North Texas State Fair News

To: The Friends of the North Texas State Fair Association and Open Range Cowboy Church

From: The North Texas State Fair Association and Open Range Cowboy Church

If you have ever been to a meeting or function at the North Texas State Fairgrounds, chances are that long before you got there, Jesse (Shorty) was hard at work making sure everything was prepared for you. After such events, chances are Shorty cleaned up after you.

Shorty’s loves are this Fairgrounds and his church. Shorty has donated thousands of hours to make sure everything is good and ready to go.

Now he needs our help! Shorty is in need of colon surgery. Without the surgery, he is in danger of infection and terrible consequences. With it, he is expected to be fine and, in the words of his Doctor, “Never have to see me again”. Shorty does not have insurance and needs $14,000 to pay for his surgery and medical expenses. Any amount raised, in excess, will be used to assist in his living expenses while recovering.

WE ARE PLANNING A TWO – PHASE FUNDRAISER

Phase I: Is simply asking for donations.

We have set up a fund at Northstar Bank to manage the donations.

Donations can be made to:  North Texas State Fair Association

F.B.O. Jesse Wilkins Medical Fund

P.O. Box 1695

Denton, TX   76202

Credit Card payments can be made by contacting Nanci at the Fair Office –  (940) 387-2632

Phase II: will be a June 9th Auction/Garage Sale managed by the Open Range Cowboy Church.

We are asking for Individual and/or Businesses that want to donate items for the Live and Silent Auction to please contact the Fair Office at 940-387-2632, so we can categorize and list those items. Items for the Garage Sale will be accepted beginning Friday – June 8th.

The North Texas State Fair and the Open Range Cowboy Church will determine which items will be sold as Garage Sale, Silent, and Live. Decisions will be based on perceived value of item. All sales will be final.

This is a great opportunity for this community to give back to someone who has given so much to thousands of people.

PLEASE HELP US HELP “SHORTY”!!

The North Texas State Fair and Rodeo continued its string of marketing awards at the January Texas Association of Fairs and Events Convention in Austin.

Following a series of top tier awards over past several years, the NTSFR brought home 13 awards this year, maintaining its position as one of the leading fairs of its size in Texas.

The Texas Association of Fairs and Events is broken down into fourcategories, based on attendance.  The North Texas State Fair and Rodeo fallsinto the category of attendance ranging from 100,000 to 500,000, and competeswith many fairs, including Waco’sHeart of Texas Rodeo, Rodeo Austin, East Texas State Fair and Tri-State Fairand Rodeo.

Nanci Kimmey, NTSFR Executive Assistant, said, “I’m alwaysso proud of the recognition we receive.  These awards are voted on by our peersand that means a lot.”

Kimmey was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the TexasAssociation of Fairs and Events.

The North Texas State Fair Association has announced the election of anew slate of directors following the announced retirement of R.D. Martin,President of the Association. Martin, who has held the post of president since 2005, announced last year his plans for retirement. The retirement presented the Association with the task of forming a new executive board.

The NTSFA elected Carl Anderson as president.  Mark Foster, Layne Brewer and Jim Fykes were elected as vice presidents. Other officers election were Mickie Blagg as secretary, Harry Hall as treasurer and R.D. Martin as past president.

Elected board members include Bill Allen, Eddie Ary, Robert Bell, Danny Brumley, Don Fischer, Richard Fisher, Walt Garrison, Richard Hayes, Wayne Johnson, Bobby Jones, Larry Kish, Jeff Kruger, Mickey McNary and Dale McNight.

Executive Director Glenn Carlton stated, “The North Texas State Fair Association Board of Directors has always worked very well together and within this community, and I don’t expect that to change.”

The North Texas State Fair and Rodeo was recently approved for an Historical Designation by the State of Texas,signifying the importance of its contribution to the community and its longevity.

The North Texas State Fair and Rodeo is the Community Sponsor of the Thin Line Film Fest showing of “Buck” tonight at the Campus Theatre at 8:00pm.  Buck is the story of Buck Brannaman – the original horse whisperer.  He is a true American Cowboy who travels the country for 9 grueling months a year helping horses with people problems.  He was the inspiration for the movie Horse Whisperer starring Robert Redford.  This film was on the short list of Documentaries for an Oscar nomination.  It is also the Audience Award recipient from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  It is 88 minutes long.

February is here…you’ve been back in school for a few weeks, and now you’re counting down the days until graduation. Since you already have graduation and college on your mind now is the perfect time to apply for a $1000 scholarship.  Just fill out the applications for the North Texas State Fair Association and the Bob C. Powers Scholarships. EACH scholarship is $1000!

