Day Trips & Beyond: March Events Roundup

The bluebonnets are popping up, and it’s warming up nicely for a hot wildflower season along the highways and in the fields – Day Trip time!

Start your bluebonnet searches at these helpful websites:

www.texaswildflowerpictures.com Photographer Gary Regner shares his secret wildflower spots.

www.texashighways.com Who knows Texas highways better than the Texas Department of Transportation? The wildflower reports cover the entire state.

www.wildflower.org The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center relays reports from around the state and helps you identify what you see.

www.texas.wildflowersightings.org Share your sightings and photos with the world after you create an account.

”Adios Utopia: Dreams and Deceptions in Cuban Art Since 1950” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, March 5 to May 21. The exhibit features more than 50 Cuban artists and designers and more than 100 works of painting, graphic design, photography, and video over the last six decades. The show takes an honest look at how Cuba’s revolutionary aspirations for a social utopia that faded into disillusionment affected the island nation’s art.

Everyone’s a touch of green at San Antonio’s St. Patrick’s Day Festival, March 17-18, sponsored by the Harp & Shamrock Society of Texas. The celebration begins with the laying of the wreath for the Irish heroes who died at the Alamo. The festival fills La Villita on the River Walk where the San Antonio River is dyed green and fun begins.

Travel Notes:

The Patron Saint of Brewers, Saint Arnold, will be on hand to legally marry beer lovers at the Big Texas Beer Fest in Dallas, March 31-April 1. This is no April Fool’s Day joke and includes a beer-filled Houston Honeymoon. You have to bring your marriage license to the event to participate. Of course, there will be plenty for unlicensed revelers to see and do with the more than 30 brewers present.

Pinball wizards will gather for the Texas Pinball Festival, March 24-26 in Frisco. It’s the largest event of its kind with more than 400 new and vintage pinball machines, plus tournaments, demonstrations, panel discussions, and celebrity appearances.

What is being billed as comic book legend, Stan Lee’s last Texas appearance will be at the Fan Expo Dallas, March 31-April 2. At 94 years old, the legendary creator will be in attendance along with Tim Curry, John Barrowman, Mark Hamill, and others to greet fans. The annual pop-culture extravaganza in the Dallas Convention Center covers comic books, sci-fi, horror, anime, and gaming.

Other March Events:

Sam Houston’s Birthday and Texas Independence Day
March 2, Huntsville, www.walkercountyhistory.org

Oysterfest
March 2-5, Fulton, www.fultonoysterfest.org

Fort Clark Days
March 3-5, Brackettville, www.fortclarkdays.org

North Texas Irish Festival
March 3-5, Dallas, www.ntif.org

North Texas Teen Book Festival
March 4, Irving, www.northtexasteenbookfestival.com

Cultural Kite Festival
March 4, Sugar Land, www.sugarlandtx.gov/kitefest

M&M Off-Road Spring Break
March 4-5, South Padre Island, www.heatwaveshow.com

Texas Independence Day Celebration
March 4-5, Washington, www.wheretexasbecametexas.com

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
March 7-26, Houston, www.rodeohouston.com

Texas Storytelling Festival
March 9-12, Denton, www.tejasstorytelling.com

Earth Art Fest
March 10-12, Llano, www.llanoearthartfest.org

Texas Ranger Day
March 11, Burton, www.burtonheritagesociety.org

LBJ Kite Day
March 11, Stonewall, www.nps.gov/lyjo

St. Patrick’s Day Parade
March 11, Surfside Beach, www.beachblarney.com

Texas German Heritage Day
March 12, San Antonio, www.texancultures.com

Texas Fly Fishing & Brew Festival
March 11-12, Dallas, www.txflyfishingfestival.org

Texas Frontier Week
March 13-17, San Antonio, www.texancultures.com

Robot Mania
March 14-16, Johnson City, www.sciencemill.org

Heritage Festival
March 14-19, Nederland, www.nederlandhf.org

Azalea Festival
March 15-April 15, Nacogdoches, www.visitnacogdoches.org

Hill Country Writing Symposium
March 16-18, Wimberley, www.texasauthors.institute

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
March 17-19, Shamrock, www.shamrocktexas.net

Azalea Festival
March 18, Jasper, www.jaspercoc.org

Outdoor Family Fair
March 18, Boerne, www.visitboerne.org

Texas Night Sky Festival
March 18, Dripping Springs, www.cityofdrippingsprings.com

Texas Para Unity Fest
March 18, Glen Rose, www.dallasghost.com

Mud Dauber Festival and Chili Cook-Off
March 18, Luckenbach, www.luckenbachtexas.com

General Granbury’s Birthday
March 18-19, Granbury, www.granburysquare.com

Heart of Texas Airshow
March 18-19, Waco, www.heartoftexasairshow.com

Concert in the Cave – Spring Equinox
March 20, Cave Without a Name, Boerne, www.visitboerne.org

Piney Woods Music and Arts Festival
March 24-25, Crockett, www.pwfaa.org

Texas Music Revolution
March 24-25, Plano, www.khyi.com

Dogwood Trails Celebration
March 24-26, 31-April 2, April 7-9, Palestine, www.texasdogwoodtrails.com

Polo at McFaddin
March 25, Victoria, www.navemuseum.com

Texas Onion Fest
March 25, Weslaco, www.weslaco.com/onionfest

Goliad Massacre and Living History
March 25-26, Goliad, www.presidiolabahia.org

Songsmith Texas Music Weekend
March 25-26, Salado, www.songsmithonline.com

Food + Wine Festival
March 30-April 2, Fort Worth, www.fortworthfoodandwinefestival.com

American Chuck Wagon Association Championship Cook-Off
March 30-April 1, Fredericksburg, www.ftmartinscott.org

Paluxy River Spring Bluegrass Festival
March 30-April 1, Glen Rose, www.paluxybluegrass.com

Fiddle Fest
March 31-April 2, Llano, www.llanofiddlefest.com

Texas Hill Country Wine and Wildflower Trail
March 31-April 16, Fredericksburg, www.texaswinetrail.com

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Gerald McLeod has been traveling around Texas and beyond for his "Day Trips" column for more than 25 years. Keep up to date with his journeys on his archive page. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips," is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 40312, South Austin, TX 78704.