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Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Sunday Fair in Georgetown

By Michael Barnes | Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 01:13 PM

The Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival is the crown jewel of Austin’s expanding culinary empire. Spanning a long spring weekend every year, it introduces local and international cuisine and libations to tourists and locals alike.

Anthony Rodarte, Misty Rodarte

We missed 90 percent of the fest this year, mainly because of competing events, but couldn’t pass up the Sunday Fair at San Gabriel Park in Georgetown.

Eric Reesing, Jill Bell, Adam Dolch

The setting is flawless: A greensward below canyon walls, aside the splashing San Gabriel River. Three large tents and several tributary spaces showcased dozens of vendors, more wine than food this year, but also arts, crafts and real estate.

Lem Johnson, Donna DiCarlo

The sweet weather beckoned outside, but the goods and the happily grazing masses lured us back under the tenting.

Peter Lai, Laura Dillard

We spoke with Kate MacMurray, flame-haired, comedianlike daughter of deceased movie star Fred MacMurray, who each year presents her wines in tandem with her father’s films at Alamo Drafthouse.

Kate MacMurray

We ran into Rebecca Robinson, swanning around the fest, overseeing her cygnets from the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas, which uses the fest proceeds to supply scholarships for budding chefs.

Lisa Trudeau, Rebecca Robinson, Carol Robinson

One thing about the Sunday Fair, besides the long lines for edibles, was the heady mix of guests: Families with toddlers, young couples clearly in the throes of spring romance, trendy urbanites with apt inkings and shades, ranchers delighted that the barbecue outranked foie gras among the fair’s pickings.

Nico Alvarez, Linda Matamoros, Luna Matamoros

Karah Freitag, Landon Figer

No doubt some of the Williamson County contingent will be sad when the fair moves to another location next year, as we hear, but why not throw something similar in the park with a Georgetown slant? I’d attend.

I don’t go to the theater very often any more. Shame. A well-oiled play in the hands of magnetic actors can draw one deeply into an alien world. Still get tingly every time the lights go down. I had seen the overly awarded “Doubt,” by John Patrick Shanley, on Broadway with replacements stars Dame Eileen Atkins and Ron Eldard (she electric, he dreadful, as well as cloyingly cute). The main role, a crusading nun who drives the drama, is a natural vehicle for Austin actor Janelle Buchanan, who remained laser-focused throughout Sunday’s matinee performance, and the cast here was more balanced here than on Broadway (Jamie Goodwin, Sydney Andrews and Angela Rawna filling out the other roles nicely). Nagging doubt: Two crucial narrative toggles didn’t work on Broadway, nor at Zach Theatre, which leads me to believe the fault lies in the script, not in the productions. See if for Janelle.

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