Breckenridge Texan

The weekend of May 5-7 is shaping up to be a busy one for the Breckenridge community with three big events coordinating together. The weekend will include the annual Frontier Days, the Stephens County Ranch Rodeo, and Airplanes and Coffee/Rods and Rudders.

Frontier Days, organized by the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce, will take place in Miller Park (aka the Breckenridge City Park) on Friday and Saturday, May 6 and 7, and will feature a variety of events, including the annual Bob Drake Memorial Chuckwagon Cookoff, a Miss Breckenridge pageant, vendor booths and a carnival, as well as some new activities and some old favorites.

The Stephens County Ranch Rodeo will be May 5-7 at the Stephens County Arena on County Road 245, off of U.S. Highway 180 East. The invitational rodeo will include mugging, doctoring, stray gathering and sorting, as well as mutton bustin’ each night. A Kids Ranch Rodeo will be held on Sunday, May 7, with Jr. Ranch Rodeo events for ages 12-18 and a Stick Horse Rodeo for ages 11 and under.

On Saturday, May 6, the Stephens County Airport will feature a combination fly-in event and car show, with a cornhole tournament thrown in for good measure. The event will raise funds for a “Breckenridge Airshow comeback,” according to the organizers.

There will be shuttles available to take fly-in participants from the airport to Frontier Days and the Ranch Rodeo.

“We’ve just been really excited about the collaboration and how we’ve been able to come together for such a big event,” said Yuri Huntington, executive director of the Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce. “It just kind of all landed at the same time, and we’re trying to see if maybe we can’t make this an annual festival for Breckenridge, for Breckenridge to get on the map as the place to be for the first weekend of May every year. So if we can we can grow it, maybe eventually we’ll have some type of fishing tournaments going on at the same time or something like that.”

Frontier Days

Frontier Days events will get started on Friday, May 5, and continue on Saturday, May 6. Although some of the details are still being finalized, a basic schedule of events and activities has been created.

The Chamber’s Frontier Days committee wanted to make sure this year’s event has a frontier feel to it, Huntington said, so one of the new additions to the lineup is the Fort Griffin Living History Association. Also new this year, attendees will have a chance to get a closer look at some farm animals with a petting zoo. Frontier-related events that will be returning this year include the Bob Drake Memorial Chuckwagon Cookoff, a gunfighter show and cow patty bingo.

From an entertainment perspective, the 2023 Frontier Days will feature a Friday night concert by Finis Smith, the Miss Breckenridge Pageant, a carnival, a pet parade, a bounce house area and a kickball tournament. Additionally, a variety of vendors booths and food booths and food trucks will be set up.

Most of the events and activities at Frontier Days will be free and open to the public. There will be a charge for tickets to the chuckwagon cookoff meal and for the carnival rides, Huntington said.

Chuckwagon Cookoff

The annual Bob Drake Memorial Chuckwagon Cookoff will take place on Saturday, May 6, but related activities will start on Friday night, May 5.

The chuckwagons will set up Friday afternoon, and the wagon judging, which is separate from the chuckwagon food contest, will take place on Friday. A chuckwagon reception is scheduled for 6-7 p.m. May 5 at the Trade Barn, followed by a concert by Finis Smith and his band from 7 to 9 p.m. at the park’s pavilion.

The chuckwagon teams will start working on their meals Saturday morning, May 6, in the area near the Trade Barn. The judging will start at 11 a.m., and the meal will be served at noon.

Frontier Days organizers are still working to recruit chuckwagons for the cookoff. At this time, just a few have signed up. The number of lunch tickets available will depend on how many chuckwagons are participating.

Any chuckwagon teams that are interested in competing may contact Huntington at the Chamber of Commerce at 254-559-2301.

Fort Griffin Living History

The members of the Fort Griffin Living History Association volunteer their time to travel around, setting up historical demonstrations. They dress in frontier-style clothing and set up tents and wagons, demonstrating historical cooking, sewing and other household activities associated with life in the old west.

The nonprofit organization is based in Albany and is associated with the Fort Griffin State Historic Site. At Frontier Days, they will be set up in the area near the Pavilion, under the trees, Huntington said.

Miss Breckenridge

The 2023 Miss Breckenridge Pageant is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 6, in the city park’s pavilion. There will be five categories for girls and young women and two categories for young boys. The deadline to register for the pageant is April 21.

The pageant’s entry fee is $55 per entrant. To register, call the Chamber at 254-559-2301 or Shayla Speck at 254-246-2044.

The divisions will be:

• Tiny Miss: Newborn to 12 months
• Toddler Miss: 1-4 year olds
• Little Miss: 5-8 year olds
• Junior Miss: 9-13 year olds
• Miss Breckenridge: 14-19 year olds
• Tiny Mr.: Newborn to 2 years old
• Little Mr.: 3-5 year olds

Pet Parade

The annual Pet Parade, hosted by the Stephens County Humane Society, will begin with registration at 1 p.m. and the event getting underway at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 6, in the area of the park near the dinosaur sculpture.

