 |
Jeff Barker and Richard
Chamberlain |
Last years Cattle Baron's Ball will go down in infamy, not for it's title, "Honor of Cowboys", but for the flood of rain that moved everyone into leaking tents, including the bands. But at this weekends Ball, all was laughs and fun recountings, the mildewed odor of ruined leather blown away by the incredible event hosted by this years Committee. "Need a ride home?",
Taylor Allday asked the chefs, referring to the ride he gave
Richard Chamberlain last year, leaving the rest of us to dig a limo out of the mud until 3 am. Thanks Taylor, this year we all drove separately - and drank a lot less.
This years "The Great State Fair" was a brilliantly crafted showcase of all things amusing - State Fair-wise - carny games, cotton candy and an actual ferris wheel. Mother Nature gave us a beautiful light show early in the evening with a stunning cloudless sunset, and after dark a fireworks display lit up the sky (word has it the fireworks were purchased as a gift from a husband to a wife on the Committee, but this is unconfirmed at this writing). With the lights and the beautiful evening you could really believe you were, well, maybe not at THE State Fair, but at a small county fair, somewhere in Texas. A small county fair with
Jack Ingram and
Allan Jackson providing the live music, that is.
It seemed as if the live auction bidding started out a little slow, it may have been because attendees were having too much FUN and enjoying too much FOOD (brisket, enchiladas,
 |
Jim "Sevy" Severson, Kevin Garvin,
Richard Chamberlain |
corny dogs, hush puppies, tacos) to wander over to the stage. But by the time the annual Chefs Package came up, bidding was heating up. This year "The BBQ Boys" as they were listed (
Richard Chamberlain, Kevin Garvin, David Holben, Kent Rathbun and
Jim Severson) added former Dallas-ite
Kevin Rathbun, the band
Collective Soul and
Kosta Browne Winery to their private barbecue party for 30 people.
And the bidding was steep, their package auctioned for $50,000,
twice, adding a cool $100,000 to the over $1.5 million the Chefs package has raised to date over the last 20 years. At the end of the Live Auction, everyone refilled their drinks before the bars closed down and meandered over to their tables in front of Allan Jackson's performance stage. Sevy and I (not being huge country music fans) decided to beat the end-of-party rush. Perhaps a vestige memory of last years conclusion in the back of our minds, we collected our gift bags, put the top down on the convertible and enjoyed a nicely uneventful drive home from Plano.
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