Special activities continue
By Sidney Bartee
Special activities continue in Albany throughout Friday and Saturday before the final two performances of the 2021 Fandangle.
Free activities offered on both June 25 and 26 include a quilt show, tracker organ concert, calliope concert, car museum, movie, longhorns on the Courthouse Square, and exhibits at the Old Jail Art Center.
The annual Fandangle Pet Parade on Saturday is also free, as is a Family Festival and Critter Corral at the Old Jail Art Center on Saturday.
Robert Nail Movie
The film Making a Difference: Robert Nail & the Fandangle will be shown at the Aztec Theater at 3:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday afternoons.
The public is encouraged to see the free showing of the documentary about the Fandangle and its creator.
Quilt Show
Members of the Albany Study Club are sponsoring their annual quilt show inside of the Whitney Theatre in downtown Albany. The free event is open to the public from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Fandangle days.
Also on display at the quilt show will be the Study Club’s annual raffle quilt.
Raffle tickets for the quilt cost $5 each or five tickets for $20.
Concerts
Local musician Sandy Abel will give an organ recital and present an informal lecture on the Historic Tracker Organ at the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. each day of the Fandangle.
The MMPC organ was the first one built by Otto Hofmann and was installed in the local church in 1956.
Louann George will play the Fandangle calliope starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Prairie Theater.
The G.P. Crutchfield steam calliope was built by hand in 1943 by workers at Marshall R. Young Oil Company and is thought to be the only musical instrument that requires a permit from the State of Texas to be played.
Exhibits and Events
The Flying A Car Museum will be open both Friday and Saturday afternoons until 8:00 p.m.
The museum regularly rotates the vehicles that are on display, so even those who have been to the museum before should drop by again to see the treasures that car club members have parked inside.
The Shackelford County Courthouse will be open from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. for the public to tour its historic halls.
The Historic Picket House will be open for viewing from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the First National Bank Park.
The Easy Does It Pop-Up Art Show will be open from 1:00 until 8:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday
The show will take place in a retrofitted shipping container located on South 3rd Street on the south side of the Courthouse Square.
The show will feature artwork by Calhan Hale and George Kelly.
The Old Jail Art Center is open from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. this Friday and Saturday.
In addition to summer exhibits and displays of items in the museum’s permanent collection, the OJAC will also host a Family Festival: Fandangle Round Up on Saturday, June 26 from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.
The free event will include crafts, music, and games.
For more information about activities at The Old Jail, see the related article in this week’s edition of The Albany News or call 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 10:00-7:30 p.m. each night of the show.
Other members of the herd will be in the Fandangle and out at the fort.
Pet Parade
Pets of all sizes, shapes, and colors are invited to participate in the free annual Fandangle Pet Parade downtown at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 26.
For more information, see the related article in this week’s edition of The Albany News or call the Fandangle office at 325-762-3838.
Special Food Options
Restaurants around town will be open for business as usual.
In addition, there are a couple of extra food options this Fandangle season.
The Fort Griffin General Merchandise Restaurant and Joe Allen’s BBQ have teamed together to serve a $18 per plate/$8 per child’s plate barbecue meal at the Bank Park starting at 5:00 p.m., weather permitting.
The meal will include brisket, sausage, beans, coleslaw, bread, tea, and chilled sliced peaches.
Joe Allen’s will also serve a lunch special at the bank park.
The lunch will include a BBQ sandwich, chips, and a drink for $10.
The Icehouse will have live music and special food available from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Friday and from 2:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Shopping Downtown
Albany merchants offer a wide variety of items for sale including Fandangle souvenirs.
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 of Fort Griffin is located several miles north of Albany on US Hwy. 283.
The historic site also provide campgrounds for the public.
As of press time, camping sites were still available at Fort Griffin for both June 25 and 26. The sites start at a rate of $12 per night.
Fort Griffin is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission fees to enter the park are $4 for adults and free for those five and under, while they are $3 for college students, those between six and 18 years of age, and anyone over 65. Special rates are available for families and adult tour groups.
Site staff will collect admission fees near the entrance to the campground from those arriving after hours.
For more information or to reserve a camping site, call 325-762-3592.
