Everything is bigger in Texas, including party time. From cutting a rug to enjoying unique beverages like Wichita Falls’ own beer and tomato juice concoction Red Draw, here are some fun options for events or letting loose after the meeting is done.
Dance Hall Days
Between 1870 and the 1920s, German, Czech and Polish immigrants built some 1,000 dance halls in Texas, mainly in Hill Country. As Texas Dance Hall Preservation, Inc., located in scenic Dripping Springs west of Austin, works to preserve the surviving 400 halls, groups can scoot a boot at two Hill Country icons.
Founded in 1878 near New Braunfels, Gruene Hall, Texas’ oldest continuously operating dance hall, celebrates its 40th anniversary as a live music venue this year. In Fredericksburg, the entire hamlet of Luckenbach Texas can be rented for events, including space for 300 in its legendary dance hall.
In nearby San Antonio, Cowboys Dancehall is a 70,000-square-foot entertainment complex accommodating groups from 50 to 4,000. The venue has a sibling, Gilley’s Dallas, its original location featured in 1980’s Urban Cowboy. Today, Gilley’s Dallas offers 65,000 square feet of space for private events. In neighboring Fort Worth, legendary Billy Bob’s Texas, the world’s largest honky-tonk, is a must for groups.
Watering Holes
What better than poolside cocktails by the Gulf of Mexico? That treat awaits delegates at H20 Pool + Bar, the beachfront pool lounge with a swim-up bar at Galveston’s San Luis Resort Spa & Conference Center. Galveston groups also have the tropical swimming pool with seasonal swim-up bar at Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa & Convention Center, one of several F&B options at the property. The Rooftop Bar at the Tremont House, meanwhile, offers great harbor and downtown views.
On South Padre Island, Gulf-facing Clayton’s Beach Bar & Grill is the biggest beach bar in Texas. In South Texas, Colletti’s Italian Restaurant in Harlingen overlooks the Rio Grande Valley from its penthouse event space.
Nearly 68,000 square feet of meeting and function space, including 6,500 square feet of outdoor space, make the luxurious 614-room Omni Fort Worth Hotel a ready downtown base. Alluring, too, are the hotel’s sophisticated urban venues, including the rooftop Water Horse Pool Bar, and in the lobby, the bars Whiskey & Rye and Wine Thief, the latter with patio seating overlooking the Fort Worth Water Gardens.
Breathtaking Hill Country landscapes enhance cocktail adventures at the newly relaunched La Cantera Hill Country Resort. With six unique bars, including two poolside sanctuaries, delegates can discover handcrafted cocktails incorporating ingredients such as edible hibiscus flowers and house-made lavender syrup.
From tiny Shiner, brewer of the state’s official beer, to San Antonio’s historic Pearl Brewery, beer is a frothy Texas tradition. With Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery reviving the ground floor of the latter’s former brewhouse (see “Zoom In,” page 18), other destinations for tours, tastings and events include Conroe, home to Southern Star Brewing Company and the B-52 Brewing Co. The latter participated in Houston’s annual Beer Fest in June, along with Houston favorites the Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company and Saint Arnold, among others.
Midland groups have a unique option in hosting events at the Midland Beer Garden at Garden View, a local favorite tucked away in a plant nursery.
The state’s wine industry is booming. Based in Bryan, award-winning Messina Hof Winery & Resort also has group-capable venues in Hill Country and Grapevine, both major wine destinations.
Block Parties
From McAllen’s 17th Street Entertainment District, hopping with nightclubs, restaurants, bars and live music, to Lubbock’s famed Depot Entertainment District, offering stages for events like the Buddy Holly Center’s Summer Showcase Concert Series and rich with diversions that include two of its five award-winning wineries, Texas offers party zones ready-made for group outings.
In Beaumont, the Crockett Street Entertainment Complex comprises five restored historic buildings now hosting nightclubs, restaurants and a formal banquet facility. Dixie Dance Hall is the largest dance floor in Southeast Texas, while groups can also enjoy a regular schedule of outdoor concerts, street parties and other activities on this lively thoroughfare.
Fort Worth’s Sundance Square encompasses 35 blocks of dining, nightlife and shopping options, while Austin’s entertainment districts include South Congress, or SoCo, where draws include the legendary 1957 live music venue Continental Club and new South Congress Hotel.
Near downtown Austin, Rainey Street offers beer gardens, bars, food trucks and live music, which will define the new Hotel Van Zandt debuting here this month.
In downtown Corpus Christi, Water Street Market incorporates three restaurants with private space for groups, plus shops and the event-capable Texas Surf Museum. Groups can rent the entire block, including courtyard space and paved streets, for private events.
