and $200 given to third place. All prize money is generously sponsored by Republic Services and Kevin Lilly's McDonald's.

Participant entry fee is $20, and will be limited to the first 100 entries. The City urges participants to register early to ensure a place in this year's parade. Marching bands and drill teams will not be required to pay the fee, but will still need to register. Deadline for all participants wishing to register is Monday, Nov. 30.

For additional information about the Christmas Parade, please contact City Hall at 903-675-5131 or visit www.AthensTexas.us.

Uncle Fletch will Hit the Athens Square on Saturday, Sept. 26

The Uncle Fletch Hamburger Festival will return to the Courthouse Square in Athens from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26. There is no admission fee for the festival.

"I get so excited about Uncle Fletch that it is hard for me to keep myself in check," said festival committee chairman Jeff Weinstein. "This year is going to be even better than last year, it's going to be spectacular."

Just like last year, there will be the traditional hamburger cook-off to crown the best burger chef around, the McDonald's burger eating contest, Whataburger bobbing for burgers, and the Weinstein Team mooing contest. This year, however, the committee is cranking things up a notch by adding $1,000 in prize money to the cook-off. Prizes include:

• $600 for First Place
• $250 for Second Place
• $150 for Third Place
• Trophy for Uncle Fletch Spirit
• Trophy for Best Decorated

"I think if you love competition, you need to be part of Uncle Fletch. What you have is people coming from all over that want to claim that they have the best hamburger in the world," said Weinstein.

There is still time to enter a cook team. Call Autumn Davis at 903-677-5333 for more information. The entry fee is just $20.

Another new feature for 2015 is the addition of the Extreme Engineering zipline. Extreme Engineering said that all proceeds from the zipline during the festival will go to charity.

"Basically, you will be ziplining through the square. How awesome is that?" said Weinstein.

The committee also has the "pickle plunge" dunk tank, the TVCC Cardettes and band, and several vendors lined up for the festival.

Make sure to come hungry, because all sorts of food is scheduled to roll in.

First are the hamburger vendors, the local folks who are going to be dishing up the festival's namesake. They include:

• The Athens Christian Preparatory Academy
• Chick's BBQ
• The Uncle Fletch Booth, manned by Kris Baumann - TVCC Men's Head Basketball Coach

There will also be snow cones provided by Parad-ICE Sno Shaved Ice.

And for those people who might want something to go with their burger, there will be four specialty food trucks coming down from Dallas. They include:

• The Butcher's Son
• Texas Burrito Company
• Mad Grill - Clean Mean Pan Asian Cuisine
• Very Individual Pizza - flat bread rogue pizza

All the fun is planned to celebrate Athens as the Home of the Hamburger, the invention of Fletcher "Uncle Fletch" Davis.

Uncle Fletch served his then-unnamed sandwich at a cafe on the Athens square in the late 1880s. Then in 1904, he traveled to the St. Louis World's Fair where a reporter from the New York Tribune wrote a story about the hamburger.

For more information about the festival, please click here.

Life's Better Outside: Get Out There!

Do you want to learn to camp? Kayak? Fly fish? Cook gourmet campfire meals? Learn more about snakes and fish and other wildlife? Win prizes in a fishing tournament? Spend time with your family outdoors?

On September 26 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, the Outdoor Expo and Bluegill Family Fishing Tournament will help you develop skills and increase your knowledge in all those areas by doing them yourself under the direction of a skilled expert. The expo will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Registration for the Bluegill Family Fishing Tournament will begin at 7 a.m. at the TFFC's main gate; weigh-in and the awarding of prizes will take place at 2:30 p.m. in the Anglers Pavilion. Advance registration by mail for the tournament must be completed by September 23. The entry form and rules is available online by clicking here.

Live animal displays will let you get up close to reptiles and raptors. The Blackland Prairie Raptor Center will present a raptor show at noon and also conduct walk-around displays on the grounds. Wildlife on the Move will present a variety of interesting creatures at 1 p.m. followed by a see-and-touch session at 3 p.m.

