Touts

Hello, Columbus

TWO EGGS. A PATTIE OF HOMEMADE sausage as big as a hamburger. Three large homemade biscuits. Grits. All the butter and jelly you want. Coffee. Add up the bill for that breakfast, if you could even order it, at The Holiday Inn, Nickerson Farms or any of a hundred restaurants near and along the Interstate Highway System. At the Columbus Cafe in Columbus it would cost you $.80. Add a very large orange juice and a very large milk and it comes to $1.20.

For travelers between Houston and either Austin or San Antonio on Interstate 10 the Columbus Cafe is too good to pass up. Nice ladies from Columbus. a pleasant town founded in 1823, will serve you breakfast 24 hours a day, but during normal breakfast hours the biscuits and the homemade donuts are fresh. Pick up a painting called The Rainbow of Life while you’re there, and play a few German polkas on the juke box.

The cafe is clean and the breakfasts are excellent. The rest of the fare is homecooked and inexpensive, but is undistinguished, with the exception of some of the Southern vegetable dishes.

The Columbus Cafe/511 Walnut Street (Old Highway 9O/Columbus)

A Day At The Races

The machines that race at Indianapolis are basically an engine, four wheels, and a man strapped over a gas tank. They make a terrific noise and pollute like crazy. They also go very fast, faster than any cars that have ever raced in Texas.

We’ll have our first chance to see the same cars at the Texas Twin 200’s at the Texas World Speedway in Bryan. There’s a good chance that the race will be the fastest 200-mile race ever run, with early pre-race runs being clocked faster than current world-record times.

Mario Andretti turned an unofficial 209 miles per hour testing his tires at the two-mile track, over six miles per hour faster than the fastest qualifying time run anywhere.

The announcer will do his “Gentlemen, start your engines” bit at 1 P.M. on April 7, but it’s best to come early, bring a picnic and enjoy the morning festivities. There’s no sense being caught in a traffic jam on your way to see cars go over 200 miles per hour.

Tickets range from $6 to $15.

Texas Twin 200’s/Texas World Speedway/Bryan/1 P.M., April 7.

Old San Antonio Rising

If you’re going to San Antonio, don’t forget to wear some flowers in your hair. Fiesta Time, the Alamo City’s annual big bash, starts April 20 and runs for a full ten days of food and frolic. Among the 55 events are the Battle of Flowers Parade, a Mariachi Festival, the River Parade of 40 decorated barges, fireworks, an art fair, square dancing, and the kaleidoscopic “Night in Old San Antonio.” You can take your pick of music, from barbershop quartets to Biergarten bands to military marches. The food reflects the varied cultures that have intersected one another through the years at the edge of the Hill Country. Most events are free.

Fiesta San Antonio/ April 20 thru 29/see Around the State for specific events.

Winedale Presents

NEAR THE RESTORED NINETEENTH-century town of Round Top in Fayette County stands the Winedale Inn, a picturesque museum of cultural history donated to the state of Texas by Miss Ima Hogg. Each spring its custodians, the University of Texas, stage a weekend Fine Arts Festival that gives the public a chance to sample an intriguing blend of high-brow culture and down-to-earth country living.

This year’s Festival (the Sixth) takes place April 6 through 8. It includes everything from opera duets to a barbecue, from a play in German to a horse fair. The schedule:

Friday, Apr 6

8 p.m.: “Minna von Barnhelm,” a play given in German by the Department of Germanic Languages of the University of Texas at Austin. $1.

11 a.m.-2 p.m.: Old-fashioned horse fair, sponsored by the Morgan Horse Society of Houston. Admission free.

3 p.m.: The Brass Choir of The University of Texas at Austin. Wayne Barrington, conductor. $1.

5:30 p.m.: Barbecue. $3 a plate.

8 p.m.: Piano recital by Santiago Rodriguez, prize-winning young artist. $3.

Sunday, Apr 8

2 p.m.: Opera arias and duets, by Carol Moody, soprano, and Jess WaIters, baritone. Danielle Martin, pianist. $1.

4 p.m.: Organ recital by George Strickland. $1. In Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Round Top.

All events except the organ recital will be held at Winedale. Because of limited seating, advance reservations are necessary and may be made by writing to Winedale Inn, Box 11, Round Top, Texas 78954. Additional information may be obtained at (713) 278-3530.

Brainstorming in Denton

ANYONE WHO HAS READ THE ads in a comic book tends to associate weightlifting with getting sand kicked in his face. That could be why Denton, which is a long kick from the beach, was chosen as the site of the combined Texas State Powerlifting Championship and Mr. Texas Contest.

Though the two events will be taking place under the same roof, they are very different. The Mr. Texas contest has oiled musclemen posturing in tight briefs, the kind of thing the comics lead one to believe is the ultimate end of physical development and manhood. But powerlifting (enthusiasts say the word “weightlifting” is not adequate) is a spectacular sport.

For just a dollar one can see tons of flesh move tons of weight with grace.

The Texas State Powerlifting Championship Contest and Mr. Texas Contest/North Texas State U. Coliseum/April 28, beginning at 10:00 A.M./$1:

And Nights at the Movies

ATTENTION ADDICTS OF THE SILVERED screen! Stoke up on your popcorn, a whole week’s supply—the Great American Pictureshows are coming to Dallas. Maybe you’ll even get to share one of your frozen Milkyways with movie stars, directors, film critics and film lovers.

Each day or night you can feast your crazed eyeballs on the main menu of three 35mm. films. Two will be selected daily by critics Judith Crist, Arthur .Knight, Hollis Alpert, and Esme Dick from films that have not been generally released. (Read probably not to be released in Texas.) The other film will be selected from works of Raoul Walsh, the director honored this year at the Third Annual USA Film Festival.

USA Film Festival/Bob Hope Theater in Owen Fine Arts Building/ SMU campus, Dallas/10 A.M.-5 P.M. or 6 P.M.-12 Midnight/Tickets for a week: $20-$25/ April 9-15.