Brazos Valley Museum: Boonville Days Cook-Off, Buffalo Stampede, and Heritage Festival

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Compiled By Insite Staff

Join the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History for a fun-filled weekend on Oct. 13 and 14 for the 12th Annual Boonville Days – Texas Heritage Festival. This year also marks the 9th annual Buffalo Stampede Half Marathon and 5K Race and the 6th Annual Chuck Wagon Cook-off.

The weekend starts with the 6th year of the popular Chuck Wagon Cook-Off. Come on Friday afternoon to see the wagon judging and crews in period dress. On Saturday from 9am to 4pm, the chuck wagons will compete in a cook-off with meals for the public. Lunch tickets for the Chuck Wagon Saturday noon meal will be pre-sold at the Museum for $10 (includes bottled water, and chicken fried steak, beans, potatoes, and cobbler). Tickets are limited, so don’t delay! Pat Gavin and the Buckaroo Band will be providing music to keep your feet tapping.

Early Saturday morning, runners will be stampeding their way through Bryan College Station, at 7:30am during the 9th annual Buffalo Stampede. Athletes will have the opportunity to show off their skills by running a Half Marathon or 5K Stampede.

Runners of all ages are welcome, and female and male winners in each age division ranging from 12-and-under to 70 plus will receive a beautiful custom trophy or medal! Half-Marathon & 5K finishers will also receive finishers’ awards. Overall male and female winners will receive amazing buffalo hats as well as unique buffalo sculpture trophies. Save money by registering early online at brazosvalleymuseum.org where maps and race details are also available.

Following the Buffalo Stampede is the Boonville Days Festival, which is bigger and better than ever before. This free festival will be held on Saturday from 9am to 4pm. Learn about Brazos County’s pioneer history: visit with characters in period costume, cowboys, civil war re-enactors, musicians, dancers, artists, and much more. Professor Paisley from the Texian Institute of Oxenology, will be parading back into town with oxen Justice and Liberty, showcasing Texas culture from 1830-1845. Visitors can also observe demonstrations of frontier skills and trades including flint-making, spinning, quilting, weaving, and blacksmithing. This is a family friendly event, so the Museum will have activities to keep the young’uns entertained as they learn to make pinch pots and other period crafts.

Visitors can also browse through the Museum’s Discovery Room with live animals, and explore other gallery exhibits including a Texas History display. Shuttle buses will also carry visitors to and from Boonville Heritage Park, (a few blocks away) where they may view a restored and furnished 19th century dogtrot cabin, replica buildings of the Boonville Court House, a smoke house, the Masonic lodge and other re-enactors.

Those interested in volunteering or being a re-enactor for Boonville Days, contact the Museum at (979) 776-2195 or email events@brazosvalleymuseum.org.

This event was made possible in part through Hotel Tax Revenue funded from the City of College Station and the City of Bryan through the Arts Council of Brazos Valley. Other sponsors include Twin City Properties and the Brazos County Historical Commission. To learn more about this and other Museum events, activities and exhibitions call (979) 776-2195, or visit www.brazosvalleymuseum.org.

Boonville Days Planner

  • Friday, Oct. 13
  • Chuck Wagon Judging
  • Saturday, Oct. 14, 9am to 4pm
  • Chuckwagon Cook-off at Noon
  • Pre-purchase $10 lunch tickets
  • Pre-register for Buffalo Stampede Half Marathon & 5K at www.brazosvalleymuseum.org
  • Race starts 7:30am, Saturday, Oct. 14
  • Admission is free to Boonville Days Texas Heritage Festival. Call (979) 776-2195 for more information