The Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau are excited to announce that the headliner entertainment for the 2009 Bob Phillips Texas Country Reporter Festival will be BJ Thomas.

The 14th Annual festival is scheduled for Saturday, October 24th on the Ellis County Courthouse square in downtown Waxahachie. The festival brings together artists, craftsmen and chefs from all around Texas. It's a great day of fun, shopping, food and music followed by BJ Thomas at 6 pm on the main stage.

(June 5, 2009) Fitness classes are now being offered through the Waxahachie Parks and Recreation department and the American Fitness Instructors and Trainers Association (AFITA). The classes are offered at various times of day and most are held at the Parks and Recreation building at 401 S. Elm, and at Getzendaner Park.

Classes include Stretch & Tone, Body Pump, Zumba, Boot Camp, and Kidz Fit. The weekly "Tuesday Trail Team" that meets at Getzendaner Park is also led by AFITA. All classes are $5 per person, per class and classes are designed for all levels of fitness. Two of the five dollars for each class goes to the AFITA Scholarship Fund. The classes include a mix of plyometrics, BodyPump©, weights, strength, sculpt and tone. Also offered is Zumba, which is a workout class that mixes body sculpting movements with dance steps.

Classes are scheduled as follows:

AM Classes

7-8am Monday & Wednesday - Sculpt and Tone

7-8am Tuesday & Thursday - BodyPump Challenge

10:30-11:30 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday - Zumba

            PM Classes

5:30-6:30 Monday & Thursday - BodyPump/Bootcamp

5:30pm- Getzendaner Park- Tuesday Trail Team (Walking Club - Cost FREE)

For a complete schedule of classes, please visit AFITA's website at www.afitassociation.com, or you can pick up a printed schedule at City Hall, 401 S. Rogers Street.

Some new traditions are blending with the old this year, as the Crape Myrtle Festival takes on a new theme "Peace, Love, and Crape Myrtles."

The celebration will be held July 3 and 4.

The tailgate party and fireworks have proved to be very popular. The gates open at 6 p.m. July 3 in the parking lot of Lumpkins Stadium as spectators bring lawn chairs and barbecue grills to cook out before or during the show. The band "The Cannons" will take the stage at 7 p.m. for a concert presented by Chicago Title Insurance Co. Starting around 9 p.m. Radio station KBEC-AM (1390) will broadcast the H-E-B Fireworks with patriotic music.

On July 4, the Crape Myrtle Parade kicks off at 10 a.m. It starts on College Street across from C.A. Wilson Co. and goes south to Main and left on Grand, ending up at Getzendaner Park.

The Crape Myrtle Festival and Parade are free to the public.

Other sponsors include the Crape Myrtle Council and the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce & Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Have an interesting talent you want to share with the community? Can you juggle, sing, play the kazoo, or dance? Well the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Texas Theater want to give you a venue to spotlight your talent and maybe win the grand prize in the "Waxahachie's Got Talent"  talent search.

Preliminary Competitions will be held on the stage of the Texas Theater Tuesday, September 8th, 15th and 22nd. The Top 3 will perform October 3rd at the Annual Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce Auction where a winner will be chosen.

For more information on how to enter click this link Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce "Waxahachie's Got Talent".

For those of you without any marketable talent, we'll see you in September at the Texas Theater!

Thanks to the perserverance of Cindy Camp and the generosity of many citizens and businesses in Waxahachie, the Penn Park pool will open this summer.

The campaign announcement came on the heels of the news that the City of Waxahachie, in an effort to cut costs in 2009, would not be opening Lee Penn Park. The amount needed to staff, maintain the pool and other costs to open the park is $15,000. Camp, who chaired the Courthouse Park and the M&M Park committees, conceived the plan to raise the funds needed to keep the park open for the children of Waxahachie. About working the Penn Park Project, "This is not for one year, this is a five, ten year project. We hope to do more for Penn Park."

The Summer Moonlight Movies are back again this year on the big screen by the Pocket Park at the corner of College and Franklin Streets in downtown Waxahachie.

This year's featured films are: Places in the Heart, June 12th; Barnyard, June 26th; The Natural, July 10th; Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, July 24th; Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D, August 7th; and Cars, August 21st.

Admission to the Summer Moonlight Movies is FREE. So bring your lawn chairs and join us for movies under the stars.

At the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at the Waxahachie Civic Center, Paul Stevens, City Manager and Cindy Camp, publisher of Ellis County Living Magazine announced their campaign to raise funds to keep Lee Penn Park open this year and in the future.