Staff from Purtis Creek State Park will teach kayaking skills and water safety. Orvis and the Dallas Fly Fishers will teach the basics of fly fishing and fly tying. The Gregg County 4H Club will help you develop your archery skills.

Other stations will let you sample tasty foods cooked in Dutch ovens; see fish swimming in a glass-bottomed stream; see skins, tracks and skulls of predator and prey animals and learn how people lived in the Middle Ages.

Regularly schedule dive shows in which a diver hand-feeds fish will take place at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

All expo events are included with regular paid admission. For more information, please click here.

2nd Annual Uncle Fletch Hamburger Festival Returns Sept. 26

The Uncle Fletch Hamburger Festival is coming back to Athens from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26!

For the second straight year, the iconic festival is going to be on the Courthouse square in downtown Athens and will feature the crowning of the World's Best Burger, fun contests, vendors and food.

Burgers entered into the hamburger cook-off contest will be judged on flavor, texture of meat, aroma and presentation. This year in addition to the World's Best trophy, other prizes include $600 for first place, $250 for second place, $150 for third place, a trophy for Uncle Fletch Spirit and a trophy for Best Decorated. The cook team from Trinity Valley Community College took home the World Champion Uncle Fletch Cook-Off trophy at the 2014 festival; you won't want to miss the excitement when this year's winner is announced.

This year, organizers will have additional hamburger food vendors to make sure everyone gets a hamburger and they will also have food trucks from Dallas serving a few other items to spice things up a bit.

After the festival, head on over to Bruce Field for the TVCC football game at 5 p.m. as the Cardinals take on Texas A&T.

For more information about the 2015 Uncle Fletch Hamburger Festival, please click here.

TVCC Cardinals to take on the Navarro College Bulldogs this Saturday!

Come on out to Bruce Field to cheer on the TVCC Cardinals as they take on the Navarro College Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5!

The Cardinals posted the third 12-0 record in school history and claimed Southwest Junior College Football Conference, regional and Heart of Texas Bowl championships for a second straight year. Ranked third in the final regular season poll behind also unbeaten East Mississippi and Iowa Western, the Cardinals did not get a chance to play in the NJCAA title game and finished No. 2 in the final rankings.

The Cardinals return six offensive and five defensive starters among 23 lettermen and a strong contingent of redshirt players.

"The key to our season, like it is every year, is the ability for our young men to come together and put the team first, doing whatever it takes to help the team win," Coach Brad Smiley said.

The Cardinals have won two national championships in 1994 and 1997, 374 all time wins, 20 bowl appearances and 19 conference championships.

"We are not focused on winning a championship. We are focused on developing championship players. Do that, then those championship players will come together to win championships," Smiley said.

Be sure and mark your calendar for the 2015 home game schedule and come out to Bruce Field to support the TVCC Cardinals:

Sept. 5  Navarro  7 p.m.

Sept. 26  Texas A&T (Family Day)  5 p.m.

Oct. 10  Blinn  5 p.m.

Oct. 24  NEO (Homecoming)  3 p.m.

For more information including hotel accommodations, please click here.

Athens Professional Firefighters Association WSPBR BullFest 2015 Coming Up Aug. 22

The Athens Professional Firefighters Association presents WSPBR BullFest 2015 benefiting MDA.

Come on out to the Henderson County Regional Fair Park Complex on Saturday, Aug. 22 for this exciting professional bull riding competition and live concert by Curtis Grimes.

Gates open at 6 p.m. with bull riding beginning at 7 p.m. Curtis Grimes in concert will follow the competition.

Advanced tickets are $10 and are available at Citizens National Bank and Lone Star Western Wear in Athens. Tickets at the gate are $15.

For more information about this year's BullFest, please click here.

HCPAC's Youth Summer Musical Kicks Off This Week with Legally Blonde

The Henderson County Performing Arts Center kicks off their annual youth summer musical on Thursday, August 6 with Legally Blonde for two weekends in August.

