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On the Road

Be charmed by the history and fishing in East Texas' Wood County

CultureMap Create
Jul 19, 2022 | 12:00 pm
Wood County boasts charming, historic downtown districts.
Wood County boasts charming, historic downtown districts.
Photo courtesy of Wood County

Nestled in the piney woods of East Texas, about 90 minutes from Dallas-Fort Worth, Wood County is a little haven that’s perfect for a weekend getaway.

Known as the best fishing destination in Texas, Wood County is home to four major county lakes, the most famous of which is Lake Fork.

At 27,264 acres and 315 miles of shoreline, it was designed to be a premier bass fishing lake and currently holds records for 34 out of the top 50 largemouth bass caught in Texas.

Of course, there are plenty of non-fishing lake activities to love in Wood County, too, from boating to swimming and more.

The county’s distinct communities — Mineola, Winnsboro, Quitman, and Hawkins — are destinations with active downtown districts, shopping, events and festivals, and more. Here’s what makes each one unique.

Mineola
You’ll want to book a stay at the Fall Farm Country Inn, a charming bed-and-breakfast on 10 acres in the Piney Woods. It’s a chic country getaway and conveniently located with access to anywhere you’d want to go in Mineola and beyond.

First stop is the Mineola Nature Preserve, located along the Sabine River, which has numerous hiking and equestrian trails and boasts 193 species of birds, wildlife, buffalo, and longhorn cattle.

Then, go from land to water on the Mineola Bigfoot Paddling Trail, which runs for 11 miles on the Sabine River and offers a wild and scenic journey of East Texas.

In Mineola’s red-brick-paved, historic downtown district, you'll find antique shops, boutiques, art studios, coffee shops, taverns, and bars with live music on the weekends.

Stay at the Mineola Beckham Hotel, which was originally built in 1886 and boasts a colorful and likely haunted history as a "railroad hotel" with stints as a Prohibition speakeasy and music school for the likes of Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves.

The town is also home to one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in Texas, the famous Select Theater that opened in 1920. They feature first-run movies every weekend and host Lake County Playhouse productions.

Also downtown, the Iron Horse Square is a five-acre area that celebrates the town's railroad heritage with walking paths, mini train rides, and events throughout the year.

Winnsboro
As a designated Texas Main Street city and Texas designated cultural arts district, Winnsboro is known for its historic downtown and its vibrant culture.

The Winnsboro Center for the Arts embraces the spirit of creativity. The Bowery Stage, an intimate, 88-seat listening room with incredible acoustics for concerts, hosts art exhibits, workshops, literary events, and music and theater productions.

The annual Winnsboro Art & Wine Festival, on November 11-12, 2022, brings in artists from around the country to participate in the juried event while wineries from around Texas bring their award-winning wines for sampling. You’ll also get a taste of craft brews, specialty foods, and more.

Speaking of food, The Barrel House Bar & Grill serves up Southern comfort food, often with a side of live music. And Liefie brings the flavors of modern South Africa — a mix of traditional African, Eastern, and European dishes — to Winnsboro’s historic, small-town setting.

Save the date for the month-long Autumn Trails Festival in October that’s jam-packed with pageants and parades, a classic car show, mule rodeo, baking contests and chili cook-offs, trail rides, and more.

And don’t miss the weekly Winnsboro Farmers’ Market every April through October, where you can shop fresh produce from local farmers and other goods. It was recently voted the second best farmers market in the Southwest, beating out hundreds of others.

Quitman
You’ll be charmed by Quitman's Main Street, with its shops and boutiques, the Wood County Courthouse, and popular spots like Speakeasy Coffee House, which features pop-up yoga sessions, special dining events, and live music on the weekends.

For your nature fix, head to Wood County Arboretum, which covers 23 acres and includes a walking trail, gazebo, sensory garden, shade garden, a water garden, numerous rose and flower beds, and the historic, 1869-built Stinson House.

Hawkins
Hawkins is known for its Oil Festival, a longstanding event every fall that celebrates the booming oil industry that helped the town grow.

On the agenda is a parade with floats, a car show, food booths, a kids zone, arts and crafts, live music, a pancake breakfast, and more.

Learn more about what Wood County has to offer here.

Located in East Texas, Wood County possesses beautiful, wide-open spaces.

wood county nature
Photo courtesy of Wood County
Located in East Texas, Wood County possesses beautiful, wide-open spaces.
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75-year-old San Antonian prepares for 75th marathon, plus more top stories

Hannah J. Frías
Oct 29, 2022 | 12:00 pm
Richard Newman San Antonio marathon
Photo by Nik Newman
The New York City Marathon on November 6 will be his milestone marathon.

Editor’s note: It’s that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. 75-year-old San Antonio native prepares to run his 75th marathon. The New York City Marathon on November 6 will be his milestone marathon.

2. New 29-story residential tower coming to San Antonio's Hemisfair Park. Hemisfair Park continues to grow with this development.

3. Premier wellness destination Canyon Ranch sets sights on the Hill Country for new resort. Canyon Ranch is coming to the Texas Hill Country with a new destination spa in the Austin area

4. Texas remains a hot spot for international homebuyers, shows new report. The Lone Star State remains the No. 3 U.S. market for international buyers.

5. 8 things to know in San Antonio food right now: Neighborhood bar wiggles back to Broadway. The Pigpen Neighborhood Bar has reopened after a prolonged hiatus.