Neal White, editor-in-chief of the Waxahachie Daily Light presented a check from the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce for $1000 to Camp in front of the crowd of Chamber of Commerce members and WFAA TV Sports Editor, Dale Hansen who was the guest speaker.

The campaign announcement comes on the heels of the news that the City of Waxahachie, in an effort to cut costs in 2009, would not be opening Lee Penn Park. The amount needed to staff, maintain the pool and other costs to open the park is $15,000. Camp, who chaired the Courthouse Park and the M&M Park committees, conceived the plan to raise the funds needed to keep the park open for the children of Waxahachie. About working the Penn Park Project, "This is not for one year, this is a five, ten year project. We hope to do more for Penn Park."

 For all those interested in making a contribution to the Penn Park Project should contact Cindy Camp at www.living-magazine.com or 972.935.0938 or City Manager Paul Stevens at www.waxahachie.com or 972.937.7330 etx. 146. To make a written donation, make donations out to the City of Waxahachie, 401 S. Rogers, Waxahachie, TX 75165.

Includes two (2) one-week sessions

Monday-Friday 9:00 am to 11:00 am

$125 per student per session

(Includes all art supplies)

Drawing and Painting - July 13-17

Sculpture - July 20-24

For more details visit the Ellis County Art Association

Apr 19, 2009 - Jul 19, 2009 - The Ellis County Museum and Sons of Liberty Militaria Exhibits will present "The Korean War 38th Parallel". This captivating exhibit will feature a a uniform of every Infantry and Marine unit that was on the penninsula and much more. Make time to visit  Ellis County Museum for this wonderful window into America's recent past.

The Ellis County Museum is located at 201 S. College Street in downtown Waxahachie. They are open 10 am to 5 pm Monday through Saturday and 1 pm to 5 pm Sunday.

On Sept. 26 this year, the Chautauqua Preservation Society will present its annual Chautauqua Assembly with the theme "Cotton: The Fabric of a Community."

Programs planned include a hands-on "Cotton Village" in Getzendaner Park, presentations on the history of cotton in Ellis County and its impact on our community, as well as musical guests The Levee Singers and our very special evening performance by The Vocal Majority Chorus.

There are other surprises in store and we look forward to bringing hundreds of people from all over North Texas to Waxahachie in September to discover how cotton really is the fiber of our lives, the fabric of our community.

For more information you can contact the Chautauqua Preservation Society at gro.auquatuahceihcahaxaw@ofni or visit their website at www.waxahachiechautauqua.org.

To celebrate the Downtown Victorian Christmas event the Waxahachie Downtown Merchants have commissioned a "one-of-a-kind" Christmas ornament featuring the Ellis County Courthouse.

This gorgeous metal ornament is a "must have" locals who cherish our wonderful Courthouse and makes the perfect souvenir for anyone visiting Waxahachie.

Get your ornament for $12.95 at the following Downtown Merchants:

Buffalo Creek Cowgirls	207 S. College St.
Crafty Scrapper	308 S. College St.
Ellis County Museum	201 S. College St.
Gifts, Etc.	205 S. College St.
Gingerbread Antique Mall	310 S. College St.
Glenn's Carpet Warehouse	301 N. College St.
Gran's Antiques	208 S. Rogers St.
Living Spaces	109 N. Rogers St.
Old Town Village Antiques & Uniques	307 S. Rogers St.
The 1879 Chisholm Grill	111 S. College St.
The Dove's Nest	105 W. Jefferson St.
Waxahachie Chamber Of Commerce	102 YMCA Dr.

This is living history at it's best. Over 200 participants in 1940's millitary and civillian attire will transform downtown Waxahachie into a living museum.

Visitors can view 2 days of millitary convoys and static displays. Get up close to a wide assortment of millitary vehicles. Learn about their equipment, uniforms and weapons. Get a feel for what life was like in a small village on the eve of their liberation.

The weekend starts with a 1940' s movie in George Brown Plaza on Friday evening. Relax with the "troops" at the College Street Pub, then take in the show.

The festivities continue Saturday as the "troops" roll into town. Visit the static displays around town. Check out the antique automobiles on the square from 10 AM to 3 PM. Visit the special WWII exhibit at the Ellis County Museum. See the troops fed at noon on the "Chowline" in the historical camp. Stroll the "Blackmarket" along Franklin Street. Then take in the "Battle For The Train Depot And Bridge" from 3 PM to 4 PM.

Whether you're a history buff or looking for a fun family outing this is one event you don't want to miss.