Applicants must be a graduating senior from a public, private, or home school within Denton County. You do not have to have a 4-H or Ag background for the Bob C. Powers Scholarship. You must be a high school senior and attending a college or junior college in the fall. Deadline is FRIDAY – JUNE 1. Applications MUST be POSTMARKED or turned into the Fair Office (2217 N. Carroll Blvd. Denton, TX 76201) by June 1.

The North Texas State Fair Associations had many very qualified applicants for the 2011 North Texas State Fair Association and Bob C. Powers Scholarships.  We are extremely proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Scholarship Programs.

Andrew Knight was awarded the Bob C. Powers Scholarship. Andrew graduated from Krum High School with a GPA of 4.4. He will be attending Texas A&M University to  major in Agricultural Communications and minor in Business. Andrew’s goal is to continue his education and obtain his MBA.

Elizabeth Solomon Morris was awarded the North Texas State Fair Association Scholarship. Elizabeth graduated from John H. Guyer Hig School in 2011. She will be attending Texas A&M through a program at Blinn Junior College. She is majoring in Biomedical Sciences. She hopes to pursue a career in medical rehabilitation therapy.

The North Texas State Fair Association, its Board of Directors, Members and Volunteers are extremely proud of Mr. Knight and Ms. Morris for their accomplishments in this organization and their communities.

A Texas Native, Granger Smith started off as a self taught musician and honed his craft with years on the road, apprenticing and recording in Nashville, and developing as a musician which took him on three tours to Iraq and Kuwait, entertaining our troops, as well as three performances at the Whitehouse. Such a worldly musician returned home to brand himself as a Texas artist. As a result, his music is heard in clubs, at football games at his alma mater, Texas A&M, even on the Space Shuttle at the astronauts’ request.

“If I can help someone get lost in the moment of a song long enough to forget the worries of the world, or long enough to remember what’s most important, then I’ve done my job.”

Smith’s output includes titles such as “Livin’ Like A Lonestar”, which features the top ten single “Colorblind”, “We Bleed Maroon”, adopted as the modern-day anthem for Texas A&M, “Don’t Listen to the Radio”–ironically given more airplay than any of his previously released albums, and “Gypsy Rain”.

Granger is an adept presence – on stage and through the speaker – and with his continued rise in popularity, he will soon be a household name in music. But Granger insists he will always keep pushin’ the pedal. “I think that, five years down the road, I’ll probably still be striving for something else that I’m not quite getting. I’m always looking towards the next step.”

Don’t miss Granger Smith August 26th on the Bud Light Stage at 6pm and 11pm.

While studying communications and political science at Texas Tech in Lubbock,  Josh Abbott and his Phi Delta Theta comrades frequently went to the Blue Light Live, a downtown club on Buddy Holly Avenue that’s been a linchpin for such hard-scrabble acts as Cross Canadian Ragweed, Wade Bowen and Golden Globe nominee Ryan Bingham.

During one Blue Light visit with a couple of friends around 2004, Abbott saw the Randy Rogers Band for the first time. He would never be the same.

“It was packed,” he remembers. “I watched them play and how they moved on the stage, how they sang their songs, and how they connected with the audience. I literally looked at my friend-and this is the story she tells to this day to her friends-and I said, ‘I think I can do that.’ She was like, ‘What are you talkin’ about ?’ I said, ‘I think I can be that guy on stage, singing and writing songs that people connect with. I think that I can do that.’ She was like, ‘Well, go do it.’ That night or the next day, I started writing country songs.”

After doing a few acoustic open-mic nights at the Blue Light, Abbott and three frat buddies formed a complete band and started playing the club, where they were greeted by a full house their first night.

Naturally, the early set lists were dominated by cover songs, but Abbott quickly realized any long-term success required that they establish their identity through original material.

“If we play a bunch of covers, we’re gonna impress the crowd, but we’re not gonna impress the band,” he surmises. “I want other bands to be talking about us, so I just wrote a bunch of originals and we started practicing ‘em.”

Abbott wrote the bulk of the songs in April and May 2009, shortly after he’d gone through a rocky period in a relationship. It was personally difficult, but creatively inspiring, and the feelings he encountered during that period were central to She’s Like Texas, which he enlisted Eli Young Band associate Erik Herbst to co-produce the album in Denton.

The band quickly evolved. Fiddler Preston Wait-who trained at South Plains College in Levelland, where the alumni include Lee Ann Womack, Natalie Maines, songwriter-guitarist Jedd Hughes and Ricochet’s Heath Wright-was hired to play on the band’s first demo and soon joined the lineup permanently. When the original rhythm section dropped out, Wait brought in fellow South Plains students Daniel Almodova and Ed Villanueva, and JAB took on a more aggressive sound.