Elle Woods appears to have it all. Her life is turned upside-down, however, when her boyfriend dumps her so he can start getting serious about his life and attend Harvard Law. Determined to get him back she gets into Harvard Law, as well. Based on the mega-hit movie, this is the HCPAC's annual youth summer musical.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.hcpac.org. For dates and performance times, please click here.

"Word on the Street" Art Show & Opening Reception

Gallery 211 will have an opening reception from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on August 1 for the opening of "Word on the Street" art show.

The public is invited to meet the artists, mingle, view original artwork, and get acquainted with many of the local artists. Some of the artists who will be available are Cheryl Hicks, Christi Barrett, Charlie Bullock, Ed McCain, Steve Willis, Marc (Metal Mac) Nagley, Celene Terry, Sharon Benningfield, Norma Fitzwater, Mary Ann Odom, Don Hollis, Ramona Freeman, Bryan Stone, along with a number of other folks.

"Word on the Street" consists of sculptures, abstract painting, textured paintings, water colors, oils and myriad other presentations of art and imagination. Are there really words on the street? Certainly. From Charlie Bullock's haunting glimpse into the streets of New York on Sept. 11 via his large canvas panel entitled "9-11", to Celene Terry's whimsical family of chickens pecking at the painted word "STOP", exhibits touch on a variety of interpretations of this theme.

For more information about "Word on the Street", please click here.

Fourth of July Fireworks at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center will open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for regular paid visitation. Free admission for the fireworks show will start at 4 p.m.

Visitors are encouraged to fish in the stocked casting pond until 8:30 p.m. while waiting for the fireworks, which will begin about 9 p.m.

No license is required to fish, and bait and tackle are furnished for free as long as supplies last. Fishing ends approximately 30 minutes before the fireworks begin.

Food and beverages will be available for purchase, and people and encouraged to bring picnics. KCKL (FM 95.5) will broadcast patriotic music during the show.

Pets, alcohol, tobacco products and private fireworks, including "snap caps" and sparklers, are not allowed.

The event has become an area tradition, with many people dressing in red, white and blue keeping with the holiday theme.

Parking is available in the main TFFC parking lot and in an overflow parking area on Peninsula Point Road. Persons using the overflow parking area may enter through Gate C, which is across the street from the parking area.

The fireworks show is sponsored and paid for by the City of Athens, local businesses and individuals.

For more information about this year's fireworks show, please click here.

Athens' Newest Winery is Open for Business

3 P's in a Vine Winery and Vineyard is Athens' newest winery offering the finest wines made from grapes grown in Texas. The beautiful log winery is built on 12 acres and features indoor and outdoor seating for your tasting pleasure.

Enjoy wine tastings in front of the stone fireplace or at the bar. Relax on the patio overlooking the vineyard under the bright starry skies of East Texas.

Special events can be set up by appointment by contacting the winery at 903-677-9463.

3 P's in a Vine is a dream come true for owners Brett and Rae Priestley. In 2012, Brett was doing carpentry work for a local doctor who had a small vineyard of Blanc Du Bois grapes. He was relocating and offered Brett the 8 year old vines and all the post, irrigation, and wine making equipment. Brett had to dig up each vine and transplant it onto their land. In the process of getting the vines transplanted, they only lost one vine out of nearly 100.

After two years of growing the vines and propagating of new vines, they came up with the idea of having their own winery. The winery is built on 12 acres overlooking the vineyard. Rae's daughter came up with name 3 P's in a Vine, the three P's representing their last name.

Rae and Brett hope to give everyone a great, relaxing experience when they visit the winery and vineyard and they are excited to provide their customers with some of the finest wines. All of their wines are made from grapes that are Texas grown.

Rae and Brett feel strongly about educating their patrons on the quality of wines that they can produce here in Texas. Their goal is to have people come to 3 P's in a Vine, and have them leave with a greater appreciation of Texas wine, and feel like they had a great experience at their winery that will make them want to return again and again.

For more information about 3 P's in a Vine including the winery's hours, please click here.

