List of Experiences we have to offer.
We have extensive local knowledge, expertise and endless resources when creating an western or true Texas experiences. We specialize design and production of events, activities, tours, transportation and logistics.
Our objective is to use our vast knowledge, research, find competitive pricing, procure and apply risk management. We work with venue and attractions statewide. Let us save you heart ache and headaches so you can concentrate on other details of your event, convention, or incentive program.
(A Bowl of Red) is the state dish of Texas!
A little history
Chili Queens:
1880s – San Antonio was a cattle, railroad town, and an army town. By day a municipal food market and by night a wild and open place. An authoritative early account is provided in an article published in the July 1927 issue of Frontier Times. In this article, Frank H. Bushick, San Antonio Commissioner of Taxation, reminisces about the Chili Queens and their origin at Military Plaza before they were moved to Market Square in 1887. According to Bushick:
“The chili stand and chili queens are peculiarities, or unique institutions, of the Alamo City. They started away back there when the Spanish army camped on the plaza. They were started to feed the soldiers. Every class of people in every station of life patronized them in the old days. Some were attracted by the novelty of it, some by the cheapness. A big plate of chili and beans, with a tortilla on the side, cost a dime. A Mexican bootblack and a silk-hatted tourist would line up and eat side by side, [each] unconscious or oblivious of the other.”
Latino women nicknamed “Chili Queens” sold a stew they called “chili” made with dried red chiles and beef from open-air stalls at the Military Plaza Mercado. The Queens prepared chili at home, loaded it onto colorful chili wagons, and transported the wagons and chili to the plaza. They build mesquite fires on the square to keep the chili warm, lighted their wagons with colored lanterns, and squatted on the ground beside the cart, dishing out chili to customers who sat on wooden stools to eat their fiery stew. In those days, the world “chili” referred strictly to the pepper. They served a variation of simple, chile-spiked dishes (tamales, tortillas, chili con carne, and enchiladas). A night was not considered complete without a visit to one of these “chili queens.”
So there you have it! Perhaps your group would love our chili cook off or simply add it to your menu. No visit is complete in Texas without a taste of Chili!
Let’s plan a Tour or a Tasting!
Texas is one of the oldest wine growing states in the US, with vines planted here more than a hundred years before they were planted inCalifornia or Virginia. In the 1650s, Franciscan priests planted Mission vines in West Texas, near El Paso. Hortaculturist Thomas Munsonused Texas vines to create hundreds of hybrid grapes and conducted significant research in finding root stock immune to the Phylloxera epidemic, which saved the French wine industry from total ruin. The advent of Prohibition in the United States virtually eliminated Texas’ wine industry, which didn’t experience a revival until the 1970s, beginning with the founding of Llano Estacado and Pheasant Ridge wineries in the Texas High Plains appellation near Lubbock and the La Buena Vida winery in Springtown. The Texas wine industry still feels the effects of Prohibition today with a quarter of Texas’ 254 counties still having dry laws on the books.
Today there are more than 200 wineries in Texas, making it the fourth-largest wine producing state in the nation. First established as an experimental vineyard in 1987, the university leases the land to a group of Bordeaux wine makers who produce two labels-Ste. Genevieve and Escondido Valley. The second largest winery is Llano Estacado Winery.
Is it because we drink so much of it or because we make it so good?
Texas ranked number two nationwide, trailing only California, in craft breweries. Craft Breweries are all over the state of Texas. We offer tours of Texas Breweries for groups of 20 or more or we can set up a tasting of some of Texas’s Award winning brews at your event! Texas beer no longer stops with Lone Star and Pearl, Shiner! Although those still wet a whistle!
If you are hungry come to Texas!
Dine a Rounds or Dinners in Private Venues, Bar B Que., Fajitas, Tex Mex, Chicken Fried Steak, Fried Green Tomatoes, Gulf Shrimp the size of your palm, 1 inch Rib eyes cooked to perfection or a good hamburger all the way! Let’s not forget Roasted corn, and Buttermilk Biscuits served up with Fried Pies and Blue Bell Ice Cream! Texans have a way of making everything taste better! Perhaps it is because we have such a wide range of cultural influences, German, Mexican British, Native American and Italian.
Have you ever been to a real rodeo? We can arrange for groups to go to a professional rodeo, or hold a private rodeo at a private for your group alone. Perhaps you would like to take some lessons and try your luck?
Many rodeo events were based on the tasks required by cattle ranching. Early rodeo-like affairs of the 1820s and 1830s were informal events in the west and Texas. Large rodeo competitions emerged, with the first held in Cheyenne Wyoming. In 1878. The first professional rodeo, charged admission and awarded trophies in 1888. Between 1890 and 1910, rodeos became public entertainment, sometimes combined Wild West Shows featuring individuals such as Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley as well as other charismatic stars.
There was no standardization of events for a rodeo competition until 1929, when associations began forming.
In the 1970s, rodeo saw unprecedented growth. Contestants referred to as “the new breed” brought rodeo increasing media attention. These contestants were young, often from an urban background, and chose rodeo for its athletic rewards. By 1985, one third of PRCA members had a college education and one half of the competitors had never worked on a cattle ranches. Today, some professional rodeos are staged in large, air-conditioned arenas; offer large purses, and are often telecast. Many other professional rodeos are held outside, under the same conditions of heat, cold, dust or mud as were the original events.
Team roping also known as heading and heeling this event that features a steer and two mounted riders. Roper #1 is referred to as the “header,” the person who ropes the head of the steer, usually around the horns, but it is also legal for the rope to go around the neck, or go around one horn and the nose resulting in what they call a “half head,” the second is the “heeler,” who ropes the steers hind feet, with a five second penalty assessed to the end time if only one leg is caught. Team roping is the only rodeo event where men and women compete equally together in professionally sanctioned competition, in both single-gender or mixed-gender teams.
Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to complete a clover-leaf pattern around barrels in the fastest time. It combines the horse’s athletic ability and the horsemanship skills of a rider in order to safely and successfully maneuver a horse through a clover leaf pattern around three barrels placed in a triangle in the center of an arena.
In timed rodeo events, the purpose is to make a run as fast as possible. The timer begins when horse and rider cross the start line, and ends when the barrel pattern has been successfully executed and horse and rider cross the finish line. It is exciting and fast paced.
Rough Stock
In spite of popular myth, most modern “broncs” are not in fact wild horses, but are more commonly spoiled riding horses or horses bred specifically as bucking stock. Rough stock events also use at least two well-trained riding horses ridden by “pick up men” (or women), tasked with assisting fallen riders and helping successful riders get safely off the bucking animal.
Bronc Riding – there are two divisions in rodeo, bareback bronc riding, where the rider is only allowed to hang onto a bucking horse with a type of handle called a “rigging”; and saddle bronc riding, where the rider uses a specialized western saddle without a horn (for safety) and hangs onto a heavy lead rope, called a bronc rein, which is attached to a halter on the horse.
Bull riding – an event where the cowboys ride full-grown bulls instead of horses. Although skills and equipment similar to those needed for bareback bronc riding are required, the event differs considerably from horse riding competition due to the danger involved. Because bulls are unpredictable and may attack a fallen rider, rodeo clowns, now known as “bullfighters”, work during bull-riding competition to distract the bulls and help prevent injury to competitors.