Getting into the spirit of the first ever Texas Hat Festival, Frannie Sing (left) and Cassey Brei of Snail Creek Hat Co. prepare for an onslaught of visitors celebrating the role of the hat in life and Luckenbach. Photo by Phil Houseal
Details:
The Texas Hat Festival is Saturday, April 17, 2010 at Luckenbach, from 1 p.m. until “the cows come home.” Advance tickets are $12 and available at the General Store or online at www.luckenbachtexas.com.
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All Hat
by Phil Houseal
April 14, 2010
Home’s not where your heart is;
Home is where your hat is
If the words of local songwriter Bill Jung’s song are true, then Luckenbach is going to be home to a whole passel of hat-wearing, ten gallon-tossing Texans and tourists this Saturday as the tiny town with the big reputation hosts the Texas Hat Festival 2010.
Events are typically untypical for this first ever event, with an Ugly Hat Contest, Best Old Hat Contest, and a Hat Toss. Even bare-headed youngsters will have fun with Pin The Feather on the Hat, Ugly Hat Contest, and even a hat pinata. Such a happening wouldn’t be complete without the Mexican Hat Dance, performed by a group brought in from San Antonio.
“When you come to Texas, you think of cowboy hats,” explained Cassey Brei, who with husband Tony Wilson runs Snail Creek Hat Company in Luckenbach’s back yard. “We have people from all over the world. They come to Luckenbach and want to fit in and be a part of it.”
So they buy a hat. Big hats, small hats, palms, felts, straws, customs. Hats with severe rolls, floppy hats, banded, feathered, and beaded.
“A hat is a very personal thing,” said Wilson. “It is a statement about who you are and where you’re from. You can tell a lot about a person by their hat.”
As with any item of apparel, hats go through trends and styles. I shudder to think that during my first visit to Luckenbach back in 1978, the country was in love with the Urban Cowboy look. I bought a stiff, high-crowned, feathered monstrosity that I loved and my wife loathed. Looking at pictures now, she was right.
“Fashion? Sometimes it’s regional,” Brei said. “Cowboys in West Texas wear one style; a country performer wears another style; someone working with cattle in feedlots wears another style. Some people just want a ‘kicking around hat’ to wear at the river.”
No matter taste, budget, or size, there is a hat for every head. Sales Associate Frannie Sing makes sure to find a fit and a style to suit each shopper. She doffed her own fedora to demonstrate.
“This is our most popular style,” she said, flipping her sombrero over to show the inside. “It has the bound edge, and is Guatemalan palm. I have a roundish head; a lot of people have long ovals. This style can form rather easily and is are very comfortable because it has a nice cloth lining.”
Whether you head is round, oval, square, or pointed, Brie promises to make you look good.
“We had several shoppers come in today who said no hat has ever looked good on us. We let people play with hat, then try to steer them to something that looks great. When they left they were thrilled and loved their hat, and so did everyone else!”
In the midst of this crowning celebration, it is good to remember that as powerful a place as the cowboy hat holds in western lore, no mere hat makes the man.
Another cherished songwriter - Rusty Cox - said just that in his song Hondo’s Hat.
We're not sure why she did it
We don't know where it's at
We only know one night at the dance
Some gal took Hondo's hat...
If only she'd return it
I'd get her one that fit
After all what good is Hondo's hat
Without Hondo under it?