March is all about the art that spring inspires in our beautiful peace of land... if you live in Llano, you are lucky enough to see the transformation all year over the river, along the rocky landscape, the rolling hills and in the bright night skies. Visitors are often enchanted and many return - some even relocate - because Llano simply speaks to us. Please do take advantage of this most magical time of year when the weather and nature make outdoors our most favorite venue. Check our calendar below & online for all the happenings this month and throughout the year; we hope to see you here!
WINE & TASTIES: Of course we have some fast food stops - only the best of them - but we have some really wonderful local restaurants, tasting rooms & candy shops you do not want to miss!
GIFTS & CRAFTS GALORE: Walk both sides of the bridge & around the Square - come to the Chamber for a shopping guide!
B&B's / LODGING: A wonderful list is available on our app and at the Visitor Center of all our in-town and country lodging located along the river and near Enchanted Rock. We would love to show you the stars & serve you coffee!
Are we blue? But of course! Stop in at 100 Train Station Drive for the most gorgeous wildflower routes, featuring our state flower, the bluebonnet (or Lupinus texensis) and you can live in color right here in Llano County! Get a free map to highlight the roads to wildflower heaven along the Llano River this spring... those WILD THINGS - THEY MAKE OUR HEARTS SING...
- the Llano Visitor Center awaits you!
Briley Mitchell, Executive Director
Kim Webb & Angela Lewis
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The Llano River Wants YOU...
to rock with us, stack 'em high & find the wonder in our world
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The Llano Earth Art Fest
by Terry Schroth
Take a short stroll beside the lazy Llano river the second weekend of March andyou'll find yourself surrounded by some of the coolest rock art since Pharaoh Khufustarted stacking his own rock sculptures alongside the Nile four thousand years ago.
The town of Llano is turning over a new LEAF. Since Llano it
self has
such a "rocky" history -- its early claim to fame was due its numerous granit
e quarries
and the great Enchanted Rock is only 20 minutes away -- it seems only natural that Ll
ano
host the World Rock Stacking Championships. What, you ask, is rock stacking and why
haven't I heard of it? Is it on ESPN? No. Not yet. We'll let the photographs provide the
thousand words for that answer and move along to the details of the competit
ion.
Basically, there is an art to the balancing act of stone stacking sans sticky stuff (no
adhesives allowed!) and some people really excel at it.
The brain child of Binky la Faye Morgan, who was inspired by simil
ar events elsewhere,
the Llano Earth Art Festival, or LEAF, held March 10-13, draws champi
on rock stackers
from around the world to compete in 4 categories of events:
Tallest Stack, Best Balancing Act, Most Amazing Arch, and Best Artisti
c Design.
Open to professionals and amateurs alike, it has escalate
d into the event of the year for
Llano artists and anyone else interested in practici
ng the concept of balancing nature with
art -- or just being mesmerized by it.
Sound like a good way to spend a weekend? Want to give it a try yourself? Sign up on
celebration of the perfect combination of Earth and Art. If you aren't up for the
competition and prefer to play in the sand and stack a few rocks with your kids, that
's
ok too. Just don't forget your camera because that's the only way to preserve these work
s
of art. Rock stacking is only one of the events at the Llano Earth Art Festival
. As one might expect at such an occasion, the surrounding area is sprinkled with Earth Art vendors offering a wide variety of homemade earth-centered products. While this
year’s workshops have yet to be determined, previous years work-shops included such
earthy topics as Native American Shamanism: A Study of Medicina
l Plants and
FireStarter -- the lost art of starting a fire by rubbing two sticks toget
her.
The Fashion Circus comes to town this weekend as well. Another
feast for the eyes, witness the results when that creati
ve fashion-mayhem gene which lies
dormant all through the winter springs joyfully to life at LEAF -- revea
ling the fashion
diva in all of us. Enjoy the parade of wacky wardrobe creations that fall somewhere
between The Jolly Green Giant and Burning Man. Did I menti
on you should bring a
camera?
The Festival will also feature several live bands: keep an eye on the websit
e to find out
the schedule. LEAF just gets bigger and better every year, so don't wait unti
l the last minute to make a reservation at one of Llano's local B&B's. You'll be glad you did.
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Be sure to check out the LEAF Facebook page, sign up for workshops, and register for the VW Free Flow show! T-shirts are always limited, so don't wait for those either... See you on the Llano!
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@LAST Llano Art Studio Tour
we live here we create here
MARCH 25th
Held annually for the past 7 years, the last Saturday in March and the @LAST Llano Art Studio Tour is a chance to visit local artists in their creative work spaces. Working in mediums ranging from clay, glass, jewelry, metal, paint, photography, wood and more most of these studios are not regularly open to the public. Admission is FREE and you do not need a ticket to take the tour. Just grab a map at the Llano Art Guild, any studio location or the Llano Visitor Center and start at any point along the route. The tour is open 10:00am - 5:00pm on Saturday March 25th.
