Step back in time. A time when life was tough and people were even tougher. Wagon trains were heading west and cattle drives were heading north.
In 1866, cattle rancher Charles Goodnight, a former Texas Ranger, invented the chuck wagon to keep his men fed on the cattle drives.
Whether on the cattle drive, in a mining camp, or on the trek west, cooks used cast iron over open fires to cook the best meals they could.
But life wasn’t all work. There was time to rest and time to celebrate. Festive dances filled the dance halls, and where there weren’t dance halls, dances filled the streets.
The Sealy Area Historical Society invites you to experience life as it was. See the cooking, taste the food, hear cowboy poetry, and dance in the street.
The “Cast Iron Cook-off & Jamboree” will be Friday and Saturday, Nov 13 & 14, 2015, at the Santa Fe Museum Park, 211 East Main St, across the railroad tracks from Historic Downtown Sealy.
Gates open 2:00 pm Friday. Visit the teams as they cook like your ancestors did over 130 years ago. “All-you-can-eat” food sampling and drink sales start at 4:00 pm. Listen to cowboy poet Joe Mingus from 6:00 to 6:30, then cowboy poet Cade Schalla from 7:00 to 7:30. From 8:00 to 11:00, five independent artists come together to fill the streets with music. Collectively known as the Texas Jam Gang, they are Tina Allen, Jason V. Chapman, Keith Parker, Mandi Powell, and Cindy Rife.
On Saturday, gates open at noon, with “all-you-can-eat” food sampling and drink sales starting right away. Beginning at 4:00, Celtaire String Band will perform music from the 1700s to the early 1900s. Joe Mingus presents his cowboy poetry from 5:00 to 5:30, followed by another performance by Celtaire String Band at 6:00. Cade Schalla returns with his cowboy poety from 7:00 to 7:30.
Featured entertainer award-winning Texas Singer*Songwriter*Author Mike Blakely comeS on stage at 8:00 pm. A two-time winner of Western Writers of America’s Spur Award, Mike has had his music played on the International Space Station and one of his co-written tunes landed on a Grammy Award-winning album by Flaco Jimenez.
Friday tickets are $5 for admission only, or $10 for admission with “all-you-can-eat” sampling. Saturday tickets are $5 for admission only, or $15 for admission with “all-you-can-eat” sampling. Sampling will be at the SAHS’s stand, and will include items submitted by the teams and chili, potato soup, cornbread, & salad prepared by the SAHS. Beer and soft drinks will be available for purchase.
Proceeds will benefit the restoration, preservation, and acquisition of historical exhibits.
A complete schedule, lodging information, and latest updates are at https://www.facebook.com/events/468137016680732/ and www.SealyHistoricalSociety.org
Vendors are invited. For booth space, contact Nancy at [email protected] or (832) 492-4244.
Rules and registration form for cook teams are at facebook.com/download/1177294115630590/Cast_Iron_Rules_%26_Registration_20151002-with_form_fields.pdf Registration closes Sunday, Nov 8, 2015. For competition questions, contact Mark at [email protected] or (979) 877-5254.
