Like Good Samaritans of lost arts, Texas Folklife Resources can look back
on their 10 years of work with pride – 10 years that will be celebrated by TFR this Sunday (July 23) with the “Texas
Culture Bash.” Taking place on the grounds of Laguna Gloria, this all-day
festival will feature over two dozen performers playing non-stop on two music
stages, while a literary stage features contemporary Texas writers, dozens of
exhibits display folk arts and crafts, and regional films and videos will be
screened.
The scope of activities being offered is as diverse as TFR’s own goals: to
present, preserve, and promote the folk arts and folklife of Texas. Founded in
1984, TFR has created such enduring and critically acclaimed programs as “Texas
Piano Professors,” “Accordion Kings: Blues, Boleros, and Breakdowns,” and
“Fiddle Fete.” And though TFR is largely known for their popular musical
efforts, they have perpetuated visual and graphic folk arts such as documenting
home altars and yard shrines in the Texas-Mexican community, showcasing
African-American dance traditions through workshops and performance, offering
touring photo exhibits of Texas folklife, and raising awareness of regional
music with a Creole music workshop.
On Sunday, starting at 12:30pm, TDF perpetuates Texas music on The Acoustic
Stage by starting with the Hungarian Folk ensemble Kolorash, followed by:
fiddlers Valerie and Jimmy Don Bates; Klezmer music with Rubinchik’s Kapyele;
blues guitarist Johnny Nicholas; Latin-American folkies Correo Aereo; Puerto
Rican songwriter Lourdes Perez; and Cajun accordionist Andrew Cormier. Down in
the amphitheatre, beginning at 1pm, look for: The Bells of Joy and the Gospel
Stars; country music from Leon “Pappy” Selph, Johnny Gimble, and Don Walser;
conjunto with Mingo Saldivar and Johnny Degollado; regional blues from Carol
Fran & Clarence Hollimon; zydeco with Little Willie Davis; and contemporary
roots music from accordionist Ponty Bone, and Omar & the Howlers.
Also in the noon hour on Sunday, they’ll be lots of film and video
screenings, starting with local documentarian Hector Galan’s Songs of the
Homeland, and followed by showings of Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz’s
Chulas Fronteras, Alan Govenar and Pacho Lane’s Texas Style, and
finally a slide show called Lone Star Legacy. “Literary Traditions”
takes over that stage starting at 2pm (until 5pm), and will feature, among
other readers, Dagoberto Gilb, Sarah Bird, John Morthland, Olive Graham, Jan
Reid, Kay Turner, Stephen Harrigan, and Virginia Wood. Meanwhile, activities
and craft demonstrations will include costume-making, fiddle-making, quilting,
woodcarving, metalsmithing, and – yum! – strudel-making.
The Texas Culture Bash begins at noon and runs until 10pm. Admission to the
event is $10, $5 for kids; ages six and under are free, and a family of five
can get in for $25. For ticket information, call 499-TIXS. – Margaret Moser
This article appears in July 21 • 1995 and July 21 • 1995 (Cover).