Texans kick up their boots to celebrate independence

boot OBy Rebecca Fiedler
Reporter

Though many Texans might forget the significance of March 2 in Texas history, the Historic Waco Foundation will be celebrating Texas Independence Day a little early with food, fun and music.

Tonight, Wacoans are invited to participate in the third annual Texas Independence Day Celebration of the Historic Waco Foundation.

A concert by the Denton-based band Brave Combo will take place at 8:30 p.m. at Downtown 301, located at 301 South Second St. The $25 tickets are available at the door or via www.texascelebration.eventbrite.com.

Tickets for the dinner and auction, which will take place before the show, are no longer available.

For the past two years that the Historic Waco Foundation has held this celebration, there has been a dinner and auction for attendees, as well as live entertainment. However, there has never been a band of this caliber, said Emily Carrington, director of programming for the Historic Waco Foundation.

“That’s the part we’re really excited about and hope to get a new audience, or expand our audience a little because you can buy a ticket just to that portion,” Carrington said.

Brave Combo has seen recognition beyond just Texas, Carrington said. They have been nominated for seven Grammys and won two. The band’s website, www.brave.com/bo, describes the band as follows:

“For the past three decades the Denton, Texas based quintet has perfected a world music mix that includes salsa, meringue, rock, cumbia, conjunto, polka, zydeco, classical, cha cha, the blues and more. They are America’s Premier Dance band and a rollicking, rocking, rhythmic global journey.”

There will be rock and country music played, and people are encouraged to dance, Carrington said.

Carrington said he hopes to see people come dressed up in their Texas best, with cowboy boots and rhinestones.

“This year, we decided that after two good years we’d like to do something a little broader with this concert to attract a larger audience and get people through the door,” Carrington said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and we hope it raises some money for the organization.”

Items for the silent auction have been donated and all proceeds from the celebration will go to the Historic Waco Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to preserve and educate people about Waco history.

For more information, call 254-753-5166 or visit www.historicwaco.org.