Email to a Friend
Print Friendly Version
Western Day 2008 draws widespread community involvement
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
About two dozen local non-profit groups will participate in Western Day 2008, giving the popular regional festival a distinct community feel when it is held in Old Town Lewisville on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Planned activities at Western Day 2008, designed to showcase Lewisville’s rich history, include a Main Street parade, two festival stages of live music, arts and crafts vendors, gunfight re-enactments, trick ropers, car show, Longhorn cattle drive, Tailwaggers Ranch, baking and grilling contests, Stickhorse Rodeo for kids, a veterans memorial display, and the fourth annual World Tamale Eating Championship.
Local non-profit groups have signed on to provide Western Day volunteers, conduct festival activities and raise money for charitable and community causes. Overall, more than 100 area residents will spend part of their Saturday helping put on the festival.
“Western Day has a long history of uniting the Lewisville community, and this kind of involvement by our civic and charitable groups just proves that a good public festival is a team effort,” said Mayor Gene Carey, himself a former festival volunteer and an active participant in Western Day. “Part of what makes Lewisville such a special place to live is the high level of community involvement from our residents and business community. Western Day is just the latest example among many.”
The Old Town Business Association will start the day off with its inaugural 5K Fun Run, being held to raise money for American Cancer Society in memory of longtime Lewisville resident Wayne Ferguson. The run will start at 7 a.m. and follow a path through Old Town. On-site registration will start at 6 a.m. in Wayne Ferguson Plaza, on the north side of Main Street at Poydras. For information, e-mail funrun@tracyscakes.com.
Knight Light Charities, featuring members of the local Knights of Columbus, will hold a casino fundraiser during the day inside the Strange Financial Services building at the northwest corner of Main and Mill streets. Games will include blackjack, dice, Texas Hold’em and roulette. No prizes will be awarded. Knight Light Charities works with established social service agencies in Lewisville, Flower Mound, Highland Village and surrounding areas to assist individuals and families in need. For information on the event, e-mail klci@knightlightcharities.org.
Greater Lewisville Kiwanis Club will hold two Stickhorse Rodeo events, each offering genuine Nocona belt buckles to the top three finishers in three age divisions through second-graders. The rodeos will be held at noon and 5 p.m., with registration starting half an hour in advance.
Lewisville Morning Rotary Club will hold its 13th annual Car Truck & Cycle Show, open to all years and makes of vehicles, on Mill and Main streets throughout the day. Proceeds benefit Christian Community Action, Adopt-a-School, Rotary Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and other community charities. For information, call (972) 436-6258 or visit www.lewisvillemorningrotary.com.
More than a dozen animal rescue and support groups will participate in Tailwaggers Ranch returns, offering a variety of pet-related activities including displays, contests and demonstrations. Participating groups include City of Lewisville Animal Services, Coppell Humane Society, Denton County Petsitters Association, DFW Collie Rescue, DFW Pug Rescue, Gifted Animal Program, Golden Retriever Rescue, Great Dane Rescue, Hickory Creek Animal Services, Hope Humane Society, Humane Society of Flower Mound, Operation Kindness, Southern States Rotweiller Rescue Texas Italian Greyhound Rescue, Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue and Texas Tailwaggers.
Old Town Preservation Society will raise money for restoration work at the historic Lane Chapel CME Church on Hembry Street with a kids pie-eating contest at 11 a.m. and a cake contest at 1 p.m., both at the Lewisville Feed Mill on the corner of Main and Kealy streets. For contest rules and entry forms, e-mail jackbethramsey@verizon.net. (Media note: More information about Lane Chapel CME Church is included at the end of this release.)
Several groups are providing teams of volunteers during the festival, including Habitat for Humanity, Keep Lewisville Beautiful, Lewisville Lions Club and Young Area Volunteer Organization. Lewisville Citizens Police Academy Alumni will prepare Child ID cards, and Christian Community action will be on site.
Sponsors for Western Day 2008 include City of Lewisville, Lewisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, EMC Mortgage , Pro Tow, Bud Light, Big Bass Tour, Waste Management of Texas, The Home Depot, Dallas Tortilla & Tamale Factory and 99.5 The Wolf.
For additional information on Western Day 2008, visit www.cityoflewisville.com or call 972.219.3401.
General Entertainment schedule:
- 7 a.m. OTBA 5K Fun Run
9:30 a.m. Vintage Base Ball Exhibition: Lewisville vs. Farmers Branch
11 a.m. OTPS Kids Pie Eating Contest
11:30 a.m. Main Street Gunfights
Noon Greater Lewisville Kiwanis Club Stickhorse Rodeo
1 p.m. World Tamale Eating Championship
1 p.m. Main Street Gunfights
1 p.m. OTPS Annual Cake Contest
3 p.m. Western Day Parade & Longhorn Cattle Drive
3 p.m. Lewisville Morning Rotary Club Car Show awards
4:30 p.m. Main Street Gunfights
4:30 p.m. Great Western Burger Battle
5 p.m. Greater Lewisville Kiwanis Club Stickhorse Rodeo
Bud Light Main Stage performance schedule:
- 10 a.m. Dallas Stars Sing
10:45 a.m. Glad Dance Troop
11:25 a.m. Beyond Words with Vaughn Anthony
12:30 p.m. Dancers in Motion
2 p.m. Derek Sholl
4:30 p.m. Casey Donahew
6:30 p.m. Eli Young Band
Community Stage performance schedule:
- 10:15 a.m. YMCA Kickers
10:50 a.m. Dance Fusion
11:15 a.m. Double Team
11:35 a.m. Macedonia Youth Dance Team
Noon Crown Violet Belly Dance Troupe
12:45 p.m. Karen Kouassi
1:25 p.m. Dancers Workshop
1:45 p.m. Performing Artists Network
2:35 p.m. Millennium Dancers
4:30 p.m. Excite! Dance Company
5:30 p.m. The Fiddle Rascals
6:55 p.m. Megan Mason band
Tailwaggers Ranch schedule of events
- 10 a.m. DOGA Doggie Yoga by Blue Anjou
10:30 a.m. Gifted Animal Program service dog demonstration
11 a.m. Doggie Contests – Waggiest Tail, Best Dressed, Most Kissable
Noon Gifted Animal Program service dog demonstration
12:30 p.m. Doggie Contests – Waggiest Tail, Best Trick, Best Bark
2 p.m. Gifted Animal Program service dog demonstration
2:30 p.m. Doggie Contests – Waggiest Tail, Owner Look Alike, Most Kissable
4 p.m. DOGA Doggie Yoga by Blue Anjou
5 p.m. Tailwaggers Parade
About Lane Chapel CME Church (per state historical marker on site)
- Anthony Hembry and six charter members, all former slaves, organized Lewisville Colored Methodist Episcopal (C. M. E.) Church in 1882. Lewisville had the largest African American population in Denton County and this church, called Lane Chapel after 1902 for Bishop Isaac Lane, was a significant social center. Other C. M. E. churches formed with the encouragement of this congregation. As rural Americans migrated to larger cities in the 1920s-1940s, the black population of Lewisville diminished and church membership dwindled. The church survived the late 20th century through donations and funds from other C. M. E. churches and the devotion of Lane Chapel members. A strong ministry in the 1990s led to a revival for Lane Chapel, and by the beginning of the 21st century membership had increased.
Media contact: Marketing and Tourism Manager Jennifer Galante, 972.219.3710
