Howdy Y’all!
If you follow me on instagram or my facebook page, you may have noticed I was in the Big D this weekend! Even though it is just a 30 minute drive away, me and my main squeeze Sophia had a little bit of a girls getaway weekend, thanks to some amazing help from the Edge of Texas! From Friday night all the way into Saturday night, we listened to talented Texans show off major skills. From Barbecue pitmasters, empowered female business owners, writers, film makers, and even a marching band! These folks and more showed up for Dallas’s biggest party! So, I wanted to share my recap with you loves this week. From my highlights to your screens, here was my favorite things from the Edge of Texas!
The Swag
Last year the swag was cool, this year was absolutely one of a kind swag! My favorite being the hand dipped flasks Members Mark Gave out at the VIP reception opening night! It was such a unique gift, and so unique in the fact that it played into the branding of Members Mark by being dipped in their traditional red wax!
While it wasn’t entirely swag you could take home for free…the boot people of Luccesse were there all weekend showing off their 100+ year tradition of handcrafted boots! They even brought in their designers to design custom one of one boots for people who needed a new pair. They also had their whole collection available for purchase, including their collab with model Erin Wasson!
The Food
The food, the food, always the food! John Tesar, Callie Spear, Bruno Davillon, Jordan Jackson, Katherine Clapner, and SO many more amazing Texas chefs, pitmasters, and bakers! All of these Texans truly brought Texas to life in my tummy and MAN! It was so good!
I am a sucker for good food, and especially tacos here in Texas. So when I saw they were serving tacos filled to the brim with all the fixins, you KNOW I ate a few! This is the yummiest part of the weekend, and one I have waited a whole year for! Each year Texas monthly strives to bring the best of Texas together, and they knocked it out of the park on the food front!
The Stories
Texas is known for some of the best storytellers the great 50 states have to offer. And they sure showed up this weekend! One of my favorite things, from this year and last, are the people Texas Monthly brings into their panels. Topics like Stardom After Reality TV, Female Entrepreneurs: Brand Builders and Taste Makers, A Visual Journey Down the Rio Grande, Democracy, Rebellion, and Revolution… WOAH! These speakers are shaping the great plains of Texas, keeping the roots here, discussing the hard things, and taking steps to keeping Texas the Greatest State.
My personal favorite was the Female Entrepreneurs: Brand Builders and Taste Makers, panelists were Holly Williams and Kathy Blackwell. Both of these women have created such a strong impact on their communities, their families, and are now sharing a bit of that southern hospitality with the rest of the US as their businesses grow! Listening to their stories of growth, struggle, raising a family in this 21st century world. Elizabeth Chambers Hammer who is Founder & CEO of BIRD Bakery and Holly Williams the Singer-Songwriter and granddaughter of Hank Williams Sr. both shared their stories over the course of an hour and it was such an inspiration to hear how they keep their family in everything they do now!
Overall
This is my second year of Edge of Texas, and from what I can tell, it’s going to be bigger and even better next year! For sure, a tradition for me now is to attend Edge of Texas and get my Texan on all weekend long! Eat good food, hear inspiring stories, meet and network with some of Texas’s finest folk, and of course, celebrate the great state which we all reside in, Texas.
See y’all next year!
XOXO, D.
Find all the photos here for the whole weekend. Photos used in this post were taken by the Edge of Texas photographers and are public.
