Longview Arboretum helps THE community
DEVELOP A love OF
“We want people to come here to connect with nature,” said Steven Chamblee, who serves as executive director of the Longview Arboretum and Nature Center. On any given day at the arboretum, people can be found walking the trails while observing plants. The arboretum is home to unique plants, including a collection from Southern Living.
I have people tell me they feel safe, they feel peaceful, they feel relaxed and they feel like they’ve escaped the problems of the world.
To learn more about the arboretum, visit www.longviewarboretum.org.
Longview, Texas
Arts &
Events
Great Texas Balloon Race
Gregg County is the Balloon Race Capital of Texas because this world-class event attracts the best competitive balloon pilots from across the United States and around the world. During the third weekend in June, balloons will fill the skies over Longview on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and then concerts, a balloon glow, and entertainment will thrill crowds on Friday and Saturday night. This world-class competition features sport and special shaped balloons and covers a three-day weekend every summer.
The Great Texas balloon Race was founded by local dentist Dr. Bill Bussey in 1977. Dr. Bussey has held many balloon world records and was inducted into the National U.S. Ballooning Hall of Fame, the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Ak-La-Tex Sports Museum of Champions. Ballooning has become a beloved part of the Longview community and local pilots can been seen flying over Longview on any given morning throughout the year.
Christmas in Downtown LongviewÂ
The Gregg County Courthouse is transformed into a beautiful light display, a huge Christmas tree brightens Heritage Plaza, and special holiday events fill downtown. The Longview AMBUCS Christmas Parade proceeds through downtown on the first Thursday of December with an impressive fleet of floats, antique cars, marching bands, and the ever-popular hot air balloon torch glow.
PRCA Rodeo
The Greggton Rotary Longview PRCA Rodeo is one of the hottest tickets in town. Fans say it’s one of the most popular bull-riding, calf-roping, bareback-riding, saddle-bronc-riding, stick-horse-racing, clown-dodging rodeos ever to stir up dust at the Longview Rodeo Arena. The Rotarians say it’s just good, family fun. The Longview (Greggton) Rotary hosts this annual spring-time event to the delight of rodeo fans of all ages, and, as their primary fundraiser, allows the Rotary to give back $30,000 – $50,000 to the community in support of local non-profit organizations.
HomebierFest
Prost! Hosted by the East Texas Brewer’s Guild, this Oktoberfest-style event provides visitors the opportunity to enjoy unique and varied beers made by home-brewing enthusiasts. Held in September, the event also features music and food trucks.Â
Longview Public Library
The library is so much more than books. You’ll find weekly activities for all ages, book clubs, craft days, game nights, plus community events. Don’t miss the Chautauqua Festival on April 23, Summer Reading Club for children and adults will be in June and July, the hugely popular Haunted Library October 14-15, and the 2nd annual Cheermeister Party in December.
Chautauqua Fest
The Longview Public Library hosts this free event on April 23 celebrating diverse culture with music, performances, local authors, artists, and artisans.
Gregg County Historical Museum
Long a fixture in the downtown marketplace, the Gregg County Historical Museum resides within a historic bank building with a colorful past. Several permanent and new exhibits enthrall guests with the booms and busts of a town built by the railroad and put on the international map because of oil. With a heritage begun by Native Americans and expanded by settlers, the story of Longview is both rich in mysteries as well as blessed by the generosity of the human spirit.Â
Landmarks of Longview Tour
Every September, several homes and/or businesses of architectural significance are open to the public for a two-day tour benefiting the Gregg County Historical Museum. Always interesting, with a glimpse into the stories of many of the places distinctive to our local culture, the tour provides an opportunity for an easy day spent in homes that have, or will have, an impact on our community’s history.
Dalton Days
A family-friendly event recapturing the drama and nail-biting frenzy of one of Longview’s most iconic pages of history, the infamous bank heist by the Bill Dalton Gang. Recreated on a blocked-off portion of Fredonia Street, and coupled with a fair-styled afternoon of activities, Dalton Days brings the bang and pop excitement that professional actors create when putting Longview citizens in peril, and all straight from local history.
Parade of Homes
Presented by the East Texas Home Builders Association in May and November each year, this event showcases several beautiful new area homes. Visitors can learn about the latest home trends and admire the distinct craftsmanship presented by local builders.
LeTourneau University’s S.E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center
Big names, big performances, and big fun are always in store at the Belcher Center, the premier performance venue in East Texas. Each season, the center attracts Broadway shows, concerts, comedians, and world-class performers for audiences of all ages. The beautiful venue is also the home of Longview’s symphony, ballet, and symphonic band. View performance dates and ticket options at the link below:
ArtsView Children’s Theatre
ArtsView Children’s Theatre, established in 2004, is committed to a progressive theatre arts education and outreach program for area children. It provides children’s programs as a way to educate tomorrow’s audiences about the joys of the performing and visual arts. It also nurtures the development of the performing arts in our community through education, and it creates, produces, and performs works that engage the entire family. Productions, summer camps, workshops, after school classes, and seminars are offered throughout the year.
East Texas Symphonic Band
The East Texas Symphonic Band (ETSB), founded in 1988, is a volunteer wind symphony made up of area musicians under the direction of conductor Dr. James Snowden. Its music spans the entire gamut of symphonic wind literature with a high emphasis on outstanding local musicians as soloists, both vocal and instrumental. The season typically consists of three formal concerts at LeTourneau University’s Belcher Performance Center and an informal summer outdoor “Pops in the Park” concert at Teague Park Amphitheatre.Â
Gregg County Fair
Longview Symphony
The fully professional Longview Symphony Orchestra has provided beautiful orchestral music to Longview patrons for over 50 years. Under the direction of Maestro Jerry Steichen, the seasonal concerts delight audiences with classical and popular music. As part of Longview Symphony’s outreach to the community, they offer a free Virtual Concert Series and free Bach’s Lunch Concerts, lunchtime concerts at various downtown Longview churches. LSO also presents music education programming through partnerships with schools and local organizations. Longview Symphony is a symphony for everyone!
