Abilene, Texas

Abilene is a small city in central West Texas that started out around 1880 as not much more than a cattle stock shipping point on the Texas and Pacific Railway. The railroad still divides the city down the center with the historic downtown area on the north side. These days, Abilene is a vibrant community of higher learning, colorful local culture and old-time Christian spirituality. It’s also won fame in music and movies. There was a pop and country hit song in 1963 by George Hamilton IV called “ Abilene ,” and the city was featured in the movies “Holes” and “Southland Tales.”

Abilene can boast an impressive number of celebrities from the worlds of sports and entertainment who were born or lived there. Randall “Tex” Cobb, an actor and prize fighter, Olympic pole vaulter Billy Olson, Washington Redskins Terry Orr, Olympic gold medal winner Bobby Morrow, singer-actress Jessica Simpson, actress Ann Wedgeworth, country musicians Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, country musician Lee Roy Parnell, actors Ty O’Neal and Fess Parker are all part of the fabric of Abilene’s rich history.

Recently the Abilene Arts Alliance took steps to connect its city’s original cattlemen’s pioneer spirit with today’s new life frontiers. Promoting Abilene ’s new nickname “Frontiering,” the Alliance is striving to show that Abilene is stepping up to the plate to meet the ever-changing challenges of technology, energy, education and especially the arts. Traditional events, such as the West Texas Fair and Rodeo held every year in mid-September, delight visitors with authentic exhibits and amusements from the days of Abilene ’s founding fathers. The Western Heritage Classic in early May has many more eclectic activities such as sheepdog trials, campfire cook-offs, Cowboy Poets Society and a Western art show.

Newer events abound. The Erinshire Folk Festival began in 2003 to spotlight the musicians and original music of the Abilene area. Abilene hosts the Abilene Gem and Mineral Show, the Abilene Gun and Knife Show, the West Texas Book and Music Festival, as well as September’s annual “Cruise Night,” a parade of classic and modern sports cars. Year round, Abilene is home to The Grace Museum, the Abilene Philharmonic, and the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, the restored Paramount Theatre and Center for Contemporary Arts, and the Abilene Zoo. Abilene even has the “Jammin’ Jumpers,” one of the only competing and performing jump rope teams in the area. The 13-acre Abilene Zoo is a popular attraction in Abilene , boasting several hundred animals of hundreds of species.

Abilene is also home to three church-related institutions of higher learning which US News and World Report has recognized all three as top private liberal arts colleges: Abilene Christian University ( Church of Christ ); Hardin-Simmons University (Baptist) and McMurry University (Methodist). In 2006 Abilene was also ranked as the 17th city in the nation for their public education system and the highest ranked city in Texas .

For more information on Abilene, Texas, visit http://www.abilenemicroblog.com and http://www.abileneblog.net.