THEATER THEN TRAP NEUTER RELEASE
For those of you that enjoy a good show. The Broke Thespians Theatre Company will have a showing of The Fantasticks today at 7:30 p.m. at the Maurice T. Suttles Post 3413, located at 1701 Hunter Road. The play is directed by Andrew Keeler and is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl and their two fathers who try to keep them apart. The thespians said the show is perfect for the whole family. Get tickets at brokethespiantheatrecompany.org/tickets. On a separate note, if you haven’t noticed, San Marcos is overrun with stray cats. Prevent a Litter is offering assistance this weekend. On Sunday, PALS is having a Trap, Neuter Release event for community cats, located at 215 W. San Antonio is Street. Checkin is from 7 to 8 a.m. and pick-up is at 3 p.m. All cats will be ear tipped and must arrive and leave in covered, humane traps with only one cat per trap. Do not bring cats in normal pet carriers. PALS has a limited number of traps that they can lend out if needed. Sign up for trap for loan on their website. PALS asks that the traps be returned ASAP, so they can continue to help more people and cats. PALS prefers tru-catch style traps over raccoon traps. They ask that you contact them if you have a different style trap, but no squirrel traps. PALS can provide guidance on how to trap. For more information and scheduling, please contact PALS at tnr@preventalitter.com. For more information on trap-neuter-return, visit their website at preventalitter.com/tnr.
TEXAS WATER SAFARI
Leave it up to a man named 'Big Willie' to come up with one of the most grueling and insane challenges on earth – and it starts right here in San Marcos.
According to local legend, Frank Brown and Bill 'Big Willie' George made the first trek from the headwaters of the San Marcos river in a V-bottom boat, without a motor, all the way to the Corpus Christi Bay. The 260 mile trip took them about 30 days in 1962. The following year, the Texas Water Safari was born.
The marathon canoe race is considered one of the most challenging in the world. It is even called “The World’s Toughest Canoe Race.” It is nonstop – literally – from the time you enter the water to the time you reach the bay with a deadline of 100 hours to cross the finish line. Participants have to have all of the provisions and gear they need for the entire trip on board at the start as they are only allowed to have ice and water delivered along the way. No other assistance is allowed. Those who just want to finish may occasionally sleep, but they have to reach checkpoints by certain time intervals along the way to stay in the race.
The record time is 29 hours, 46 minutes, set in 1997, surely with some help from some significant summer rains that year. What starts in San Marcos ends up in Seadrift. Last year's winners finished with a time of 39 hours, 46 minutes.
This year's event starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Meadow's Center for Water and the Environment, but the best place to watch is probably Rio Vista, which canoes start showing up minutes after the start.
1893 FLEA MARKET ANNIVERSARY
If you haven’t made it to the 1893 Flea Market, this weekend is a great time to check it out. The indoor market celebrates its one-year anniversary this Saturday. Housed within the walls of an 131-year-old church, the 1893 Flea Market features two dozen eclectic vendors with all manner of unique items, everything from plants, art, antiques, clothing and jewelry. The market is free and air conditioned, a welcome boon in these sweltering summer days. Plus, as an extra bonus, they will be serving anniversary cake and punch while supplies last, so be sure to get there early to grab a piece. The 1893 Flea Market is an excellent place to find one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family. It’s easy to get happily lost among its treasures for hours at a stretch. The anniversary celebration will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 222 W. San Antonio St.
