It's time to commemorate Texas history in the most festive way possible, as the Austin Parks and Recreation Department's Fifth Annual Gingerbread History Heroes Program readies for launch. Beginning December 2, and running through the end of the month, Austinites will have the opportunity to craft ornaments representing significant figures from the state's past. According to a City of Austin recent announcement, the program will distribute free salt dough “gingerbread cookie” ornaments alongside decorating supplies at various historical venues across the city.
The list of locations includes the Brush Square Museums, home to both the O. Henry Museum and Susanna Dickinson Museum, the Asian American Resource Center, Elisabet Ney Museum, French Legation State Historic Site, George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, Old Bakery and Emporium, and the Park Ranger Station at Zilker Caretaker's Cottage. Equipped with decorating kits, participants can, dangling from a festive branch, endow their trees with ornaments stylized after Texas luminaries like Selena and Lydia Mendoza or political figures such as Ann Richards and Barbara Jordan.
Participants are encouraged to come to these sites and decorate an ornament in homage to their favorite Texas heroes, individuals whose names resonate through the history of the Lone Star State. Icons such as Joan Means Khabele, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Matt Gaines, Elisabet Ney, Doug Sahm, Gus Garcia, Walter Burton, Sam Houston, and others are among the historical figures participants can choose to honor with their craft.
Providing a personal touch to holiday decor, these ornaments can be adorned in the likeness of the influential Texans who have shaped the state’s trajectory. Whether representing legendary musicians, pioneers in civil rights, formidable politicians, or courageous defenders of the Texan legacy, each crafted figure promises to add meaning to Austinites' holiday celebrations. Even children are invited to partake in paying homage to these figures, adding a layer of intergenerational connection to the tradition.
The department's free program seeks to instill a sense of pride and historical knowledge through these tokens of the state's rich cultural heritage, ensuring that the stories of these heroes continue to be told and celebrated in Austin households. While the program is free, the memories and lessons it could create are priceless.
