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Galveston
May 19–21, 2017
During the early 20th century, Galveston Island—still recovering from the devastating hurricane of 1900—launched an event to strengthen the city’s tourism economy and offer an official kick-off to summer. The highlight of the day was the Bathing Girl Revue, which by 1926 had evolved into the International Pageant of Pulchritude—the precursor to Miss Universe—and had become such a success that on the weekend these events were held, the island’s population grew to three times its typical size. (We’d bet the daring new swimsuit fashions of the flapper era had something to do with its popularity.) The pageant fizzled during the Great Depression, but after Hurricane Ike in 2008, the city resurrected the vintage fun with a considerably less bawdy event, inviting travelers to watch as 40 competitors line up along the Seawall and don their best 1920s beach fashion. The fun returns this year with bands, classic cars, a vintage baseball game, and plenty of family-friendly fun.
Photo: Illumine Photographic Services
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San Antonio
May 17–21, 2017
The oldest and largest of its kind in the nation, the Tejano Conjunto Festival celebrates Tex-Mex accordion-driven dance music. The genre was born in South Texas at the end of the 19th century after German and East European settlers brought their accordions, waltzes, and polkas to the region. Tejanos blended the European influences into their own style with four-piece bands featuring a button accordion, bajo sexto, an electric bass, and drums. This festival brings together as many as 10,000 revelers from all over Texas and across the world for five days of music and dancing at the historic Guadalupe Theater and Rosedale Park in San Antonio. Hosted by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, this year’s festival will feature star-studded performances by Conjunto Music Hall of Fame members.
Photo: Will van Overbeek
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Huntsville
May 12–14, 2017
This month marks the 30th year of music, crafts, culture, and Texas history at the General Sam Houston Folk Festival. The Sam Houston Memorial Museum’s 15 acres will be transformed into a bustling frontier settlement, where visitors can stroll the grounds and experience what it might have been like for Sam when he retired here with his wife, Margaret, and lived his final years. The folk festival celebrates his legacy with historical reenactments, live music and dance, and kids’ games. Festival admission includes the 18th annual Texas State Knife and Tomahawk championship, held on the memorial museum’s grounds.
Photo: Michael Amador
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