Amber and Ricky Rasura are Amber Dreams, a vocalist and harp duo that will be performing in The Yard on First Friday. Courtesy photo

By DAVID STONE, Our Town Temple

It’s Friday, and it’s the first one in April. That means it’s party time in Downtown Temple.

Easter bunnies, food, a petting zoo, live bands, two axe-throwing trailers and a harp. You might say this one’s got just about everything.

Let’s start with that harp.

Amber Dreams is a husband-and-wife duo that’s bringing a unique music experience to Down@The Yard.

“Our music is described as indie pop, and it’s kind of trippy,” said Amber Rasura, the group’s vocalist and songwriter. “I write the lyrics, Ricky writes the harp parts.”

Ricky Rasura is masterful on his instrument. He studied harp performance at Texas Tech, and both have extensive backgrounds in classical music.

“We’ve been performing together for about seven years,” Amber said this week. “I grew up here — went to Belton High — but we were out in San Jose, Calif., for several years. We were performing around the Bay Area but decided to slow down, have kids and concentrate on recording music.”

“We really haven’t played live in about two years,” she said. “I had a baby in fall 2019, then the pandemic hit and there was no live music. Ricky was scheduled to play with five orchestras and all five performances were all cancelled.”

The couple used the break to work on an album, Songs for the Melancholy Soul.

“It was released in June 2021 but it has been hard to publicize it without live performances. We have done some things virtually.”

The couple returned to Central Texas in August and is starting to get back into the music scene.

At tonight’s show, Amber will be putting two of her talents on display.

“I made the dress I’m going to wear. I love to sew, and I started on it when I was pregnant. I couldn’t sleep, so I would stay up and sew. It’s 100 percent silk.”

“I made a resolution in 2017 to make all my own clothes,” she said. “I also sew for my family.”

“First Friday marks our first live performance of the album, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

Besides the music of Amber Dreams, Down@The Yard also will feature free axe throwing by Rowdy Axe and discounts at four food trucks, provided you mention “First Friday” when ordering.

Participating food trucks at The Yard will include Taqueria Mi Lindo Nayarit, 808 Island Grindz, Mama Llama Mobile Kitchen and Chock Full o’ Cheese. In addition, Chock Full o’ Cheese will be selling Springtime brownies with cheesecake frosting and showing off their new trailer decorations.

Precious Memories and Gift Shop will host a spring-themed Santa at this year-round Christmas decoration shop, along with a visit from the Easter Bunny. Tiny Hooves Animal Rescue will be on site with live bunnies and goats!

Here’s something a bit different: The Parlour Antiques & Oddities will hold an April Fools party with free snacks and beverages, and they'll also have their prize wheel out so customers can have a chance to win discounts. 

Also, The Parlour will hold its first ever butterfly-framing event.  Your $10 per person tuition will include a 5x7 frame, your choice from a selection of die-cut butterflies, your choice of craft paper and a goodie bag that includes a shop coupon!  This will be a drop-in event, so you can stop by the store anytime from 5 to 8 p.m. and pick up your framing kit.  They will also set up some crafting tables and supplies set up so you can get to work!

Ready for some bayou-licious food? Cajun Cauldron will be at Fire Base Brewing for a ‘We Ain’t No Fools’ block party featuring a live show by Martian Folk, with their eclectic jams and infectious energy.

O'Briens Irish Pub will feature two great First Friday shows.  First, Megan Brucker will perform the early show on the outdoor patio, and then at 9 p.m. the Tequila Songbirds will perform on the main stage.  O’Briens will offer 20 percent off an appetizer when you utter the words: “First Friday.”

Alex Sellers, director of Academie Musique’s Virtuoso Violins, said the group will be entertaining throughout the Downtown area starting with The Hub at 6:10 p.m. Other stops include Nami’s at 6:30, Main Street Courtyard at 6:50, Birdcreek Burgers at 7:10 and Treno’s Pizzeria & Taproom at 7:40.

Artist Noel Johnson will hold an art sale on the sidewalk next door to O’Briens Irish Pub. 

Ras Kitchen will celebrate with an April Fools 'Spring Bling' concert featuring Lady Songbird and DJ Selectah SpidaTech upstairs in their banquet hall at 17 S Main St.  Chef Ras will be serving up Jamaican foods downstairs in the dining room.