Abbott doesn’t just talk about his concepts; he invests in them. Known to finance many productions himself, he’s given away thousands EPs, and he’s been known to toss freebies-coozies, T-shirts, ball caps, etc.-into the crowd during his shows.

“The way I see it, it will come back,” Abbott says of his investments. “It might be in dollars, it might be in fans’ loyalty, it might just be that they remember you for giving them something for nothing. You may not be able to trace the way in which that comes back, but it will.”

With She’s Like Texas, it’s paid off in the form of a sturdy, emotional album that sets up the do-it-yourself Josh Abbott Band as the Lonestar State’s next authentic breakout. It might take years to analyze the depth of the sound, but it takes only minutes-maybe just seconds-to recognize the powerful uniqueness it adds to Texas music, and to the whole of country music. (from http://www.joshabbottband.com/band.htm)

Don’t miss them August 25th at 9:30pm on the Budweiser Stage.

Johnson County native & North Texas music vet Joey Green showcases his music like none before him. With heart-on-his sleeve, Joey creates music on his own terms. After two full band records and nine years of touring, The Joey Green Band feels at home, deep in the heart of North Texas. Their penchant for song selection and instrumental creativity help make this band a winner from the first hook. Cocky at times, of course. Full of Rock n Roll Swagger, you bet. Darkness and rage, why not. The Joey Green Band lays it down thick and their music takes off on a path all its own. The band offers it all with the bluesy, backwoods stomp of “Natchitoches Blues”, a personal ode to Joey’s father’s Cajun upbringing down in the swamps of Louisiana along with all-explosive playlists. One can only wonder how long it will be before radio finds out about these young, obscure, and highly talented artists.

Their songs already hav the critics and Fort Worth hipsters buzzing. One listen to their musical depth will have you unable to classify this sound, a definite nod to dynamic songwriting and rascally-rocking vocals, which grab you on and refuse to let go. Joey Green, a native of rural Joshua, Texas, has logged over 250,000 miles cris-crossing Texas and Oklahoma, releasing his own brand of Red Dirt country rock. Many country superstars come from the Johnson County hotbed, a fertile breeding ground for Texas’ talent.

Performing over 100 acoustic dates and over 100+ full band shows a year with this power-pop-meets-honky-tonk 4 piece band, Joey Green is quite possibly the best underground singer/songwriter in the state of Texas.

Don’t miss the Joey Green Band August 25th on the Bud Light Stage at 6pm and 11pm.

From the Yukon to Stillwater, Oklahoma, a 16-year old Cody Canada was searching for inspiration; a place to call home. What he found was a creative nirvana of musicians who were generating the music that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

“It was like the greatest place on earth, “ Cody recalls. “They were all playing this really, really good music, the kind of vibe found with the Allman Brothers and The Band. But what came out of this was really diverse. I didn’t even know what Red Dirt was until somebody told me. I got turned on to it all and it’s stayed with me ever since.”
The front man for Cross Canadian Ragweed, Cody successfully tapped into those influences on each of their nine albums. Four of these nine charted on Billboard’s Top 10 Country Albums, thousands of albums were sold and the band played to sell out crowds across the country helping to spread “red dirt” music.

Moving on from the days of Cross Canadian Ragweed, Cody had emerged with a battalion of musicians and a new mission in mind. now known as Cody Canada and The Departed. “We kicked around several ideas for names,“ Canada said. “We’re all from different bands and we wanted something to sound like we came from different places. The Departed was right on the money.” Along with Canada and Plato, The Departed rounds out with Seth James on guitar (Seth James Band, Ray Wylie Hubbard), Steve Littleton on B3 organ and keys (Live Oak Decline, Stoney LaRue & the Arsenals, Medicine Show) and Dave Bowen on drums (Stoney LaRue, Bleu Edmondson, Dale Watson).
Having traveled in the same circles for years, The Departed’s members are familiar with each other’s personalities and styles of playing. This familiarity made their initial projects simple. Although The Departed is writing and will record original material, the band’s first priority was getting into the studio and cutting the Oklahoma tribute album that Cody had been wanting to do for years. The result is This Is Indian Land, The Departed’s debut album set for release this spring.

Cody Canada & The Departed is already making waves on the road. With the recording of an album behind them and a brand new year in front, the band has hit the road like only professionals know how to do. As excited as they are about their gigs, they are taking it all very seriously. “It’s funny because with Ragweed we got to a point where we didn’t have to practice. We were playing so many shows we could just get up there and do the tunes, right? Well now it’s a new band playing new songs so we’ve got to learn everything, get our game together and practice. It’s a whole lot of fun. I can’t sleep at night. It keeps me awake, not from worry but from excitement. We’re just ready to tear it up.”

You definitely don’t want to miss Cody Canada & The Departed on the Budweiser Stage August 24th.