Registration Open for 3rd Annual Glow Run

Join the Cain Center for the 3rd Annual Glow Run on July 25. This is an evening 5K and one-mile fun run that is family-friendly.

Come enjoy the warm summer night in a colorful display of glowing sticks, necklaces and lights along the route and lots of other cool stuff too!

To register online visit www.active.com or contact the Cain Center at 903-677-2000.

For more information about this annual fun run event, please click here.

Juneteenth Events Scheduled June 13 & 19

The 4th Annual Juneteenth Black Rodeo will kick off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13 at the
Henderson County Regional Fair Park Complex.

This year's rodeo, Sturdy and Durty on the Dirt, will feature relay races, bull riding, calf roping, ladies barrel racing and much more.

The half time, showtime throwdown features Cool Ricky Blues, Ms. Jody and other special guests.

The 2nd Annual Juneteenth Parade, Concert and Festival will take place on Friday, June 19 on the Courthouse Square. The parade begins at 6 p.m. and festivities downtown will include food, fun and entertainment provided by the Wesley Pruitt Band, Kadie Lynn, Cool Ricky Blues, Tres Jackson, Trinity Wennerstrom and other guests.

National Fishing Day at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center June 6

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center will kick off National Fishing and Boating Week by making a
family fishing trip affordable with free admission for kids 12 and under plus free fishing for the whole family and free hot dogs and drinks from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 6.

Families may also win prizes in a catfishing tournament at TFFC's casting pond. Anglers may fish as individuals or as teams with an adult assisting a child. All tackle and bait are furnished.

In addition to fishing, visitors can walk the wetlands trail, see a diver hand feed fish; learn about the history of fishing in the freshwater fishing museum; shop for a souvenir in the Flat Creek Bait 'n Goods Gift Shop and watch the alligator feeding at 3:30 p.m.

National Fishing and Boating Week comes at the start of the summer vacation season and is designed to encourage families to spend time together on and around water. No fishing license is required anywhere in the state on the first Saturday in June, which is designated Free Sportfishing Day.

For more information about this annual event, please click here.

84th Annual Athens Old Fiddlers Reunion Set for May 30

The 84th annual Old Fiddlers Contest and Reunion is known nationwide, and as far as we know it, is the oldest such contest that has run continuously year after year.

The big attraction is the Fiddlers Contest, which is broken down into 5 divisions, senior ages 66 and over, adult ages 30-65, young adult ages 19-29, youth ages 18 and under and the Open Division which is for all ages. There will be a playoff between the 1st place winners of each of the five divisions. This will be the Grand Champion and this person will get a Grand Prize of $600, in addition to the $200 which he or she has already won by being the 1st place winner of his/her division.

At 6 p.m., there will be an Acoustic Guitar Picking Competition for all ages. The Fiddlers Contest will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning, May 30 and will run throughout the day. Beginning at 8 p.m., there will be a country western band with professional musicians playing until Midnight for the famous Street Dance.

On Friday night, before the Fiddlers Contest, a Jam Session will take place on the Courthouse lawn at 7 p.m. There will be concession stands along the sidewalks, and a carnival will be set up just off the Courthouse Square.

Schedule: Saturday, May 30
9 a.m. Invocation, Welcome Address, Western Swing Band
10 a.m. Seniors 66 and Over Contest
11 a.m. Adult Ages 30-65 Contest
12 noon Western Swing Band
1:30 p.m. Adult Ages 30-65 Contest Continued
2 p.m. Young Adult Ages 19-29 Contest
3 p.m. Youth Ages 18 & Under Contest
4 p.m. Open Division, All Ages Contest
5 p.m. Grand Champion Playoff
6 p.m. Acoustic Guitar Picking Contest
8 p.m.-12 Midnight Street Dance

For more information about this year's event, please click here.

Henderson County Go Texan Rodeo April 24 & 25

Hosted by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Elder Chrysler-RAM-Jeep, the Henderson County Go Texan Rodeo promises to be one of the most exciting yet!

