What a Summer!

So much for our commitment to blog every week...

At least we have a good excuse though: this has been a BUSY summer in Red River! From the first motorcycle that rolled in over Memorial Weekend to the record-breaking crowd at "Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights," Red River has seen it's fair share of people this year. It certainly gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling to know that families and friends are still making their way up to the mountains for their annual vacation, and that all of the effort we put into making Red River a "home away from home" doesn't go unnoticed.


Before we go on to tell you about all of the fun and exciting things left to do in Red River before the leaves fall, it seems appropriate to update you on the 7th annual "Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights" Music Festival and Cook-off. Once again, Larry Joe Taylor put together a stunning lineup of musicians that kept the crowd entertained for three days straight. Beginning with the "Songswap Campfire" and Joe Ely concert Thursday night, the Red River Valley was the backdrop for some incredible entertainment. And even though our trip to the top of the mountain for the concert at "The Tip" was rained out, everyone was in good spirits for the remainder of the weekend. The Tejas Brothers wowed the crowd at the cook-off Saturday and even got couples out of their seats for a little two-steppin' in the park. Keith Sykes, Terry Allen, Richard Leigh, the Josh Grider Trio, Michael Hearne, Jed Zimmerman, and South by Southwest were all terrific performers and we look forward to having them all back again in the future.

Saturday's cook-off drew a record 1,400+ attendees who enjoyed the perfect weather while sampling chili, green chile, and BBQ. With 39 CASI teams, 20 green chile teams, and 11 BBQ teams, the competition was HOT! After all was said and done, our CASI "Red River Red" champion hailed from New Mexico, our BBQ grand champion came from Texas and our New Mexico Green Chile State Champion drove in from Colorado. Good to see what a large draw this event has!



So now we're gearing up for the numerous fall events the Red River Chamber of Commerce puts on. September kicks off with our annual softball tournament on Labor Day Weekend, followed by the Enchanted Circle Century Tour and Top o' the World Mountain Bike Race, September 12th & 13th. This is always an adrenaline filled weekend with 1,000 cyclists and 150 mountain bikers speeding around the Enchanted Circle and the Enchanted Forest XC Ski Area. September 18th - 20th you'll find Brandenburg Park and the Red River Conference Center filled with hundreds of arts and crafts vendors for Aspencade, then Red River returns to the "Wild, Wild West" October 2nd - 4th for Days of 1895 (our version of Pioneer Days). Lastly, we wrap up the festive fall season with a local favorite, Oktoberfest, October 9th - 11th. With polka music, authentic German food, microwbreweries, and more, Red River's Oktoberfest is a "must do."

So hopefully you're all caught up on what's been happening the last few weeks in the mountains. We've got a few more good weeks left in us before things start to dramatically slow down and locals start to put on their winter bulk for the ski season. Hope you get a chance to visit again soon!

This is Where the Music Happens

Surely you've heard the old saying, "this is where the magic happens." Right before our three-day music festival last year it came to us: "Red River - this is where the music happens." We've known for decades that Red River is a musical place. Hundreds of singer/songwriters have gathered inspiration in these hills: Michael Martin Murphey, Ray Wylie Hubbard, BW Stevenson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Rusty Weir, and Gary P Nunn just to name a few. Heck, Neil Young even spent a few weeks here (though that was quite a while ago). These days Red River is home to some of the most creative musicians in the region, and second home to quite a few too. On most nights of the week you can find Mike Addington & Paul Gatton at the Lost Love Saloon. Typical weekends are filled with music as the Highway 38 Houndogs play at the Bull, with either the Naughty Pines or the Damn Band across the street at the Motherlode. Sunday afternoons are laid back with either Fagan & Fritz or Philip J. Brooks at Mountain Treasures, and special occasions are even more special with the melodic sounds of Mandy Buchanan and Ben Butler or Rick Fowler. The Community House is home to weekly music showcases throughout the summer with guest bands from around the southwest, and these days it's not uncommon to find live music at the Lift House or the Lonesome Pine Pub. Top that off with guest appearances by Larry Joe Taylor, Joe Ely, The Rifters, South by Southwest, Asleep at the Wheel, Leon Russell, Suzzy Bogguss, Michael Martin Murphy (still plays at Bobcat Pass), Band of Heathens, and others, and you have one tiny mountain town with HUGE talent!

We're getting pretty close to that three-day music festival again, "Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights," August 13th-15th. This annual event combines music at some pretty cool venues (on top of the mountain & along the Red River) with a chili, BBQ, and green chile cook-off in the park on August 15th. If you're a music lover (and who isn't?) this is the event for you. If you can't make it up that particular weekend, any weekend will do. The music calendar has just been posted and things in Red River are looking pretty darn entertaining to us.

Busy, busy, busy!

When we first created a blog the intention was to update once or twice each week. It has been so busy around here that we've been told we're slacking (not that we didn't see that coming)! So here it is - our sixth official blog entry!
The Fourth of July was an incredible success. The town was packed with people from all over Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, and Kansas (with a few others sprinkled here and there). The Red River Chamber registered 70 floats for the parade and, with the exception of a dispute between a horse and a fire engine, everyone had a great time (we know now that all horses need to be placed behind the sirens). After the parade there was plenty to do in Red River: free games & entertainment at the Community House, live music and a BBQ in the park, the shoot-out at Frye's Old Town, the Red River Valley Charter School's Duck Race, and Cowboy Evening at Bobcat Pass. It was so great to see so many smiling faces and happy families in town! Quite a few people made the drive over to Eagle Nest to watch the spectacular fireworks; we haven't seen pictures yet but we know they'll be in the paper this week.
So what's coming up in Red River? Michael Martin Murphey has a few more dates at Cowboy Evening, the Community House continues with their great line-up of FREE activities, Vanilla Pop has a show at the Bull o' the Woods, and the rest of us gear up for "Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights" Music Festival and Cook-off! Larry Joe Taylor announced nine bands today for "Hot Chili Days, Cool Mountain Nights," including Joe Ely, Michael Hearne, South by Southwest, Keith Sykes, Richard Leigh, Josh Grider Trio, and Jed Zimmerman. This is just one of the many fantastic events we have over the summer and we'll tell you more about it in an upcoming post (which hopefully won't take two weeks to write)! In the meantime we hope you're having a great summer and we hope to see you in Red River real soon!