FANDANGLE: THINGS TO DO
By Donnie A. Lucas
A wide variety of activities will be offered in Albany during the last two Fridays and Saturdays in June to help entertain the crowds of visitors coming to town for the Fort Griffin Fandangle, as well as local residents.
Free events will be offered on all four of those days including a quilt show, tracker organ concert, calliope concert, car museum, viewing the Picket House, longhorns on the Courthouse Square, and exhibits and activities at the Old Jail Art Center.
Other no-cost events offered on one performance day include the annual Fandangle Parade and Fandangle Pet Parade.
Shopping will be available at downtown stores.
Restaurants around town will be open for business, and Joe Allen’s Barbecue of Abilene will be serving at the Bank Park.
Visitors are also welcome to tour the Fort Griffin State Historical Site, a few miles north of town.
Quilt Show
Members of the Albany Study Club will sponsor their annual quilt show at the Whitney Theatre in downtown Albany, and the free event is open to the general public from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Fandangle days.
Quilts are still needed for the show, and people are requested to bring them to the Shackelford County library by Monday, June 12, to loan them for the display.
Quilts should be placed in a clean plastic bag, with the owner’s name clearly marked on the bag.
Also on display at the quilt show will be the Study Club’s annual raffle quilt.
Raffle tickets cost $5 each or five tickets for $20.
Tickets may be purchased from Study Club members, at the county library, or at the quilt show.
Concerts
Local musician and Fandangle organist Sandy Abel will give a concert on the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church’s Tracker Organ from 4:00 until 5:00 p.m. each day of the Fandangle.
Louann George will play the totally restored Fandangle calliope at 7:30 p.m. at the Prairie Theater prior to the start of the Fandangle.
Tours and Museums
•The Flying A Car Museum will be open from 12:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday performance days.
•The Picket House at the Bank Park and the Shackelford County Courthouse will be open for viewing from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
•The Old Jail Art Center will be open from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. with free admission for all activities.
In addition to summer exhibits and displays of items in the museum’s permanent collection, the OJAC will also host a Native American Fancy Dancers performance on Saturday, June 17 at 2:00 p.m. That will be followed by a lecture in Stasney Center on the Cheyenne Ledger Drawings Exhibit.
Fandangle-themed grab-n-go crafts will be available both weeks in the trunk located outside of the gates.
The OJAC is featuring two exhibits for the summer including Cheyenne Ladger Drawings: Stories of Warrior Artists. Also, as part of the ongoing Cell Series in one of the original Old Jail galleries upstairs, Corrie Thompson will present a show entitle “Droughts and Deluges.”
For more information on any events, contact the OJAC at 325-762-2269.
Longhorns
Several animals from the official state herd of longhorns at Fort Griffin State Historic Site will be on the Courthouse Square from 2:00 until 8:00 p.m. each night of the show.
Other members of the herd will be in the Fandangle and at the historical site.
Herd manager Will Cradduck will also have some of the longhorns in the Fandangle Parade.
Fandangle Parade
The annual Fandangle Parade will take place at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 17.
Plaques and cash prizes will be awarded to winners in several categories, and there is no charge to enter.
For more information, see the related article in this week’s edition of The Albany News.
Pet Parade
Pets of all sizes, shapes, and colors are invited to participate in the free annual Fandangle Pet Parade to be held at the Bank Park at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 24.
Pet owners are encouraged to dress pets in their best wild west attire.
Prizes will be awarded for Best Dressed, Most Creative, Most Unique Pet, and Best Fandangle Costume.
Pets can be pre-registered at the Fandangle office or by calling 325-762-3838 until Friday, June 23.
Registration begins at the Bank Park at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 24.
Shopping Downtown
Albany merchants offer a wide variety of items for sale.
Several store owners have decorated their downtown windows with special memorabilia and/or historic items for the Fandangle season.
Fort Griffin
The historic partially restored frontier fort is located several miles north of Albany on US Hwy. 183.
A few camping sites are still available at Fort Griffin for the second weekend of Fandangle. The recreational portion of the park is already booked up during the first weekend on June 16-17. Fort Griffin is open seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission fees are $4 for adults, free for those five and under, and $3 for students and anyone over 65. Special rates are available for families. Any special program is included in the cost of admission to the park. Camping sites require an additional fee.
For more information or to reserve a camping site call 325-762-3592.