Contestants compete in events including team roping, barrel racing, calf roping, the popular 21 and older women's calf scramble and bull riding.

In addition to the rodeo, the Go Texan BBQ Cook-Off will take place on Saturday.

Following the rodeo on Friday night, there will be live entertainment provided by the Wesley Pruitt Band and on Saturday night entertainment will be provided by Randy Brown. Both concerts are free with purchase of a rodeo ticket.

Pre-sale tickets are $10 and are available at Elder Dodge, Cavendar's, Citizens National Bank, First State Bank or the Athens Chamber of Commerce. Tickets at the gate are $12.

Gates open each night at 5 p.m. and the rodeo begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Henderson County Regional Fair Park Complex.

For more information about the 30th annual rodeo, please click here.

Athens Farmer's Market Season to Kick Off in April

The Athens Farmer's Market will kick-off the season in April with extended hours. The Market takes place every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., beginning in April through the market season. In addition to Saturday's, the Market will be open from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Tuesday May through July.

You'll find everything from baked goods, tamales, jams and jellies, picked vegetables and salsas, just to name a few. Don't forget about organic free-range eggs and fresh grown herbs. The market also features local artisans handcrafted items such as wood cutting boards, handcrafted natural gemstone jewelry and more.

The Athens Farmer's Market is located in the city parking lot, one block northeast of historic downtown Athens at the corner of N. Palestine and Larkin streets. For more information about the Athens Farmer's Market, please click here.

Athens EggFest Set for April 11 at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center

The fifth annual Athens EggFest is scheduled for Saturday, April 11 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cooking will end at 3 p.m.

Regular admission to TFFC will be charged; an additional $5 donation to the Friends of TFFC is required for tasting. Tasting will continue until all the food is gone.

Cooks should preregister at http://athenseggfest.wordpress.com/. There is no fee to cook.

Dozens of Eggheads will fire up Big Green Eggs and bake, smoke, grill and serve everything from breakfast casseroles to fancy desserts. While tasting, you can learn how to cook on a ceramic cooker yourself.

The theme for this year's Athens Eggfest is "Green Eggs and Ham..burgers" in recognition of Athens' status as the home of the original hamburger.

"The basic idea behind the Eggfest is to get people outdoors, and what better way to do that than by offering them delicious food," said Allen Forshage, TFFC director. "And while they are here, we hope they will take time to fish in our ponds, walk our Wetlands Trail and learn about the role TFFC and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department play in keeping fishing great in Texas."

Demo eggs used at the event will be available for purchase at the end of the day. Click on the link above to reserve a once-used ceramic cooker prior to the event.

For more information about Athens EggFest, please click here.

Keep Athens Beautiful Home and Garden Event Coming March 7

The Lone Star Mower Racing Association is bringing its lawn mower races to the Henderson County Regional Fair Park Complex.

This family fun event will be part of the Keep Athens Beautiful Home and Garden Event Saturday, March 7 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year, Keep Athens Beautiful is excited to present a fun event that is sure to be entertaining, lawn mower races!

The Lone Star Mower Racing Association will produce a show that is fast, fun, and family friendly. Tickets for this event are $5 each and races will begin at 11 a.m. Ticket holders will have a photo op with the racers and their mowers after the races.

Come on out and visit local vendors that will help provide guidance as you get ready to plant your flowers and vegetables for the summer. Some of the vendors that will be a part of the show are Redline Power Equipment, Mingus Roses, Oncor, TVEC, First State Bank, Henderson County Master Gardeners, Lowe's, Athens Tractor & Equipment, Ag Power, East Texas Arboretum, and McDade's Nursery.

The Master Gardeners Club will hold mini programs every hour starting at 9:30 a.m., such as growing worms for your garden and growing your garden from seeds.

There will be special events for families, including an activity area just for children.

For more information about the Home and Garden event, please click here.

Outdoor Opportunities Abound in Athens at Spring Break

With spring just around the corner, the City of Athens Department of Tourism is preparing to welcome nature lovers to its outdoor activities and diverse venues.

