George Washington Birthday Celebration

That’s right! I am ready to push through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and press on to February 20, 2016. Oh yeah, the unofficial end to Winter, President George Washington’s Birthday celebration. The clocks have been reset to allow winter to bear down upon me. I deflate every year in November. Not to the depths of seasonally adjusted depression, but the clouds seem a little thicker and the rain is a bit wetter in the Houston metro until March.

In the past I have visited El Paso, Corpus Christi or The Valley for long weekends in the winter to get out of the North Gulf Coast “yuck” for a few days. Last February I made a border run to Laredo Texas. The plan was to enjoy 80* weather, hike, and visit the Laredo Center for the Arts downtown at 500 San Agustin Avenue. I was going to be culturally enlightened and bring something tangible back to the art discussion in an ACC Humanities class.

The weather was in complete agreement. After my 5 hour escape from Houston, I sprawled at the pool after check-in and took a nap. I lazily remembered to call the Laredo Center for the Arts to get directions and parking instructions. The official response was that the Laredo Art Center was closed during the long weekend for private parties celebrating George Washington’s Birthday.  For who? Closed for what? It’s a month long party; festivals, parades, Martha Washington pageant and ball, Pocahontas pageant and ball, live music, the gigantic Jalapeno Festival. Beer companies sponsor events throughout Laredo.

This event clogs downtown traffic, crowds hotels, and packs restaurants. It is crazy! 400,000 people pile into Laredo for the last weekend events. I just happened to show up in the middle of this. I mentioned the weather was great. I spent a full day at Lake Casa Blanca State Park. I had visited years before, and now noticed the creeping urbanity encroaching. The setting is well on its way to becoming an urban park and is very near Texas A & M International University.

I missed “La Contesta Jalapeno” – which is likely as rough as it sounds. The object is to eat as many Jalapeno Peppers in 15 minutes to be declared champion. I can’t remember if the pepper contest is before or after the “Lie in a Fire Ant Bed” for 30 minute contest? The Jalapeno contest was a small part of the gigantic Jalapeno Festival associated with George Washington’s Birthday. I asked about parking and was encouraged to go somewhere and catch the “Park and Ride” option. I was sun drenched and spent from Lake Casa Blanca. I saw an old woman hit a man on a full dressed Harley Davidson motorcycle with her Buick. The sun was going down for the day and so was I.

I had remembered Laredo as a sleepy border town. The area looks to have doubled in population since my last visit. I stumbled into a celebration that began in 1898. This had started with a small gathering to honor the United States first President and has grown, much like Southwest Texas, into a regional event. The Anheuser-Busch Washington’s Birthday Parade is scheduled in Downtown Laredo for Saturday February 20, 2016 at 9:00 A.M. The Laredo Center For the Arts will probably be reserved again. If the forecast is for sunny skies I will probably get out of the “yuck” and go!

D. Butler