Longview Arboretum and Nature Center
Longview is located in the heart of the East Texas piney woods, and no place is that more beautifully evident than the Longview Arboretum and Nature Center. The outdoor gardens host open air concerts on Thursdays in the spring and fall, as well as special events throughout the year.
LeTourneau Car Show
The LeTourneau University Automotive Society presents its annual Car Show with proceeds benefiting missions around the world.
Texas Shakespeare Festival
Located just a stone’s throw from Longview’s city limits is one of the nation’s premiere summer Shakespeare festivals hosted by Kilgore College. This renowned summer tradition brings a variety of high caliber stage productions and gifted actors to a local platform. From The Queen’s Tea to meet and greets with the actors, this is a fun and affordable departure from ordinary entertainment.
LongviewWOW
LongviewWOW is a creative, imaginative, and exploratory discovery center for children, designed to create a life-long love of learning. The educational environments offer hands-on discovery of Longview’s various career and technology fields through interactive play. Exhibits include Invention Garage, The Factor, The Market, Build-It, Build-It Jr., The House, and The Park, along with special events throughout the year.Â
Harvest Festival Crawfish Boil
Each year in April at the Maude Cobb Convention Center, the Crawfish Boil brings thousands of people together for music and amazing food. The Crawfish Boil, a fundraiser for the Harvest Festival livestock show and sale in October, provides scholarships to area 4H and FFA students.
Historic Longview Farmer’s Market
Under white pop-up tents, regional and organic farmers offer vegetables, herbs, eggs, and specialty items for sale to the public. The HLFM holds a permanent station in the parking lot at High and Cotton Streets on a seasonal schedule. Starting early on Saturday mornings, the 7:30-11:30 a.m. schedule has at times included live music, cooking demonstrations, and crafts.
Neal McCoy’s East Texas Angel Network Benefit Concert
Longview resident and country singing star, Neal McCoy, invites his celebrity friends to an annual September concert to raise funds for children with serious illness. Always an anticipated autumn event, Neal revs up the show with fun and good times and the result gives back to his fans, and ultimately to the children close to his heart.
Downtown Live!
Longview Parks and Recreation
More than 30 parks and trails provide green space, playgrounds, and athletic opportunities across the city. The department also hosts recreation programs, athletic leagues, and special events throughout the year.
Longview Pride Festival
An annual LGBT festival in June, the event features music, vendors, and activities.
Theatre Longview
Gushing with great music, the Theatre Longview Company brings unique musical entertainment to Longview via several performances a year. With diverse musical genres from Broadway to symphony, regional artists perform concerts covering opera/operetta, musical theatre, gospel and oratorio.
Longview Ballet Theatre
Longview Ballet Theatre is dedicated to enhancing our community by combining beauty, skill, and vision to create innovative and inspiring performances for local audiences. For more than 50 years, Pat George Mitchell, founder and artistic director, has developed the talent of local dancers, several of whom have auditioned and been accepted into renowned programs across the nation. LBT’s annual performances are a marriage between company members and world class professional dancers, performing such classics as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, and George Balanchine’s Serenade.Â
Freeze Your Fanny Bike Tour
This annual February bicycle tour is a fundraiser for Special Olympics and takes place no matter how cold the weather. Participants willingly “freeze their fannies” for bragging rights after they’ve completed the Tour-de-East-Texas. Also includes a 10K run which begins at Doris McQueen Primary School.
ArtWalk Longview
Several times a year, downtown Longview galleries and businesses stay open late, and exhibit art on the sidewalk, for an after-hours event designed to showcase local art and artisans. ArtWalk provides an urban environment where many retail stores prop open the front door and offer special purchases to complement the live music and restaurant hopping. It’s family and pet-friendly fun.
Big Techs
Longview has a long history of inventors, builders, and makers. Explore factories to see how the world’s largest front-end loader is built and learn about other amazing stuff made in Longview. Free tours are provided on this special weekend at industries throughout Longview and give participants a chance to look behind the scenes at the technology that makes our city work.
Longview Museum of Fine Arts
An artistic venture begun by the Junior League of Longview in 1958, the LMFA has grown into one of Texas’ jewel boxes for modern and regional art, with over 700 pieces in its permanent collection. In downtown Longview, the repurposed facility has also been home to nationally treasured traveling exhibits, the annual Holiday Tea Room & Market, Breakfasts with Santa, spooky art shows, unplugged-style music sessions with artists from jazz, pop and blues, showcased events from regional artists, a plethora of art classes, quarterly family days, yoga sessions, corporate meetings, fundraisers of every type, and some of the classiest weddings this side of the Sabine. The much anticipated Magic & Mayhem annual fundraiser is held off-premises due to the ever-growing crowd. The cool, modern interior is ideal for wandering the curated rooms designed to complement the artistic talents of our current age.
Juneteenth Celebration & Dance
A parade, a dance, and a rodeo are among the many fun activities planned each June for this historic occasion.
R.G. LeTourneau Museum
One of the most prolific inventors of oil and earth-moving equipment, the museum contains personal memorabilia of R.G. LeTourneau (1888-1969). Scale models of many of his inventions, as well as the first offshore oil drilling platforms, are on display. Tours of the museum on the LeTourneau University campus are available and welcome with prior arrangement.
Carmela’s Magical Santa Land
Taste of Longview
Zonta Antiques Show and Sale
Longview Kennel Club Competition