Known for its natural beauty, Athens provides an array of activities for visitors to enjoy the outdoors including bird watching, fishing, boating, nature walks and golfing, just to name a few.

Athens offers several activities to families at spring break. On March 7, Keep Athens Beautiful will transform the Henderson County Regional Fair Park grounds and Senior Citizens Building into a marketplace for the annual Home and Garden Show. The lawn mower races, hosted by the Lone Star Mower Racing Association, is a new addition to this year's annual event.

On March 14, the Cain Center will host its first St. Patrick's Day fun run Come Jig & Jog With Us. Participants can choose to participate in the 5K or 1 mile run/walk and participants may register their dog to join them in the fun. The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center will have its monthly Bird and Nature Walk and they will host the annual Fly Fish Texas on March 14. Fly Fish Texas is aimed at the novice fly fisher and will teach you how to tie a fly, cast it and catch a fish with it, all in the same day. Food vendors will be on site every day from March 10-14 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center so families can spend the day enjoying the outdoors this spring break.

Visit the Henderson County Regional Fair Park Complex for several free events coming up on March 14-15 for Fire It Up Productions, a two-day team roping event; the following Saturday on March 21, the complex will host the World Series Team Roping; and March 27-29 will be the Texas High School Rodeo Association.

Participants come from across the country to showcase their personal recipes, meet with fellow Eggheads and share some great food with the crowd at the 5th Annual Athens EggFest on April 11 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

The Henderson County Go Texan Rodeo, hosted by the Athens Chamber of Commerce, will take place April 24-25 at the Henderson County Regional Fair Park Complex. Contestants will compete in events including team roping, barrel racing, calf roping, the popular 21 and Older Women's Calf Scramble, and Bull Riding.

For more information about Athens, please click here.

Eggheads to Thrill Tastebuds at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center April 11

Local lore has it that the hamburger as we know it was invented by an Athens resident, Fletcher "Old Dave" Davis, at his Athens cafe in the 1880s and introduced to the world at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. A reporter for the New York Tribune wrote from the fair of a new sandwich called a hamburger, "the innovation of a food vendor on the pike." While the food vendor was never named, enough evidence existed that the person was none other than Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas, that the 80th Texas Legislature adopted a resolution naming Athens as "the Original Home of the Hamburger."

Fast-forward a century and you find people cooking hamburgers and almost everything else on Big Green Eggs, ceramic cookers with devotees from coast to coast.

Put the two together and you get Green Eggs and Ham...burgers, a friendly gastric get-together known to most as an Eggfest, which will take place April 11 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) in Athens.

Participants will come from across the country to showcase their personal recipes, meet with fellow Eggheads, and share some great food with the crowd. In addition to regular admission to TFFC, there is a $5 fee for tasting if you pre-register online before the event, $10 if you don't. Proceeds from tasting fees benefit TFFC education programs.

Visitors can also go fishing, see a diver hand-feed fish, and walk our Wetlands Trail. A variety of vendors will be on hand with kitchen and grill-related products.

Individuals interested in owning a Big Green Egg may purchase once-used eggs at substantially discounted prices following the event.

For more information about the event, please click here.

Registration Open for Cain Center's St. Patrick's Day Fun Run March 14

Join the Cain Center for a St. Patrick's Day fun run, Come Jig & Jog With Us, on Saturday, March
14.

Participants can choose to participate in the 5K or 1 mile run/walk. Participants are allowed to bring their dogs. Dogs must be kept on a leash at all times and a registration form must be filled out on their behalf.

Participant Fees:
$10 Dog Registration (includes bandanna)
$25 Early Registration, ends March 12
$30 Registration, after March 12
Registration includes a T-shirt and one door prize ticket.
To register online, please click here.

Non-perishable food items will be donated to the Athens Food Pantry. Donate non-perishable food items for an extra door prize ticket.

For more information, including an event schedule, please click here.

Spring Breaking at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center

Families looking for a place to have an inexpensive, rewarding family vacation during spring break need look no farther than the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) in Athens.

