Texas country favorites The Josh Abbott Band will headline this year’s Patriot Day celebration for BOOM Adventures, a nonprofit dedicated to providing outdoor activities for veterans, active-duty military and first responders.
The family-friendly party will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Piehl Barn, 800 N. Farm-to-Market Road 2381.
Board member Blake Siebrecht gave me a sneak preview of the fun and why this year’s event is so meaningful to the organization.
“Most of the guys who are in the organization were either in high school or in college (when the 9/11 attacks occurred in 2001),” Siebrecht said. “Us being able to share that it doesn’t take a catastrophe to be able to come together as Americans—that’s what 9/12 is about. It’s about coming together.”
BOOM Adventures’ Patriot Day events began in 2019 and, barring a year off for Covid-19, has grown steadily into a successful fundraiser for the organization.
“A lot of the guys, just like me after it happened, had a strong sense of community and wanting to serve our country, and obviously the fallout lasts forever,” Siebrecht said. “Being able to take care of those families is extremely important. We’re lucky and we’re super blessed to live in a place where the community feels so strongly for our veterans and our first responders.”
In addition to the Josh Abbott Band, Slade Coulter and The Lowdown Drifters will perform, and food trucks will be on site.
Tickets are $40 each or $10 for children.
Call 806-673-6779.
After a successful inaugural year in 2025, Shark Beach Burgers is bringing back its Sandcastle Days festival, importing tons of sand to serve as the artistic medium for some of the world’s most acclaimed beach artists.
Yes, a beach in Amarillo. Co-owners Brian and Brenda Bailey have heard the doubt, and in a recent call to offer an early sneak peek of this year’s festival, they said that they think folks are finally understanding just how special this event is.
“One thing that is so different from last year to this year was last year [having to make] it tangible to people,” Brenda Bailey said. “Every business I went in looking for [sponsorships], everybody I talked to, they would look at me with glassy eyes, like, what are you doing? Like we had lost our mind.
“They’re like, so, little sand castles with buckets? And I said, no, these are like 10 tons of sand each, and they didn’t really get it,” she said. “Now we’re really, really optimistic that this year will be better because people aren’t just thinking it’s some guys that like to play in the sand, but these guys truly are the best in the world.”
This year’s festival will feature the return of some of last year’s internationally renowned sculptors, along with a few new ones, all en route to Neptune’s International Sandsculpting Championship at Virginia Beach. Each sculptor is provided 10 tons of sand (out of a total of 250 tons trucked in for the event).
The event also will feature food trucks and vendors, as well as the educational warehouse, featuring tanks full of sea creatures that attendees may gently handle.
Sandcastle Days runs from 4 to 10 p.m. Sept. 17 and 18, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 19 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 20 at Shark Beach Burgers, 1505 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1151. Ticket prices vary.
Call 806-335-5644 or visit sharkbeachamarillo.com for volunteer information.
This week’s other can’t-miss options:
Tennessee Tuckness: 6 p.m. Tuesday; Hummers Sports Café, 2600 Paramount Blvd., Suite B2; 806-353-0723
Andy Chase & Friends: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; 575 Pizzeria, 2803 Civic Circle; 806-322-5575
Amarillo Sod Poodles vs. San Antonio Missions: 6:35 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 1:05 p.m. Sunday; Hodgetown, 715 S. Buchanan St.; ticket prices vary; 806-803-9547
Cameron James Smith: 6 p.m. Wednesday; Teddy Jack’s, 5080 S. Coulter St.; 806-322-0113
The Solano Project: 6 p.m. Wednesday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Wibby Wednesday with Kenzie Crabtree: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday; Six Car Pub & Brewery, 625 S. Polk St.; 806-576-3396
Strange Whiskey: 6 p.m. Thursday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Tom Buechi: 6:30 p.m. Thursday; 575 Pizzeria, 2803 Civic Circle; 806-322-5575
