GOOD MORNING! WE MADE IT. IT'S FRIDAY!
Today is the start of an incredible weekend of events across Kerr County, especially when it comes to art. However, the big picture event is the 10th Kerrville Triathlon Festival, which starts Saturday morning.
ON TODAY'S SHOW
This morning, we're joined by Museum of Western Art Executive Director Darrell Beauchamp to discuss the 38th annual Roundup Art Show and Sale at the museum this weekend. Beauchamp is recovering from a major motorcycle crash but is still ready to welcome artists from around the country to Kerrville.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Peterson Regional Medical Center saw its number of COVID-19 patients fall to 22 people on Thursday. Across Texas, the numbers of those hospitalized fell to more than 11,100 — a bit of good news. On Thursday, 17 people tested positive for the virus. The Texas Department of State Health Services continued to report there were at least 260 people with active infections in Kerr County.
A WASTE OF TIME
The Texas Secretary of State's office announced that it "audit" four counties for election irregularities in the 2020 election. Those counties are Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Collin.
The Secretary of State's office said it would review the two biggest Democrat and two biggest Republican counties in a weird twist. The announcement comes after former President Trump said Texans wanted an "audit." Trump lost Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties. The former president won Collin County. The former president won Texas.
As we've reported previously, the thing with the Texas results is that Republicans had a pretty good showing in the state. For instance, Sen. John Cornyn defeated Democrat challenger M.J. Hegar in Tarrant County by 5%, but it seems like Republicans can't fathom that Trump would underperform. Even in solidly red Kerr County, Trump underperformed against Cornyn.
While Texas was prepping this announcement, Maricopa County, Arizona — that state's largest county — said its "audit" was nearing an end and that a contractor validated the results that handed President Joe Biden a victory in Arizona.
Of course, Twitter went nuts with this.
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Twitter
See @JudgeClayJ's post on Twitter.
twitter.com/JudgeClayJ
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Twitter
See @LinaHidalgoTX's post on Twitter.
twitter.com/LinaHidalgoTX
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FIRST OFF, SCHREINER IS SET TO ANNOUNCE SOMETHING
Schreiner University is announcing something at 11:30 a.m. today. What could it be? One possibility is the addition of football to the university's lineup of NCAA sports. On Thursday, we learned that the university's board of trustees saw a feasibility study outlining the costs, conference affiliation and capital requirements earlier this month.
During an appearance on Thursday's episode of The Lead Live, Schreiner University's Toby Appleton wouldn't budge on the announcement but said everyone is invited to the event at the Murray Administration Building, where university President Charlie McCormick will make the announcement.
We're leaning capital campaign, but football would also be interesting.
WHAT, WHAT?
This could be the site for a third Whataburger restaurant in Kerrville — along Memorial Boulevard. |
On Thursday, Larry Howard stormed onto The Lead Live and broke some news — Whataburger is coming to Memorial Boulevard. Well, all we could confirm on Thursday is there is demolition ongoing at the suggested site. Kerrville-based JK Bernhard Construction is leading clearance of the site.
If Texas' favorite fast food joint is opening a third Kerr County location, it will be appreciated on the east end of Kerrville. The new restaurant will be at the corner of Meadowview Lane and Memorial Boulevard. It's also excellent news for Schreiner University students, who are within 2,000 feet of the "Uniquely Texas" culinary experience.
EVENTS, EVENTS AND EVENTS
With art festivals and a triathlon heading to Kerrville and Ingram, we wanted to see the impact of the hotels here. Not surprisingly, hotels were almost sold out, including the two biggest hotels — Y.O. Ranch Hotel and Inn of the Hills. When we searched Hotels.com, we found three rooms. The Super 8, 2127 Sidney Baker, had one room left — priced at $139. Over at the Holiday Inn Express, there were rooms but priced at $180 per night. This is going to be a very good weekend for the hotel occupancy taxes.
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The biggest weekend event is the Triathlon Festival, which could draw as many as 5,000 people. The event has more than 1,800 entrants — nearly double the 2019 event.
Here's a rundown of events:
The Kerrville Triathlon Festival.
The event starts at 6 a.m. at Nimitz Lake, with the 300-meter swimming portion of the rookie triathlon. People need to understand there are road closures all over downtown Kerrville on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The main action will take place at Louise Hays Park, where the transition from the bike to the running portions of the triathlon take place. There's also a large triathlon festival of vendors.
The Texas Arts and Crafts Fair
This is a genuine bargain at $5 per person to see some of Texas' most talented artists, weavers, jewelry makers and sculptors. The event starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday at the Hill Country Arts Foundation, 120 Point Theater Road. The event is restricted to Texas artisans, but many visiting artists have broad appeal across the country. Returning for the show is noted Southwestern art painter Amado Pena, born and raised in Texas but calls Santa Fe, New Mexico home. Pena showed his work at the first fair back in the 1970s when it was at Schreiner University. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
KACC Paint Kerrville
This event features Plein Air artists who camped out in Kerrville for much of the week, painting what they see in nature. It's an excellent opportunity to watch the process and meet the artists. The event starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center. At 9 a.m., the artists will begin a quick-draw competition to paint scenes around downtown Kerrville. This event wraps at 8 p.m.
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