Located just 75 miles southeast of Dallas, 100 miles east of Waco and 180 miles north of Houston, TFFC is a one-tank round trip for about 10 million people.

TFFC offers free fishing with paid admission for channel catfish and rainbow trout with no license, bait, tackle or experience required, and from March 14 until the end of rainbow trout season in late April, visitors can harvest trout for free. Daily limit is five trout per person. Anyone wishing to harvest trout should bring an ice chest and ice.

Visitors will also want to check out the center's 300,000 gallons of aquaria featuring native Texas fish. There are some truly monster fish on display, including largemouth bass weighing more than 15 pounds and alligator gar weighing 200 or so. All the aquaria can be viewed from a covered walkway, and indoor exhibits include a fishing museum, a freshwater fishing hall of fame, displays showing how fish are spawned and raised and well-stocked gift shop.

As an added bonus, this year's Fly Fish Texas event falls in the middle of spring break. You can come to TFFC on March 14 and learn to tie a fly, cast a fly and catch a fish all in the same day. The event is put on by volunteers from fly-fishing clubs all over Texas and is free with paid admission.

Food vendors will be on site every day from March 10 through March 14, making it easy to spend the whole day at TFFC. Visitors are also welcome to picnic in the areas provided, and Athens--where the hamburger was invented, has plenty of restaurants.

Weekdays at 11 a.m., Saturday at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. a diver hand-feeds the fish in a 26,000 gallon aquarium with a viewing auditorium. Visitors can ask questions of the diver through a live underwater link.

After the dive show, visitors can take a tram tour of the hatchery where TFFC annually raises millions of largemouth bass and channel catfish for stocking into public waters. Most visitors disembark the tram at the far end of the hatchery and walk back along the ADA-compliant Wetland Trail. This 0.8 mile, wooded trail features an exhibit with recorded calls of wetland birds and animals, a working bee-hive with see-through walls, a wildflower area and scads of turtles in the ponds.

All of this is yours for the price of admission: $5.50 adults, $4.50 for seniors, and $3.50 for children ages 4 to 12. For more information, call 903-676-2277 or visit www.tpwd.texas.gov/tffc.

For information on Athens dining, lodging and attractions, visit www.AthensTX.org.

Fly Fish Texas March 14 at Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center

Fly fishing clubs and anglers from across Texas come to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center to share fly fishing tips and techniques and teach them to others. Aimed at the novice fly fisher, this event is designed to teach you how to tie a fly, cast it and catch a fish with it, all in the same day.

Fly Fish Texas emphasizes hands-on learning and immediate application of newly acquired skills. Visitors can collect aquatic insects from the center's streams, tie a fly to imitate one of those insects under the supervision of a skilled tier, learn to cast it from a casting instructor certified by the Federation of Fly Fishers, then use it to catch a rainbow trout, catfish or sunfish from one of TFFC's stocked ponds or streams.

Throughout the day, experienced fly-tiers will be demonstrating and teaching fly-tying in the Anglers Pavilion on a one-on-one basis. In addition, group instruction in beginning fly-tying will be offered in the Hart-Morris Conservation Center classroom beginning at noon. Both are offered on a walk-up basis.

Beginning casting instruction will take place continuously in the Conservation Center parking lot from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. In the Conservation Center Room B, attend fly-fishing 101 at 10 a.m. and learn about essential flies for Texas fresh water at 11 a.m.

Fly-fishing kayak style will be presented on the shore of the casting pond at 2 p.m.

Other sessions will focus on caring for fly-fishing equipment, choosing a fly line, and fishing the slam of B.A.S.S. in southern rivers.

Kayak use will be demonstrated on the casting pond. Do-it-yourself fly-fishing for rainbow trout, sunfish and catfish will be available all day in the TFFC's ponds and streams.

Food service will be available onsite, or attendees may bring a picnic. TFFC's regularly scheduled dive shows will take place in the dive theater at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and will be followed by tram tours of the hatchery.

Fly Fish Texas takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is free with regular paid admission. For more information, please click here.