The Silver Spur Winery was host to many notable cowgirls and cowboys in their finery Friday night as a meet and greet kicked off the inaugural Billy the Kid Book Festival hosted by the Billy the Kid Museum this weekend.
Locals got to enjoy some local wine and cheese from Veldhuizen as well as other treats while hobnobbing with many authors and prominent personalities like Gary Clarke, Bill & Linda Foster, Julie Douglas, David Jones, Roy & Maryanne Ward, Moe Headrick, members of Quail Whistle Productions, Glenn Murray, Tim Martin, Will Tate, John Clayton Read, Smokey Culver, Ron Secoy, and Elaine Smith. Many of the musicians and poets performed live on Friday and Saturday to the delight of all. Martin and Murray were
Martin and Murray were the first to kick off the live entertainment by playing some favorites to the crowd at the winery. The duo from Comanche met eight years ago as hospice chaplains and started performing together. They had a busy weekend planned as they were also scheduled to play in Granbury but said they always love coming to Hico.
Guests of honor were Daniel A. Edwards, the author of “Billy the Kid: An Autobiography” and Barry Corbin, noted actor of projects such as “Lonesome Dove,” “The Ranch,” “Northern Exposure” and “No Country for Old Men.”
During the meet and greet, Corbin was asked if he had a favorite movie or series in which he performed. The storied actor compared picking a favorite role to picking a favorite child, but recounted seeking a part when he heard “Lonesome Dove” was being made and told the producers he would take any part just to be involved.
Corbin also recalled filming his scenes for “No Country for Old Men” in Marfa and joked if he had seen Javier Bardem’s footage as the villainous Anton Chigurh prior to meeting him, he might not have sat with him. He quickly added how nice the Spanish actor was in real life in contrast to his iconic character.
Corbin said he had been invited to come to Hico for a while, but the schedule finally worked as he had just finished recording narration earlier in the week for a documentary about people drilling for oil in England’s Sherwood Forest.
Both Corbin and Edwards were presented with quilts by local author/quilter Elaine Smith recognizing their accomplishments. The men called receiving the quality quilts a great honor.
Organizers thanked guests and local businesses Upstairs Inn, the Jersey Lilly and the Koffee Kup for helping make it a great weekend.
For more information, visit billythekidmuseum.org or find tourism – Hico on Facebook.
Hico also hosted several special screenings over the weekend in the Billy The Kid Film Festival. For more information on those events, visit billythekidfilmfestival.com.