45 events fill the Hill Country calendar this weekend

From Saturday morning farmers markets to Sunday night sound baths, Kerr County’s weekend calendar is packed — 31 events on Saturday alone, with 14 more on Sunday.

SPARK! Places of Innovation opens Saturday

The marquee event is Saturday evening’s opening night of SPARK! Places of Innovation, the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibit, which arrives at the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center at 5:30 p.m. — making Kerrville the first of only six Texas stops on the tour. KACC Executive Director Lanza Teague says the exhibit is more experience than display. “It’s not static. There’s a lot of interaction involved in it,” she said.

Alongside the Smithsonian exhibit, KACC will feature a companion show called “Small Towns, Big Ideas,” spotlighting local innovations including the eradication of the screwworm, which Teague said was “costing the ranching industry $90 million a year.” The exhibit also highlights the invention of the hummingbird feeder and Kerrville’s early establishment of its own hospital and utility services.

Opening night features catering by Rails, wine from Turtle Creek Vineyard — the official wine of the exhibit — and live music from Konrad Wert and Clifton Fifer. Community programming tied to the exhibit runs through June 28 and includes a mural painting, a historic downtown walking tour, and a wine tasting and industry talk at the Museum of Western Art. Most activities are free or low-cost.

Hunt opens a new community center — and emergency hub

Saturday morning in Hunt, the Hunt Preservation Society opens its new Community Center at Preservation Park from 10 a.m. to noon. Funded by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, the facility is designed to serve as both a community gathering space — available for meetings, voting and social clubs — and an emergency command center when needed.

Resource partners will be on hand to answer questions on mental health services, river and riparian recovery, and weather preparedness tools including River Sentry and the county’s UGRA flood warning system.

Car show, dance recitals and live music round out Saturday

The American Evolution Car Show fills Louise Hays Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the Lone Star Dance Recitals take the Cailloux Theater stage across four performances at 10 a.m., noon, 2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Saturday night, The Band 9-2-1 headlines The Arcadia Live at 8 p.m.

Sunday: Crider’s concert, and a celebration on the river

Gary P. Nunn headlines the Plant the Guadalupe Benefit Concert at Crider’s Rodeo & Dancehall at noon Sunday, raising funds for river restoration.

That afternoon, the Guadalupe River Center hosts a community celebration from 2 to 5 p.m. at 109 Riverview Drive on the banks of Nimitz Lake, marking the project reaching 90% of its funding goal thanks to a $2 million grant from the Scripps Foundation.

The free family event features four food trucks — Los Cenos, Cajun Cowboy, Pitchman’s Homestead and a Mexican paleta pop-up — along with beer and wine, an obstacle course, bounce house, face painting, balloon twisting and cornhole. Local organizations including Bird City, the library and Parks and Rec will have booths, and the Sea Scouts are bringing a sailboat to serve as a photo station with on-site printouts.

One of the more poignant features: a group called Kerr Kids will host a craft booth where children can make American flag-shaped ornaments from reclaimed cypress wood salvaged from the July 4 flood. Organizers say that same reclaimed flood wood will be used to construct the future playground at the center.