Special activities continue
By Kathy Thomson
Several activities are taking place in Albany this Friday and Saturday, offering an assortment of entertainment options during the day, and of course, the final two performances of the 2019 Fort Griffin Fandangle will take center stage at the Prairie Theater both evenings.
Free activities offered on both June 28 and 29 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 Friday is also free, as is a Family Festival: Fandangle Round Up at the Old Jail Art Center on Saturday.
Shopping will be available daily at downtown stores, at the Depot, and from vendors at the Bank Park.
Activities are also planned a few miles away at Fort Griffin State Historical Site.
Robert Nail Movie
The film Making a Difference: Robert Nail & The Fort Griffin Fandangle will be shown at the Aztec Theater at 3:00 p.m. on both Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29.
The public is invited to watch a free showing of the documentary about the Fandangle and its creator Robert Nail inside the air conditioned Aztec Theater.
Quilt Show
Members of the Albany Study Club are sponsoring their annual quilt show inside the air conditioned Whitney Theatre in downtown Albany. The free event is open to the general public from 3:00 until 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.
Tickets may be purchased from Study Club members, at the county library, or at the quilt show.
The Study Club uses the funds raised from the raffle to help support the Shackelford County Library.
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 until 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.
Abel has a Masters of Music degree from Hardin-Simmons University and has been the church’s organist since 1995.
Louann George will play the Fandangle calliope starting at 8:00 p.m. at the Prairie Theater.
The G.P. Crutchfield 1943 steam calliope was built by hand 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.
Jeff Martin will play at the Bank Park on Friday evening during the barbecue dinner, and Matt Stapp will perform during the dinner on Saturday.
Museums
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 until 4:00 p.m. on Friday.
The Old Jail Art Center is open from 10:00 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 29 from 1:00 until 4:00 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 2:00 until 8:00 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 at the Bank Park at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 28.
Prizes will be given to the winners of each of four categories and an overall grand prize will be awarded.
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.
Prairie Star offers a lunch special of a barbecue sandwich meal for $8.50.
The Fort Griffin General Merchandise Restaurant and Joe Allen’s BBQ have teamed together to serve a $16 per plate/$8 per child’s plate barbecue meal at the Bank Park from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., weather permitting.
The meal will include brisket, sausage, beans, coleslaw, bread, tea, and chilled sliced peaches.
Members of the Xi Chi Pi sorority will be selling homemade ice cream at the Bank Park from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Icehouse will have live music from 10:00 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.
Matt Stapp will play at the Blue Duck Winery from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Friday, June 28.
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.
In addition to regular self-guided tours of the fort, employees will offer a guided tour of the fort at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 29.
Campfire Tales will be offered in the tent area of the campground at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 29.
A Stars and Skies of Texas star gazing party will be held in the campground’s baseball field later that same night, starting at 9:00 p.m.
As of press time, water and electricity camping sites were still available at Fort Griffin for both June 28 and 29. The sites are $15 per night.
Fort Griffin is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Admission fees 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.
Guided tours, Campfire Tales, and the star gazing party are all included in the cost of admission to the park. Camping sites require an additional fee.
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.
