On Saturday, May 17 Plano's Haggard Park was filled with live music, activities and fun for all ages at "Prairie Jubilee", a The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. event designed to celebrate Plano and National Historic Preservation Month.
The event featured live music from cowboy songster Andy Hedges, Texas blues man Rafael Espinoza, conjunto band Los Morales Boyz, the Faith Lutheran School of Plano student choir, and local favorites "The Twin Fiddles".
The festival also included trackless train rides, face painting, a sidewalk chalk art area, cane pole fishing, stick horse races, cow roping, tours of Plano's Interurban Railway Museum and Rail Car #360 and scholarship presentations by The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc. and much more.
"This free, fun, family event was an excellent opportunity for us to celebrate the City of Plano and its heritage," said Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation Co-Director Jeffrey Campbell. "This event allowed us to gather for outstanding live music and lots of family fun, and also allowed us to educate guests about the historic preservation efforts underway in the city. We hope this event provided folks a chance to enjoy a beautiful Texas spring day while learning more about the rich history and culture that this area has to offer."
The event was sponsored by The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc., and proceeds from the event will benefit group's historic preservation efforts in the City of Plano.
For more information, please visit www.planoconservancy.org and www.facebook.com/PlanoConservancy or call 972.941.2117.
About Rafael Espinoza: Recent Berklee College of Music Graduate Rafael Espinoza is an Award Winning Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist from Golden, Texas who performs with his band at various venues throughout the year. Rafael Espinoza is taking the music world by storm performing original music that is deeply rooted in the Blues. Graduating with Academic Honors “Magna Cum Laude” at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts in August 2013, Rafael studied with the top professionals in the music industry and performed at some of Boston’s finest venues. Along with his Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Music, Rafael’s most recent achievements include participating in the opening performance for Country Music Legend Willie Nelson at Boston University’s Agannis Arena during Berklee’s Commencement Concert. Rafael Espinoza also recently won The Heart Of Texas Blues Challenge at Antone’s in Austin, Texas where he competed against the state’s Top Blues Bands. Soon to be released "Brighter Day" is Rafael’s second album, but his first official full length LP album which is jam packed with high energy, positive original music. www.RafaelEspinozaMusic.com
About Andy Hedges: Andy Hedges is a songster, reciter, and guitarist. His wide and varied repertoire includes classic cowboy recitations, old cowboy songs, dust bowl ballads and blues. Andy taught himself to play the guitar when he was 14 and began collecting classic cowboy poems and traditional cowboy songs. He has been performing for over 15 years and has released seven albums including four joint-projects with songwriter, Andy Wilkinson. In 2010, the two Andys received the Wrangler Award for Outstanding Traditional Western Music from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Andy lives in Lubbock, Texas with his wife and daughter. www.andyhedges.com/
About Loz Morales Boyz: Breaking onto the conjunto scene in 2012, this group of under 18 year-olds is comprised of three brothers and a close family friend from Dallas. Lead singer and accordionist Nachito Morales, age 17, attends the prestigious Booker T. Washington School for the Performing Arts and won Texas Folklife’s Big Squeeze state-wide youth accordion contest in 2011. Younger brother Rudy, age 12, plays bajo sexto, while eight year-old brother Cheque plays drums. Michael Ramos, age 17, plays electric bass but is also the 2013 reigning Big Squeeze champion. The Boyz recently won the Young Conjunto of the Year Award at the South Texas Conjunto Association Awards. They released their first CD “Conjunto Nunca Muere” this year. www.facebook.com/pages/Los-Morales-Boyz
About the Twin Fiddles: Megan and Leah Bynum started violin lessons when they were two years old. They were classically trained to play and read music using the Suzuki method. They haven’t always been fiddlers, however. In recent years, they’ve begun to explore fiddling – they enjoy country, Celtic, western swing, and most of all, bluegrass. Because they are classically trained and have played together since they were very young, their fiddling has a unique, synergistic resonance with a classical touch. www.thetwinfiddles.com
About The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc:
The Plano Conservancy for Historic Preservation, Inc., a Texas corporation 501 (c)(3) non-profit, is an organization dedicated to promote civic pride in the past, to increase preservation awareness through education and public outreach, and to provide financial assistance to protect and preserve our heritage resources for this and future generations. For more information, please visit www.planoconservancy.org or call 972-941-2117.