Jazz up your night at Corky’s with the Mr. Mark Trio, a popular jazz ensemble in Austin and the Dallas area. The show starts at 8, but earlier in the evening Tour Temple will host a Beer & Wine Trail bus tour. That starts at 4.

There’s another block party on 1st Street, this one hosted by Mexiko Cafe. This colorful, Latin-themed celebration will feature tunes by DJ Taurus, vendors, and great food and drinks.

The Easter Bunny is coming to Total Elegance Creations Event Center, and the Green Door will offer 20 percent off appetizers and a piano show by Russell Boyd. Guitarist and vocalist Brian Wenberg will be performing at J Kowboy Wine Bar.

What’s happening over at Mo’s Rail Yard Saloon? I’m glad you asked. Springtime specials will include $3 frozen margaritas and $4 strawberry daiquiris through the night and DJ Smooth will be spinning tunes starting at 8 p.m.

The FoxDog will offer the finest coffee, craft beer and wine from 4:30 to 10 p.m., and guests can try something new with more than two dozen local drink options. A Puerto Rican food truck will be on location, and Landry Malynn Photography will be offering $5 headshots for all guests.

Artist 2 Artist Showcase will stage an art show and vendor sale at the Main Street Courtyard, 5 S. Main Street. This month, they will feature Obscurely Wicked Oddities & Antiques, Barefoot Garden Angel’s Art, Bows by Kasha, the Brahman Mama Boutique, the Bratty Bat and Chewbacca Cinco de Mayo T-shirts. 

Bird Creek Burger Co will offer half priced appetizers (except chili), and happy-hour all day with $2.50 domestics, $3 draft beer, and $4 select glasses of wine.

Cha Community, Temple’s boba tea shop, will be open until 8 p.m. They will offer many flavors of boba tea, and for First Friday only, they will offer customers a free topping of their choice such as Strawberry Matcha Latte, Matcha Latte, or Strawberries & Cream.

Temple Public Library will be celebrating National Poetry Month with poetry-oriented activities such as ‘black out poetry’, ‘spine book poetry’, and they’ll have a local poetry publishing company on hand. And as an added bonus, they will also be launching their seed library.

Darling Décor and More will be open all evening for First Friday shoppers.

Treno Pizzeria & Taproom will offer discounts on selected beers & wines, and Treno’s pizza chefs will be baking up tasty fresh hot pizza pies.

The Hub will be open till 8 p.m. and will offer free springtime refreshments for their guests.

BJ’s Brewery & Tasting Room will have the Flexin’ Texan food truck on site and they’ll be serving up cold craft brews on tap to First Friday guests. Also, they’ll be offering some special brews in bottles for sale this weekend.

Cheeves Brothers Steak House will let you take your pick of select half-price appetizers from their menu from 5-7 p.m. in their bar and lounge. They will also offer half-price specials on selected beers, wines by the glass and call level liquors

La Dalat will offer 10 percent off appetizers and $3 for coffee or hot tea to anyone who mentions First Friday. PJ’s Tabletop & Catering will be open all evening to serve First Friday Guests. Thai Cafe will be open all evening.

Pignetti’s will feature Lobster Night and Osso Buco, and T Town Energy & Nutrition will be open all evening,

Nami Japanese Steak & Sushi will offer the following First Friday discounts on select drinks, sushi rolls and appetizers.

FRIDAY | APRIL 1, 2022

The Temple Tool Library, located in the Transform Temple building at 101 N. Main Street, has equipment that can be checked out for a variety of jobs. Also, the city is opening a Seed Library today at Temple Public Library. Courtesy photo

Temple Seed Library opens today; tools also are available through city

By DAVD STONE, Our Town Temple

Want to grow some lettuce but a little short on green? No problem, the Temple Seed Library debuts today and seeds are available at no charge.

“This is something new,” city of Temple spokesperson Alex Gibbs said Thursday. “We’ve fitted a card catalog to store organic seeds, and we have a collection of seeds for flowers, herbs and vegetables.”

Seed packets contain directions for planting the seeds and tips for optimum growth.

“There is no charge for getting seeds, and you don’t have to register or return anything,” Gibbs said. “Just come and get some seeds.”

