Bandera - where the fun never sets - really comes alive on Labor Day weekend. That's when Bandera returns to its roots. It is the time of the cowboy - and music, horses, longhorn cattle, gunfights, American Indian Pow Wow, gospel singing and cowboy church on the river. It's Celebrate Bandera 2009 organized by the Bandera Community Foundation.
Get an early start on Celebrate Bandera with all the Friday night events:
COWBOY MOUNTED SHOOTERS; CIRCLE OF LIFE INTERTRIBAL POWWOW WITH THE BLESSING OF THE CIRCLE AND THE GRAND ENTRY, THE NATIVE AMERICAN SILENT AUCTION; AND THE WELCOME TO BANDERA DANCES.
Labor Day week-end Saturday and Sunday will find the whole town alive with cowboys and dudes and little buckaroos jostling for position to see Dr. E.T. Bushrod's Medicine Show, the San Antonio Living History Association, the Concho Cowboys, the famous Brazos Bottom Cowographers, a chance to ride in a stagecoach, The Texas Longhorn Riders and the Buffalo Soldier’s Camp. Folks will be scramblin’ to watch the Fancy Dancers and ceremonial dances of the Celebrate Bandera Circle of Life Intertribal PowWow.
Saturday morning kicks off with the opening ceremony, parade and a cattle drive down Main Street. A cattle drive with real longhorns.
The great thing about Saturday and Sunday is that every event on the river and on Main Street is FREE. And that includes the juried Arts and Crafts Show, the Living History and re-enactors and the Antique Chuck Wagons.
You can move to Mansfield Park and catch the Grand Entry of the Circle of Life Intertribal Pow Wow and then Saturday evening catch the Cowboy Mounted Shooters Showcase, the new and exciting Wild West Show and the Dodge Rodeo National Professional Bull Riding Challenge. Cowboys from all over the U.S. will gather to ride some of the best bucking bulls in the United States. Finals for the Bull Rider Challenge will be held Sunday. "The Hottest 8 Seconds of the Year!"
Sunday brings back the Western Heritage Cowboy Church services on the banks of the Medina River. Country Gospel Music is featured most of the afternoon. A Native American Church service will also be held at Mansfield Park at the Intertribal PowWow.
Each year, a number of civic and church groups benefit from participation in Celebrate Bandera. To learn more about how you or your group can participate, call Genie Strickland at 830-796-4447.
Notice: Some outfitters charge fees for their rides such as stage coach, pony or horseback riding.
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Photo Credits James Taylor and Jessica Hawley of the Bandera Bulletin
Carl Holt from the Bandera County Courier