Mardi Gras, Road Rally, 1st Saturday Celebrated in Historic Montgomery

MONTGOMERY, TX -- It was a beautiful day Mardi Gras in Historic Montgomery on March 1st as several businesses, Slice of Amish, Bar & Vines, and Krawfish Kai, gathered in front of the Kemifor Atrium building owned by Kevin Barnes; combining forces to welcome town visitors to its square and stage, where a local DJ and even a New Orleans style jazz band complete with trombone, saxophone, drums, and trumpet lifted the spirits of visitors. Concurrently, at the Lone Star Community Center just down the road, the Montgomery County Historical Commission was waving the green flag to start the third Montgomery Road Rally, with stops in Montgomery and points north. The First Saturday homemade goods market was also set up, as is their usual custom on the well shaded grounds of the Community Building, for their monthly event, so there were good crowds in all portions of the city.

Slice of Amish General Manager Angie Miller, a go-getter if there ever was one, organized a local business bingo; which featured a game type card, that was handed out to visitors, who went around to each business, getting stamps and returning them to the stage on the square where DJ Kevin Smith, handed out prizes for completing the task. It was a Herculean task by Miller, to get all the businesses in the district to participate, but it worked; and by 1pm, numerous families were making their way around Historic Montgomery to gather all the stamps from the various businesses. It was a fun activity for those who have limitless energy, and for their lagers behind it created priceless memories of the venture.

“It was a fun day in Historic Montgomery, the result of a lot of hard work and planning from all the businesses involved,” said Miller. “We are humbled by the support of our wonderful community members.”

Miller went on to thank the local business owners for their participation, which had boots in their stores, bookmarking memories on where to find the perfect gift for that special someone in the feature.

Slice of Amish owners Rollis and Barbara Johnson, were on hand greeting customers as they entered the store. The store is known for being the largest seller of cheese curds in Montgomery County, as well as having the greatest selection of Wisconsin cheeses south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Even a Milwaukee born native Wisconsinite from Magnolia was amazed at the selection of over 50 cheeses, vowed to return like McArthur, while at the same time purchasing a half-pound of cheese curds for the road. As usual, Angie Miller had her crew popping out their grilled cheese baskets left and right. S of A’s special sandwich basket of the day was the ‘Garden Vegetable Farmers Grilled Cheese.’

Bar & Vines owners Harold and Heather Vines, offered a special ‘King’s Cake Martini’ for Mardi Gras, which was the first time that the relaxing hangout next to Slice of Amish had concocted a themed drink for a special occasion.

“We plan on featuring different drinks depending on the occasion,” said Harold Vines. “We enjoy working with Angie Miller and the business owners in Historic Montgomery, which has captured a special place in our hearts.”

Vines noted that King’s Cake Martini is a vodka and vanilla cream liqueur mixture. Its simplicity is complex and unique at the same time, as customers were amazed that the vanilla icing dipped rim with green and purple colored sugar. The vanilla cream really acts as a mixing water of sorts, and tones down the bite of the vodka going down, making it a wonderfully festive drink.

Krawfish Kai’s booth at the town square and their restaurant located on Liberty Street were busy as well, with plenty of visitors enjoying the small crustaceans with their hard exoskeletons. The wafting scents emitted as mudbugs boiled away were irresistible, forcing many to partake in the heavenly spiced critters. Also, ‘rOcktopus Art & Jewelry,’ a locally owned shop owned by Rebel, with her devotedly supportive husband, What’s His Name, showed off some genuinely impressive custom jewelry and trinkets. Rebel is a multi-talented artist, and if you dream it up, it can be made.

Slice of Amish’s Garden Vegetable Farmers Grilled Cheese, was a big hit. Perfectly toasted on the outside, while on the inside, you bite into the creamy, mild, stringy, and owey-gooey delicious cheese; plus it paired well with the Bar & Vines martini. It must be the cream? Incredibly it was made by Felix Garraty, a 19 year old, young British chap, who knows his way around cheese, bread, and butter, lots of butter.

“The Garden Vegetable Farmers cheese fluffs up very well,” said Garraty, the son of Polly, one of Angie Miller’s underlings, of which the kid assists S of A on occasion. “The secret is too …,” well Felix doesn’t want to give away all of his secrets.

The kid is admittedly not a great book learner, but put a grill, bread, cheese, and butter, lots of butter, in front of him, and he becomes the professor. Someone better snap him up fast, because he has a great food service career in front of him.

Outside at the stage on the Historic Montgomery square, the crowd was entertained by DJ Kevin Smith, and an interesting group from Sam Houston State University calling themselves ‘Martes Gordo,’ which in English means Fat Tuesday. You’d think of them, without seeing them first, as a bunch of mariachis, with their fat guitarrón mexicano and vihuela mexicanas, but they are just a bunch of college kids who really love imparting their love for New Orleans Style Jazz. MG really played a nice set, at times belting out lyrics, and getting the crowd in the spirit of the family friendly event.

At the Lone Star Community Center, Montgomery County Historical Commission, sent his road rally racers around Montgomery, up to Longstreet and almost to Richards. The 1st place team, from the Montgomery County Library Family History and Genealogy Department: Laura Politte, Cynthia Amburgery, Wendy Packer, and Michael Cook, took home the top trophy and $25 gift cards for each member. This was the third time that the history road rally had been held in Montgomery, with the two previous winners being Billy Ray Duncan, and his brother Donald.