The seeds are located on the second floor of the Temple Public Library and are available during regular library hours.

The city also has a tool library for those who need equipment to get their garden started.
“The Temple Tool Library provides residents with the necessary resources for home repairs and modifications through a no-cost membership,” Gibbs said. “It works on the same concept as checking out a book, but instead of books, we lend tools.”

The tool library has equipment for repairing drywall, tending a garden and all kinds of household chores. Here’s a list of available tools:

AVAILABLE TOOLS

Since tools are more valuable than seeds, the requirements for checking out equipment are a little more stringent.

To check out a tool, you must be a Temple resident, at least 18 years old, have a valid Temple Public Library card and complete a  membership application. You also must sign a liability waiver and present a government-issued ID.

While Temple Public Library supplies the cards needed to check out and place holds on tools and equipment, the actual Tool Library is located in the Transform Temple building at 101 N. Main Street.

TODAY’S BEST BETS :

Lake Belton Middle School kicked off the 2022 Temple College Jazz Festival Thursday, and there are two more days of outstanding music. Today’s performances will include the Temple High Blues Band at 4:30 p.m. and an evening performace by guest professional Greg Gisbert with the Temple College Jazz Ensemble and a Temple College Faculty jazz sextet. David Stone photo

FRIDAY'S JAZZ FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

• First Friday in Downtown Temple. See story in today’s issue.

• Barrow Brewing:  Live music at 7 p.m. from Sasha KA and Friends

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

To include your events in What’s Happening, email information to OurTownTemple@gmail.com. Photos are welcome to for use in the publication as space permits!

Belton Lake: Good

• Water lightly stained; 58 degrees; 3.46 feet low. Lake Belton has really turned on since last weekend's warming trend began. Surface temperatures are at or just above the 58 degree mark, at which white bass really begin to feed aggressively. Horizontal retrieves in water under 20 feet deep with MAL Heavy Lures have been very productive. If fish are found in deeper water, under birds, or suspended, working MAL Heavy Lures or MAL Dense lure through them vertically has also produced well. Retrieves should be as slow as possible to keep the blades spinning. Slabs are beginning to be refused, especially by suspended, migrating fish. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

Stillhouse Hollow: Good

• Water lightly stained; 58 degrees; 3.41 feet low. Stillhouse is underperforming thanks to a total lack of flow in the Lampasas River. Fish are scattered and prepared to spawn, but conditions are not yet suitable. Trolling crankbaits and working MAL Original spinners with silver blade and chartreuse tail in under 20 feet of water is accounting for most of the fish landed. Report by Bob Maindelle, Holding the Line Guide Service.

NEWS FROM EVERYWHERE

Who performed in the first-ever concert at the Bell County Expo Center? ANSWER LOCATED AT END OF TODAY’S ISSUE

On this day in 1898, controversial journalist William Cowper Brann was fatally shot in the back by Tom E. Davis on a Waco street. Brann managed to pull his own gun and kill Davis. Earlier in the decade Brann's newspaper, the Iconoclast, had launched a series of vitriolic attacks, especially on Baptists, Episcopalians, blacks, women, and anything British. He also went after nearby Baylor University, which he called "that great storm-center of misinformation." Brann was subsequently kidnapped on one occasion and beaten on another, and his supporters had a deadly gunfight with Baylor partisans. Davis, who killed Brann, was an irate supporter of Baylor.

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On this day in 1813, Spanish governor Manuel María de Salcedo surrendered the city of San Antonio to forces under José Bernardo Maximiliano Gutiérrez de Lara, commander-in-chief of the filibustering Gutiérrez-Magee expedition. Gutiérrez intended to set up a republican government in Texas and use Texas as a base for operations designed to liberate Mexico from Spanish rule. The scheme ended in August with the defeat of Gutiérrez's successor as head of the provisional government, José Álvarez de Toledo, but the indefatigable Gutiérrez went on to become involved with such filibusters and revolutionaries as Louis Michel Aury, Francisco Xavier Mina, and James Long, among others.

OurTownTemple@gmail.com | (254) 231-1574

TODAY’S TEMPLE TRIVIA ANSWER: The first concert at the Bell County Expo Center was May 21, 1987, and it was Marie Osmond and Osmond Family. Two days later, George Strait performed.