What are you doing this weekend? If you are interested in traveling around this great state, take a look at the following list of fun and interesting events.

WAXAHACHIE
Trade Days of Waxahachie features antiques, arts & crafts, collectibles and more from vendors and exhibitors from all over the state. July 11-12 at the Ellis County Expo Center. Call 972-617-8156 for more details.

Downtown Farmers Market every Saturday morning from 8:00 am-1:00 pm around the courthouse square.

HILLSBORO
Hillsboro Homecoming Downtown Parade on July 11 begins at 10:00am. You can picnic at Peabody School grounds. There will be an historical marker dedication at 3:00pm. Call 254-582-2481 for more details.

BOERNE
Wild West FunFest July 11. Enjoy live music all day, western re-enactments, great kid’s activities, artisans, vendors to benefit Triple H Equitherapy Center. Located at Enchanted Springs Ranch 10:30am-4:30pm. For more details, go to their website or call 830-510-9515.

NEW BRAUNFELS
Canyon Trail Chuck Wagon Supper & Cowboy Music Show July 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, 31-Aug 1. Hear a high energy, one hour western/cowboy music show complete with yodeling, comedy and the best pickin’ around. Call for reservations at 830-626-8200 or 888-408-7245. Located at 1201 FM 2722.

Your Nose Knows July 11. This is an introduction to tasting wines. Learn to swirl, sniff and taste wine. Preregistration required at Dry Comal Creek Vineyards. Visit their website or call 830-885-4076.

SPRING BRANCH
Making of a Naturalist: Birds of the Hill Country July 13. Summer includes a morning walk and an indoor program taking a look at bird life histories, identification tips and more. Reservations required, call 830-438-2656. Located at Guadalupe River State Park.

BRENHAM
Hot Nights, Cool Tunes Concert Series July 11. Enjoy a tribute to the Beatles with “Abbey Road,” along with “Already Gone,” the music of The Eagles. This begins at 7:00pm in historic downtown Brenham. For more details, go to their website or call 888-273-6426.

WEATHERFORD
Parker County Peach Festival on July 11, 8:00am-5:00pm. This includes a children’s area, food court, entertainment and sweet, juicy Parker County peaches. Enjoy peach ice cream, juleps, cobbler, smoothies and jams. Located at historic downtown Weatherford. More details can be seen on their website or call 888-594-3801.

Check out the Parker County Peach Pedal Ride on July 11. This fun event features beautiful, sparsely traveled routes with rolling hills and flat stretches. You can choose from 11, 27, 40 miles and 100 kilometers. For more information, go to their website or call 817-598-6275.

Texas Monthly has a suggestion or two…

AUSTIN
BASTILLE DAY CELEBRATION One of the oldest standing frame structures in Austin, the French Legation (built around 1840) plays host to the Alliance Française d’Austin’s annual festival commemorating the French national holiday. Treat your palate to French delicacies and desserts, sip French wine, and let wild jugglers, balloon-twisters, and pétanque, the French national pastime, captivate your children. Jul 11 from 6:30 to 11. Gen adm $8, children 12 & under free. For more information, please see their websites www.frenchlegationmuseum.org and www.afaustin.org. Their location is the French Legation Museum, 802 San Marcos; use entrance on Embassy Dr (512-472-8180).

DALLAS
BASICALLY BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL This annual chamber music series will feature professional musicians from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Dallas Opera Orchestra, and local university facilties in four free concerts. Thirty minutes prior to each concert, award-winning young musicians from the area will perform in the For the Love of Music recital series. Thru Jul 26. Sun at 3. Free. For more details, go to their website. Located in Fair Park, Texas Discovery Gardens, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd (214-520-2219).

23rd Annual Taste of Dallas July 10-12. This features restaurant and retail booths, music on three stages and more. This is the largest outdoor food festival in Dallas. Located in the West End Historic District. For details, search their website or call 214-741-7180.

EL PASO
ALTAR BOYZ The five members of a Christian boy band—Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham—attempt to save the world one pop ballad at a time (Girl You Make Me Wanna Wait, Jesus Called Me On My Cell Phone) on their “Raise the Praise” tour. Jul 10—26. For times & prices, call or go to their website. Their location is UTEP campus, 500 W. University Ave (915-747-6060).

FORT WORTH
MIMIR CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL Acclaimed musicians from the Chicago Symphony and the Cleveland Orchestra and winners of the Van Cliburn and Leeds International piano competitions—as well as twenty students chosen by audition—will play traditional pieces and lesser-known works from the chamber music repertoire in a series of five performances. Jul 9—17. For schedule, call or go to their website. $25. The location is TCU campus, PepsiCo Recital Hall, 2800 S. University Dr (817-257-5443).

GALVESTON
ISLAND ETC Jul 10—Aug 8: Cabaret—this famed musical about the romance between an English cabaret singer and an American writer in Germany as the Nazis are rising to power, has it all: comedy, drama, an engaging plot, and dancing. Help fill the house as Galveston’s only professional theater company opens its new location with this grand opening production. Thur—Sat at 8, Sun at 2:30. Gen adm $25, senior citizens & students $20. For more detail, visit their website. Located at 2317 Mechanic (888-762-3556).

HOUSTON
CONTEMPORARY ARTS MUSEUM HOUSTON Thru Aug 2: Perspectives 16: Torsten Slama—the Austrian-born, Berlin-based artist’s first solo museum exhibition includes about 35 of his large drawings, paintings, and works in airbrush on paper. Slama’s work, often featuring figurative images and post-apocalyptic worlds, has been described as “unsettling and captivating,” particularly his landscapes, which are inspired by traditional Chinese techniques. Open Tue & Wed 10 —5, Thur 10-9, Fri & Sat 10—5, Sun noon—5. Free. Check out their website. The museum is located at 5216 Montrose Blvd (713-284-8250).

SAN ANTONIO
GEMINI INK SUMMER LITERARY FESTIVAL Take advantage of this fortnight’s worth of classes for readers and writers alike (titles include “Flash Fiction: Boundaries and Borders” and “Writing the Immigrant Experience”), as well as Young Writers Camps for students. Don’t miss the public conversation moderated by civic leader Patti Radie and documentarian Ya’Ke Smith, which will explore the “new era of responsibility” (July 26 at 4:30). Jul 10—27. For schedule & prices, go to their website. The festival is located at 513 S. Presa (877-734-9673).

LAMPASAS
SPRING HO FESTIVAL No one can explain exactly how this festival got its name, but it has been attracting visitors to this Central Texas town every July since 1972. Held in commemoration of the curative powers of the historic Sulphur Springs, the event packs a month’s worth of festivities into a week: an arts and crafts fair, a beauty pageant, a fireworks display, a carnival, a barbecue cook-off, a kiddie fishing derby, a diaper derby, a grand parade, a dance on the courtyard square (featuring troubadour Charlie Robison), and more. Jul 6—12. For schedule & prices, call or go to their website. Various locations downtown (512-556-5301).