The Cibolo Conservancy Land Trust is kicking off of a new series of events at the Herff Farm: “Songs and Stories at the Farm.”
Back in the year 2000, the Cibolo Nature Center began an outdoor concert series called Songs and Stories, which evolved into the popular Moondances at the nature center in Boerne.
This year, Songs and Stories concerts presented by the Cibolo Conservancy, in partnership with the Cibolo Center for Conservation, will be revived at the Herff Farm at 33 Herff Road, at our new Will Smith Amphitheater, named in memory of Susan Naylor’s beloved son. These will be entertaining events designed to inspire conservation of the Texas Hill Country, the “Sweet Spot of Texas.” You are invited to bring your own lawn chairs and ice chests and enjoy the evening under the stars.
The combination of drought, unprecedented growth, land transfers and lack of local authority to manage it all are resulting in challenges that concern every one of us. Folks from the Cibolo Conservancy will be on hand to answer any questions about protecting private ranches.
But we don’t have to be serious to get some serious work done. As Edward Abbey said, “Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast … a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can.”
So, let’s get outside for some pleasure and adventure, chum with neighbors and remember why we so treasure this place we live, and celebrate with our own songs and stories.
• June 11: Our first concert at the Herff Farm will present Hill Country native Georgia Parker and Big Cedar Fever – a string swing band out of central Texas that specializes in classic western swing and jazz. Three-part harmonies and tight musical arrangements draw listeners in, only to be taken away by the classic style and lyrics that remind us of another time and place.
Other evenings planned for this year include:
• June 25: Friends of the Cibolo Concert with Jerry Knippa, Tom Frost, Meghan Solay, Mark and Jill Mason, David Pipes, Jonah, Ciel, Stella, Phoebe and Brent Evans – inspiring cover songs and original pieces designed to remind us of our love for the land.
• September 17: Poetry Evening, Naomi Shihab Nye is a longtime friend of the Cibolo Nature Center, the Boerne Public Library and Boerne schools. On faculty at Texas State University, she has written or edited about 35 books, contributed to hundreds and has won many awards and fellowships.
“Naomi’s incandescent humanity and voice can change the world, or someone’s world, by taking a position not one word less beautiful than an exquisite poem. … Naomi’s poetry masterfully blends music, images, colors, languages and insights into poems that ache like a shore pacing in ebb and flow, expecting the arrival of meaning.” – Ibtisam Barakat.
Naomi and her husband, documentarian Michael Nye, live in downtown San Antonio.
Happiest on a tractor named Mabel, Lucy Griffith lives on a ranch beside the Guadalupe River near Comfort. As a retired psychologist and rancher, she explored the imagined life of the Burro Lady of Far West Texas in her debut poetry book. “We Make a Tiny Herd” was published by Main Street Rag as a finalist in its poetry book contest and has gone on to win the Wrangler Prize for poetry as well as the Willa Literary Award for Poetry. Lucy received the Returning Contributor Bread Loaf Scholarship in poetry. “Wingbeat Atlas,” poems and images of our citizens of the sky has just been released by FlowerSong Press.
Suzanne Ohlmann is a writer and nurse who manages rural heart failure patients. She received a master of fine arts from Wilkes University, a bachelor of science from Columbia University and a bachelor of music from St. Olaf College. She lives in both her native Nebraska, as well as San Antonio. Her essays have been published by Texas Monthly, the Associated Press, Intima: The Journal of Narrative Medicine and Longreads. Her first book, “Shadow Migration,” was published by the University of Nebraska Press in March 2022.
So come join us on Saturdays when the gates open at 7:30 p.m. before the music starts at 8. All the performances will be held at Herff Farm at 33 Herff Road. Attendees can bring their own lawn chairs and ice chests.
Tickets are required and cost $15 per concert, $10 for members of the Cibolo Conservancy and $5 for students ages 12-15. You can purchase tickets by calling 830-249-4616 or visit www.cibolo.org.
Cibolo Happenings
June 4
• Farmers Market at Herff Farm, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Join us at the Farmers Market at Herff Farm and enjoy locally produced products and goods from small businesses and farms in the Texas Hill Country. Herff Farm offers trails and programming for children and adults. More information is available on www.cibolo.org.
• Storytime at the Farm – Miss Constance of the Patrick Heath Public Library, 10-11 a.m. Miss Constance will host a Peter Rabbit-themed story adventure from the amphitheater at Herff Farm. A backup location will be announced on the day of if it rains. This is a free event.
• Herbalism: Food as Medicine, 10-11:30 a.m. Learn the importance of food choice and how to use herbs and spices that you already have in your kitchen pantry. By the end of this class, you will know what healthy food groups should be on your plate and how each of them contributes to your overall health. This class will be held in the Teaching Barn at Herff Farm. Registration is $25 per person. Visit www.cibolo.org for more information.
June 10
• Night Hikes for Adults – Explore the Cibolo at Night, 8-9:30 p.m. Join the Cibolo Staff as they walk the trails learning about all the nocturnal animals that call the Cibolo home. This is a longer hike suitable for adults 18 and over. Attendees should bring comfortable shoes, a flashlight and a water bottle. Register on www.cibolo.org.
June 11
• Songs and Stories – Georgia Parker and Big Cedar Fever, 7:30-10 p.m. This year the theme of Songs and Stories will be revived at the Herff Farm with four different entertaining events. Sponsored by the Cibolo Conservancy Land Trust, events will begin at sundown in the Herff Farm’s Will Smith Amphitheater and historic barn, presenting local talent. Grab your lawn chairs, coolers, and picnic, and head on over to the Herff Farm for some music and fun at the community’s historic farm! Register on www.cibolo.org.
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