The Demo schedule this year is as follows: 10:00 Sheri Zoch @2 Studio: How to cut glass, 11:00 John Newell @3 Studio: Turquoise crushing, grading and inlay, 1:00 Randy Hurst @10 Studio: Wood carving an eye, 2:00,
Charles Wendt @14 Studio: Traditional native American metal stamp making and stamping, 4:00 Lou Quallenberg @16 Studio: Ebonizing mesquite, but you can be sure that there will be many ongoing and unscheduled demonstrations as these artists open up their environments and time to visit with the public.
NEW for this year are hands on classes at some of the studios on both Friday and Sunday making this the perfect weekend getaway. Contact the Artist for class info, times, price and size. FRIDAY Hands on class - Making dichroic glass jewelry with Sheri Zoch 512-297-8015, From the camera, to the computer, to the wall with Briley Mitchell 325-423-0256. SUNDAY Hands on class - Making Jewelry with Charles Wendt 512-557-2229, Hands on class - Turquoise Inlay with John Newell 830-613-4256, Hands on class - Make a tiny Mesquite Heart with Lou Quallenberg 512-417-9274.
Visit all 15 Art Studios and post the photos on Facebook for a chance to win $50 find us at
www.facebook.com/Llano.Art.Studio.Tour
There will be door prizes, drawings and giveaways at many of the studios so be sure to visit all 15 studios and fill out the survey at each stop.
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Rosin on the River:
LLANO FIDDLE FEST
MARCH 31 - APRIL 2, 2017
Doris Messer
Llano Fiddle Fest is fast approaching, so reserve March 31 through April 2 for some amazing music & family fun. Friday the 31st starts off the festivities at the Historic Badu House with the Air Fiddle Contest and the Anything Goes Fiddle Contest - two of our most popular and kinetic!
Click on the YouTube video link to the right to view some of the great Llano Fiddle Fest highlights from years past!
Saturday starts with the 40th Llano Open Fiddle Contest with this years top prize being $1000. The Saturday night concert features violinist/vocalist Elana James of the Hot Club of Cowtown with special guests. Tickets can be purchased at the Llano Chamber. Sunday concludes at Pioneer Park with a Sunday service, Amazing Grace fiddles, cowboy breakfast and music provided by the Wilson String Band. For more information visit www.llanofiddlefest.com.
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PLEASE JOIN the LLANO CHAMBER in WELCOMING our NEW MEMBERS!
The Llano Chamber is proud and excited each month to celebrate our
newest additions to the Chamber of Commerce here on our Constant Contact
newsletter, and we hope everyone who reads this is able to attend our ribbon-cuttings!
Keep abreast of our activities in the Llano News, on our Facebook Page & on the downtown marquee! Everyone is always encouraged and welcome to meet, greet & congratulate our new businesses in and around town! LOCAL ROCKS!!!
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-
Joel & Diane Williamson, part of the Freedom Equity Group, have opened
FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS
at 906 Ford Street, just in time to follow up this year's tax season with some income education! Stop by, give them a call at
512-280-6868 and be sure to c
heck out this dynamic website:
Financial Solutions online
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- The Llano Chamber of Commerce and Llano B&B Alliance heartily congratulates the always industrious, incredibly creative & overwhelmingly gracious Ida Nell Schuessler on her third adorable bed & breakfast to open here in our beautiful little town on along the river! Each of Mrs. Schuessler's properties can be rented long or short term and are located within walking distance to the Llano Square & the Llano River, making festivals & shopping even more relaxing here in LLANO, TX.
MISS NORA'S COTTAGE BED & BREAKFAST is located at
604 East Sandstone, just one block off the Llano River
Call 325-247-2850 to reserve!
Miss Nora's online
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- Owned by Adrian Melendez, LA HACIENDA DE JALISCO at 303 E. Young Street (East Hwy 29) is serving some wonderful and prompt Mexican food right here in Llano! Be sure to stop for lunch or dinner! Please call for days, hours & party options! 325-247-1022
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- For that core strength or hard-core work out, NOMAD STRENGTH has joined us and is located at 2506 S State Highway 16 right here in Llano! Call (979) 337-4752 for schedule & to sign up today! View the details online here: NOMAD STRENGTH online.
"Nomad Strength is a gym focused around leading a healthy lifestyle. We want to build a community around improving lives through fitness, nutrition, and accountability. Our movements and programs are scale-able to any fitness level."
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Calamity & Grace Art Supplies on the Llano Square!
We offer classes,
sell the greatest supplies in town & offer a spot for local artists to show their wares... you MUST stop in and see Valerie!
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If your business or non-profit has an event in Llano or Llano County that you would like to advertise with our Chamber of Commerce, please contact our staff at 325-247-5354 or email info@llanochamber.org with your request and a flyer with details, date, time, contact name & number.
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Attention Artists! The Llano Fine Arts Guild has a Call for Art Opportunity for our Spring Fling Art Show. This juried show with prizes and information can be found on our
website
.
Submissions are due March 31!
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Llano, Texas... Where the river is always open!
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