The event will be open to dogs that are current on their vaccinations. All dogs must be on a leash and must get along with other dogs. All pet owners must have a doggie bag and clean up after their pets.

Entry categories will be:

• Best costume
• Biggest pet
• Smallest pet
• Best owner/pet lookalike
• Best of Show (adult)
• Best of Show (puppy)
• Best of Show (Rescue dog only)

For more information, call 254-559-2106.

A couple of participants in the 2019 Pet Parade check each other out. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Cow Patty Bingo

The annual Cow Patty Bingo will benefit the Breckenridge High School Class of 2023, and it will be set up in the city park on the south end of Dunnigan Street.

Squares will be sold for $10 each with only 300 squares available. Squares will not be available to view prior to purchasing.

The way it works: A cow will be let out onto a field of pre-marked squares. Wherever the majority of the first cow patty lands will determine the winner. The winner will receive 50 percent of the total sales, and the remaining proceeds will go to the BHS Class of 2023. The winner does not have to be present to win.

For more information, call the Chamber of Commerce at 254-559-2301 or D’Jean Thompson at 940-456-1108.

Concho Cowboys Gunfighters

The Concho Cowboy Company is a nonprofit organization from San Angelo that provides Wild West performances throughout Texas.

The performances will be at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 6. The performances will be free to attend.

Kickball Tournament

The Kick Out Cancer Kickball Tournament will start at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 6, at the soccer fields. The entry fee will be $225 for each team, and teams can pay an additional $100 for unlimited homeruns. Each team must have at least 10 players — five girls and five boys — and there is a 12-player maximum per team.

To register, stop by ExCel  Salon  at 1703 W. Walker or The Shirt Shop at 2111 W. Walker.

The funds raised through the kickball  tournament  will go to the local nonprofit organization Our Town, which helps people in Stephens County battling cancer.

Other Activities

The locally-owned bounce house company Inflate the Fun will have some bounce houses set up for kids to play in, and First National Bank will return with their Weenie Wagon, offering free hot dogs.

A petting zoo will offer everyone a chance to get an up-close look at some farm animals, specifically mini versions of farm animals. There will be a mini-horse, a mini-cow, a mini-donkey, mini-goats and more.

Frontier Days also will feature a variety of vendors that will be set up north of the Trade Barn, offering things for sale, ranging from jewelry, art, gift items, food and more. The vendors will begin setting up Friday morning, May 5, and will be set up through Saturday evening, May 6.

Airplanes and Coffee

The organizers and planners of the Breckenridge Airshow are planning an Airplanes and Coffee event on Saturday, May 6, at the Stephens County Airport, to raise funds for the return of an airshow to Breckenridge.

The event will include a fly-in by dozens of pilots, a car show and a cornhole tournament. There will also be food vendors at the airport.

The gates will open at 8 a.m. Registration for the car show will start at 8 a.m., and the entry fee will be $25 ($20 for pre-registration) and $10 for Show and Shine (non-judged). There will be three awards per class and a Best of Show trophy. Judging will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a trophy ceremony from 1-1:30 p.m.

Registration for the cornhole tournament will start at 10 a.m. It will be a double elimination tournament with an entry fee of $25 per team or $15 for singles (to be matched with another player). The  top three winners will receive aviation fuel and food prizes.

A free shuttle service will take fly-in participants to Frontier Days and/or to the Ranch Rodeo.

For more information, send an email to info@breckenridgeairshow.com.

Ranch Rodeo

The 2023 Stephens County Ranch Rodeo is scheduled for May 5-7 at the Stephens County Arena, located on County Road 245, off of U.S. Highway 180 East.

The invitational rodeo will include mugging, doctoring, stray gathering and sorting, as well as mutton bustin’, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on May 5 and 6.

A Kids Ranch Rodeo will be held on Sunday, May 7, with Jr. Ranch Rodeo events for ages 12-18 and a Stick Horse Rodeo for ages 11 and under. The Stick Horse Rodeo will start at 10 a.m. May 7 with registration the day of the event.

The Jr. Ranch Rodeo will start at 1 p.m. and will include penning, doctoring, mugging and cow milking. The cost will be $500 per five-person team, entries will be limited. The pre-registration deadline will be May 4. For more information or to register, call Weldon Davis at 254-210-1124.

Tickets to the rodeo will be sold at the gate and will cost $10 per person per day or $20 per person for all three days.

Visit the Stephens County Rodeo Association’s Facebook page for more details.

Cutline, top photo: The R Bar D chuckwagon won several first place awards at the cook-off during the 2018 Frontier Days. This year’s Frontier Days is scheduled for May 5-6. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on March 28 and March 29, 2023, to add additional information about the events.