Birding Hike: 8 a.m. Friday; Palo Duro Canyon State Park, 11450 Park Road 5; free with park admission; 806-488-2227
Tom Buechi: 7 p.m. Friday; Patio Vista at The Barfield, 600 S. Polk St.; 806-414-2200
Come from Away: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; continues through Sept. 20; Amarillo Little Theatre Allen Shankles Mainstage, 2019 Civic Circle; ticket prices vary; 806-355-9991
The Faire of Healing Arts: 7:30 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday; Idol Art Studio, 1201 S. Polk St.; 806-236-4128
Red Dirt Rockers: 7:30 p.m. Friday; Shark Beach Burgers, 1505 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1151; no cover; 806-335-5644
The Obvious Few: 8 p.m. Friday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Sickie J’s Mentors with Kevin Lemonade, Jeffery Neurotic, Descend into Chaos, Silenced and Element of Nexus: 8 p.m. Friday; Rockwell Event Center, 16307 Interstate 27; tickets $10; 806-683-2156
Touching Voodoo: 8 p.m. Friday; Crush, 627 S. Polk St.; 806-418-2011
Scorpion Hunt: 8:30 p.m. Friday; Palo Duro Canyon State Park, 11450 Park Road 5; free with park admission; 806-488-2227
The Electric Gypsies: 9 p.m. Friday; Blind Pig, 609 S. Independence St.; cover; 806-412-4251
Jack Cryver & Bad Decisions: 9 p.m. Friday; Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40; cover; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Rain Division: 9 p.m. Friday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237
Bob Wills Day BBQ Cookoff and Fall Classic Car Show: 8 a.m. Saturday; downtown Turkey; 806-423-1253
Canyon Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday; continues through Sept. 26; Fourth Avenue and 15th Street in Canyon; 806-567-0746
Sunset Marketown: 8 a.m. to noon Saturday; continues through Sept. 19; Arts in the Sunset, 3701 Plains Blvd.; 806-354-8802
Commemorative Air Force Warbirds: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Texas Air & Space Museum, 10001 American Drive; admission $20 adults, $10 children, rides extra; 806-335-9159
Day with the Butterflies: 9 a.m. Saturday; Amarillo Botanical Gardens, 1400 Streit Drive; tickets $15 without breakfast, $20 children with breakfast, $25 ages 11 and up with breakfast; 806-352-6513
Cornhole Kicks on 66 Tournament: 10 a.m. Saturday; Cornholio, 3503 S.W. Sixth Ave.; single registration $40, doubles $66; cornholiotx@gmail.com
Hops ’n’ Shops Fall Festival: noon to 5 p.m. Saturday; Old Tascosa Taproom and Brewery, 3100 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-681-4050
Tom Buechi: noon Saturday; Sad Monkey Mercantile, 9800 Texas Highway 217; 800-692-1338
Wing Wars: 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday; Ferguson, 5823 Canyon Drive; tickets $35 in advance, $45 at the gate; 806-353-3565
Broken Echo: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Shark Beach Burgers, 1505 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1151; no cover; 806-335-5644
Chamber Music Amarillo’s A Grand Tour: Music from Austria, America and France: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; Innovation Outpost, 1220 S. Polk St.; tickets $40; 806-376-8782
Jack Cryver & Bad Decisions: 8 p.m. Saturday; Smokey Joe’s, 2903 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-331-6698
Plemons Bridge: 8 p.m. Saturday; Old Tascosa Taproom and Brewery, 3100 S.W. Sixth Ave.; 806-681-4050
Matt Castillo: 9 p.m. Saturday; Western Horseman Club, 2501 E. Interstate 40; cover; 806-379-6555, Ext. 2999
Thelma & The Sleaze: 9 p.m. Saturday; Golden Light Cantina, 2906 S.W. Sixth Ave.; cover; 806-374-9237
Tantric with Christopher Shayne, Freezemachine, Breaking Solace and Black Tie Revolt: 7 p.m. Monday; Rockwell Event Center, 16307 Interstate 27; tickets $28; 806-683-2156
Andy Chase & Friends: 6:30 p.m. Sept. 15; 575 Pizzeria, 2803 Civic Circle; 806-322-5575
Email submissions to info@brickandelm.com.
Movie options:
Opening Thursday: fantasy sequel Practical Magic 2, action comedy Runner and historical drama The Uprising (Cinemark Hollywood 16, 9100 Canyon Drive, and Cinergy, 9201 Cinergy Square)
Special engagements: Star Trek, Star Trek II, Star Trek III and Star Trek IV double features (Tuesday, Hollywood 16); Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments (Wednesday and Sunday, Hollywood 16); The Passion of the Christ (opens Thursday, Hollywood 16 and Cinergy); Secret Movie Series (Monday, Hollywood 16)
