Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce

Contributed/Alamy Stock Photo

The Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce is hosting a free Drive-In showing of Back to the Future with the gates opening at 8:30 p.m. tonight Friday, June 5 in the Marble Falls High School parking lot. Attendees can also help support the chamber by purchasing available concessions. Pre-order free tickets. Donations at the event are welcome. Space is limited to 144 cars. Go to marblefalls.org for more information.

UPDATE: After press deadline April 2, owners of the Blue Bonnet Cafe, which is referenced in the full version of this article, announced they would be closing their doors due to the Coronavirus concerns.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

Despite dining area closures, several Marble Falls area business have resolved to re-organize their operations, promote takeout service and alternative hours while keeping a smaller staff of personnel to try to weather the potential economic disaster prompted by the COVID-19 crisis.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

With the approval of the city council March 26, the Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation (EDC) approved assigning the entity's finance committee to coordinate a $100,000 small business loan program for qualified merchants devastated by safety requirements connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.

EDC, which operates on sales tax dollars, will make $88,000 available via an existing emergency fund, supplemented with an additional $12,000 potentially provided through the entity's Community Leverage Funds program.

UPDATE: On April 2, owners of the Blue Bonnet Cafe announced they would be closing their doors due to the Coronavirus concerns.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

As soon as Kate Heylman noticed the pop-up canopy in the Blue Bonnet Cafe parking lot on March 27, she did not hesitate to stop and place an order for biscuits and gravy.

“I bought a car in North Dakota two weeks ago and everything happened. I had heard about it (Bluebonnet Cafe), when I was planning my trip to Texas.”

By Lew K. Cohn and Connie Swinney

Disasters orders regarding COVID-19 have disrupted the way merchants do business, however Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce has launched an effort to keep commerce going where possible.

“To be separated from each other as a tight-knit community adds anxiety to everyone, so we can be a platform for that,” said Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jarrod Metzgar. “As a chamber of commerce we want to do all we can to continue commerce but also can help rejuvenate and get that spark up to keep us up and going.”

Connie Swinney/The Highlander

The city of Marble Falls has erected an approximately 35-foot Christmas tree in Harmony Park at the intersection of Third Street and Main in the downtown historic district. The lighting of the treeat 6 p.m. tonight, Friday, Nov. 22, will coincide with the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of commerce Light-up Parade on Main followed by the opening of the 29th Annual Walkway of Lights in Lakeside Park.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

In 26 years, volunteer and electrician Terry Evans has seen several versions of Walkway of Lights in Lakeside Park on Lake Marble Falls.

“It's changed quite a bit,” said Evans, who has witnessed everything from lighted sculptures washed away in a flood to the display's transition from incandescent to LED lighting.

Savanna Gregg
Staff Writer

Raised in the Hill Country by a pair of musical parents, artist Brandon Alan grew up with exposure to a variety of genres and styles of music. He soon blazed his own trail, and began picking the guitar around the age of 11.

By Connie Swinney
Staff Writer

For Mackenzie White, accepting a job at the Marble Falls Conventions and Visitors Bureau represented a chance to blend new ideas with tradition to highlight the community and coax more visitors to the area.