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next to InStyle Accessories Vicki Jacobs (512) 618-0425
BY BONNIE EISSLER
When businesses and schools were closing throughout the state because of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens shut down, too. For nearly a quarter century, residents of Wimberley and surrounding towns in the Texas Hill Country have marked the changing seasons by the highly anticipated seasonal events at the EmilyAnn. As a joyful herald of Spring, the Butterfly Festival rings in the season as surely as do the lush beds of bluebonnets, budding trees, and chirping birds. The Trail of Lights, an illuminated extravaganza that combines the efforts of so many talented people, is a Christmas tradition and many people’s introduction to EmilyAnn. Summer brings hotter longer days, musicals and Shakespeare’s plays on the stage of the large outdoor amphitheater.
Now, after two years with no Butterfly Festival and one year with no Trail of Lights, Ann Rolling, the Executive Director and one of the founders, her husband, Norm, who manages the gardens, and their daughter, Rebecca, who maintains the very informative website, are happy to announce “We are back!” and provide details about some of the exciting events planned for 2022.
See EMILYANN, page 8
The 22nd annual Butterfly Festival on April 23 from 9 am to 5 pm will feature butterfly releases, crafts, and activities, live music, and a flight house filled with exotics, native to the area, that will be released into the wild at the end of the day. The exotics for the flight house are ordered from the San Antonio Zoo and will be picked up two days before the festival. Everyone is sure to enjoy the excitement of the first in-person butterfly festival in two years.
A June/July indoor show at the Burdine Johnson Theatre “Silver Linings – A Musical Jubilee” commemorates the past 25 years of musicals performed at the EmilyAnn Theatre. Auditions are being held for this performance and tickets are already on sale and likely to go quickly. Shakespeare Under the Stars, theatre and music camps for kids are also scheduled for this summer.
Ann encourages visitors to explore and enjoy the numerous and diverse walking and nature paths and gardens, paying special attention to the fine sculpture collection, of which many are perhaps unaware. The gardens are managed by Norm Rolling with help from Larry Adams and a large number of volunteers and local organizations.
Some of the gardens are traditional while others are activity gardens, and there are 35 to 40 different gardens in all, including family gardens, a Children’s Memorial Garden, a sensory garden planted and maintained by the Herb Society, and a Fairy Garden “a place for imaginations to grow” put together by a Girl Scouts troop. Although not completely there yet, the gardens are all moving toward having only plants that are native to the area.
There are currently eight sculptures, with details and photographs of each on the website. The two newest sculptures are “Bloom,” which was crafted by Angela Mia De la Vega, and “Butterfly,” an amazing stained glass and iron sculpture. “Bloom” will stand in a memorial garden at the top of the hill in memory of Jessica Pape and her daughter Sophia. “Butterfly” will reside in the Burdine Johnson Studio Theatre.
The Flood Memorial sculpture, crafted by J.J. Priour of limestone and glass, was donated by the Wimberley Valley Art League and stands in a memorial garden at the top of the hill in memory of the lives lost in the 2015 flood.
A truly special sculpture was donated by the class of 1998, the students with whom Emily Ann Rolling would have graduated. “Senior Gate” was crafted by Jimmy Harwell and stands at the entrance to the outdoor amphitheater. EmilyAnn was founded in 1998 to celebrate the life of Emily Ann Rolling by providing a permanent home for Shakespeare Under the Stars, a program in which she excelled as an actress and costume designer. EmilyAnn celebrates creativity, family, performing arts and nature and has been a blessing to the community and to many visitors who have attended events there.
FYI • EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens is located at 1101 FM 2325 in Wimberley. Grounds are open year round, from dawn to dusk. No admission fee is charged, although donations are always appreciated. For information about upcoming events, the gardens and sculptures, photographs and much more, visit the website at emilyann.org or call 512-847-6969.
calendar of events
EVERY WEDNESDAY
Wimberley Farmers Market. Find delicious, fresh, seasonal produce and baked goods in front of Wimberley Community Thrift Shop at Ranch Road 12 and River Road. 3 pm to 6 pm. visitwimberley.com/marketdays/wimFM.shtml
EVERY FRIDAY
Live Bingo at the VFW. Four-game “Early Bird” session which starts at 7:15 pm. Main event begins at 8 pm and offers 10 games with a midway intermission. Oldham-Cummings VFW Post 6441, 401 Jacobs Well Road.
FIRST SATURDAY
Wimberley Market Days. (March-December) Shop the Texas Hill Country’s largest outdoor market, with 490 booths on 20 oak shaded acres. 7 am to 3 pm. Lions Field. 601 FM 2325. Wimberley Coffee & Cars. Anyone with a hot rod, muscle car, sports car, exotic, classic truck or unique ride is welcome to come out and put your car on display. 8 am to 11 am. Blanco Brew, 14200 Ranch Road 12.
FRIDAYS IN APRIL
Blue Hole Concerts in the Park. Bring your blanket, chairs, and food as you relax and listen to some live music at the famous Blue Hole Swimming Area. Craft beer available from Roughhouse Brewing. No glass allowed. 100 Blue Hole Lane.
With multiple meeting spaces, a convenient location and a friendly staff ready to assist with every detail, the Wimberley Community Center is the perfect place for your next event. To book an event visit: cityofwimberley.com tprovost@cityofwimberley.com 512-847-0025
Try your hand at an old-fashioned, family-friendly game of bingo at the VFW every Friday night from 7 pm to 10 pm.
APRIL 2
2nd Annual Crawfish Boil
Crawfish and shrimp plates provided by Louisiana Wild and live music by Jesse Lege et Bosco Stomp! Limestone Terrace Vineyard. www.limestoneterrace.com.
APRIL 9
Wimberley Community Band “Around the World”
Music with an international flair at Wimberley’s First Baptist Church. 2 pm. hillcountrycommunityband.com. Chefs Fundraiser Dinner for KAPS. Popular local chefs Jay Bachman (Wimberley Cafe), Chef Robert (Longleaf Craft Kitchen + Bar), Mark Grimes and James Francis (Wimberley Supper Club) prepare delicious Cajun cuisine in this fundraiser for Katherine Anne Porter School. Beer selection from Chill’s on the Creek. Wimberley VFW Post 6441, 6 pm to 8:30 pm. www.kapschool.org. See CALENDAR, page 38
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