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New 29-story residential tower coming to San Antonio's Hemisfair Park

San Antonio museum's popular Sips and Sounds series returns with night of Norteño music

San Antonio museum displays Broadway's 'Wicked' best costumes in new exhibition

Way out West

Texas' Big Bend named one of the world's must-see destinations for 2023

Hannah J. Frías
Oct 28, 2022 | 4:26 pm
Big Bend National Park
Photo by Adan Guerrero on Unsplash

Big Bend made National Geographic's Best of the World 2023 list.

The pandemic took a toll on pretty much ever industry, especially food and travel. But some destinations suffered less than others: Big Bend National Park out in far west Texas became a hot spot for road trippers from Texas and beyond. To that end, National Geographic Travel included the vast natural wonder in its recent Best of the World 2023 list.

The annual list rounds up 25 global destinations "under the radar, ahead of the curve, and ready for you to start exploring," according to the article. National Geographic editors frame the list within five categories: Community, Nature, Culture, Family, and Adventure.

Big Bend landed in the Nature category, "5 wildly underrated natural escapes for 2023," and it's in good company: The list also includes the Azores, Botswana, Slovenia, and the Scottish Highlands.

According to a release, the list is themed around "travel destinations and experiences that leverage the benefits of tourism to strengthen their local communities, natural and built environments, and sense of place." Big Bend fits right into that criteria, attracting tourism to small-town communities near the park such as Marfa, Alpine, Presidio, Marathon, and Fort Davis, which all benefit from the influx of people passing through to Big Bend.

The park itself welcomed over 394,000 visitors in 2020, about 15 percent less than 2019. 2021 more than made up for that deficit, though: Big Bend welcomed a record 581,000 visitors as travelers continued to seek open spaces and natural wonders.

Apart from contributing to the local economy, the National Geographic article touts the park's locale in a "remote and arid part of west Texas," which "nurtures more cactus species than any other national park, as well as birds such as roadrunners and bright yellow Scott’s orioles, and mammals such as javelina."

So pack the car and plan your next trip out west, and don't forget some of our top tips for off-the-grid adventures in the area.

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Movie Review

Real-world events make the message of Call Jane all the more relevant

Alex Bentley
Oct 28, 2022 | 1:12 pm
Real-world events make the message of Call Jane all the more relevant
Photo by Wilson Webb / courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Elizabeth Banks in Call Jane

The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court has sent shockwaves through much of American society, including Hollywood. For years since the initial 1973 decision legalizing abortion, the issue has remained a part of many stories in movies and on TV, especially as conservative states started to enact more and more restrictions on when and where a woman could get the procedure.

When the cast and crew of Call Jane started making their film in 2021, they likely thought they were just showing an interesting chapter in history and underscoring the importance of a woman’s right to choose. Instead, they find themselves inadvertently smack dab in the renewed debate over abortion, and perhaps demonstrating that history is repeating itself.

Elizabeth Banks in Call Jane

Photo by Wilson Webb / courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Elizabeth Banks in Call Jane

The film is a fictional story about Joy (Elizabeth Banks), a middle-class woman in 1968 Chicago who has a husband, Will (Chris Messina), and a teenage daughter, Charlotte (Grace Edwards). She’s also pregnant, but she has a heart condition that necessitates terminating the pregnancy to save her life. When the (all-male) board at her local hospital denies her request for an emergency abortion, she starts searching out other options.

After being advised of a number of poor-to-terrible choices, she finds a flier with a message to “Call Jane” if you’re pregnant and anxious. That leads her to a relatively safe place to get the procedure done illegally, one organized by a group of activist women headed by Virginia (Sigourney Weaver). Soon, Joy finds herself drawn into being part of the group, a role that becomes increasingly larger the more she learns about the women who need its services.

Directed by Phyllis Nagy and written by Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, the film is a surface-level examination of the abortion issue, but still an effective one. The shocking initial choices Joy faces – convincing psychiatrists that she is suicidal or “accidentally” falling down a staircase to induce a miscarriage – are now ones that may be a reality again for many women, giving the film even more heft than it already had.

The film is at its best when Joy is with the organizing group, as it depicts a diverse group of women – including a nun! – who are all there for one purpose: To help other women. The group has its disagreements, like what type of women should get priority treatment, but the dedication as a whole to the larger cause has a hopeful vibe despite the obstacles they collectively face.

The story falters a bit when it focuses on Joy’s home life. She explains her time away from home as her taking art classes, an excuse that’s laughable given the hours she spends with the group. The filmmakers try to create drama with Will complaining about the lack of home-cooked meals, Charlotte always on the verge of discovering her mom’s secret, and their neighbor Lana (Kate Mara) paying a bit too much attention to Will, but none of it lands compared with the main story.

Banks has tended to be a comedic actor in her 20+ year career, so it takes a bit of time to accept her as the buttoned-down character she’s supposed to be. But once Joy joins the group, Banks’ performance blossoms, especially in scenes with Weaver. Weaver is a grounding force for the film as a whole, feeling exactly like the type of woman who could lead a rebel group like this.

Call Jane is not a firebrand of a film, likely because the filmmakers didn’t know it needed to be. But its release at this particular moment in time can still be interpreted as a call for those who believe in its message to not give up the fight, even if right now the world seems to be against them.

---

Call Jane opens in theaters on October 28.

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New 29-story residential tower coming to San Antonio's Hemisfair Park

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