Coleman Puts Prickly Pear Food and Wine Festival on the Texas Map

Prickly pears are blooming and beautiful in Coleman, Texas, and because the town has so many of them, many of the dishes the town serves has some kind of “prickly” element to them, said resident Laurie Williamson, owner of the town’s favorite Rancho Pizzeria.

Because of this beautiful blooming prickly element, the town, along with Signal Fredericksburg, a company that produces festivals across the Hill Country, decided to host its first annual Prickly Pear Food and Wine Festival this past Saturday; and despite the rainy weather, more than 400 people put on their raincoats, pulled out their umbrellas and headed to downtown Coleman for a bit of prickly pear food, wine tasting, arts and crafts, live music and more.

“We’re just happy to be here and to bring all this fun and excitement, and rain, to Coleman,” said Kristin Barnett with Signal Fredericksburg.

Barnett said she grew up in Coleman, so to bring her team of 15 employees to her hometown, and to have many members of the community come out and assist with the event, including her best friend since the first grade, was something special.

“We’re excited to be in Coleman and bringing promotion to it and bringing recognition to the people here who are doing special and amazing things. That’s a gift," Barnett stated.

Despite the rainy weather, attendees of the event enjoyed making a live mural with the arts and crafts vendors; not to mention, about 10 chefs and wineries from all over the state of Texas showed off their wares at the wine tasting pavilion. Kids and families also got to enjoy a small carnival with rock climbing, and music lovers enjoyed a live show from DeAnn Spence & FullHouse and Brandon Rhyder.

“It’s just going to be a fun-filled day!" exclaimed Barnett earlier in the day at the event.

Barnett added that Laurie Williamson with Rancho Pizzeria played a big role in establishing the theme of the event. She chose prickly pears because she wanted to give the festival its own identity.

“They were blooming and they were beautiful, so that was it," Barnett noted.

In addition to the food in Coleman having an element of prickly pears, Williamson said the goal of the festival was to get people out to Coleman to see what it’s like and to enjoy the beauty the residents do. Her husband, Robert Williamson, had the same idea, and said he hopes the event elevates Coleman in a new way.

“I want it to be, where did you get that? Coleman. Where is the best place to get coffee? Coleman,” Mr. Williamson said. In other words, he wants Coleman to be on the map as the place to go and to be.

“It’s a great area of Texas. It’s centrally located and easily accessible. I’m trying to encourage more people to be here,” added Robert Williamson.

Mr. Williamson said business is growing and getting to a saturated point where the locals can’t support the kind of business they’re trying to run, so they want to entice more visitors and possible new residents to come and settle in Coleman.

“It’s a great place to get out of that busy life style,” Mr. Williamson stated. “It is a slower pace, but people still need to be stimulated. You can see the stars out. It’s quiet here. You don’t have the noise or road noise that the city has. It’s Paradise out here.”

Note: Megan Holmquest contributed to this story.