Texas Hill Country Living at It's Finest! The Canyon Lake Times Winter eNewsletter

Warner Group Texas Hill Country Properties

December - February 2012

In this Issue--

Las Brisas Close Out Specials

Map

Fun Holiday Activities

Fly Fishing Below Canyon Lake Dam

FM Owners Sandy and Greg McQueen

Wassailfest!

Music Venues

Winter Calendar of Events

______________

Only 7 Remain!

Pocket the Perfect Homesite in the beautiful lakefront community of
Las Brisas!

Las Brisas Close Out Sale
Plus
Added Year End Savings!
Click here for more information.

Don't Wait! Last Chance to be Part of the Las Brisas Community!

Las Brisas Amenities include:
*Infinity edge pool,

*20 acre Tom Creek Nature Preserve,

*sand volley ball court,

and much more.

Incredibly Low Close Out Prices for Acreage Homesites

______________

First Mountain

Just Released!

Year End Special
Lake View Homesite $92,000
Sale Ends 12/31/11
Click here to Schedule your Tour!

1.37 Acre Lake View Homesite
164 ft Frontage on Road
Level Building Area
Seasonal Creek at Rear of Homesite
Highest Elevation of Any Gated Community
Stunning Lake and Hill Views
No Time Limit to Build
First Class Amenities

Map

Fun Holiday Activities

San Antonio

New Braunfels/ Gruene and Canyon Lake!

San Antonio River Walk

San Antonio

Dec 1-31: Six Flags Holiday in the Park - Six flags Fiesta San Antonio - Sat & Sun only

Dec 1-30: SeaWorld San Antonio Christmas Celebration - see SeaWorld site for days of operation

Dec 1-18: Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias - on the Riverwalk dusk Fri-Sat-Sun only

Dec 2-23: A Christmas Carol: The Musical - San Pedro Playhouse Russel Hill Rodgers Theater

Dec 2: "A Very Latin Christmas" Henry Brun and the Latin Playerz -Charline McCombs

Empire Theatre 7:30pm

Dec 3: Christkindlmarkt- Beethoven Maennerchor Garten und Halle

Dec 3: Tamales! At Pearl - A Holiday Family Festival - Pearl Brewery - 12-7pm

Dec 4: Winter Magic - Children's Chorus of San Antonio Alamo Heights United Methodist Church 3pm

Dec 7-9: Holiday Arts & Crafts Show - San Antonio Riverwalk 10am- 11pm

Dec 10: Art.i.copia - Southwest School of Art's annual shopping celebration

Dec 11: Comfort & Joy: Music of Christmas - Voci di Sorelle - Chapel of the Incarnate Word 3pm

Dec 16 & 17: Holiday Pops - San Antonio Symphony - Majestic Theatre 8pm

Dec 16-18: Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker - Metropolitan Classical Ballet with

San Antonio Metropolitan Ballet - Lila Cockrell Theatre

Dec 22: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - ATT Center 4 & 8pm

Dec 31: New Years Eve Twilight Party - Sea World

Dec 31: Celebrate San Antonio - Newyears eve with San Antonio Parks Foundation - starts 6:30pm

New Braunfels and Gruene

Cody Canada & the Departed

Canyon Lake

Dec 10: Canyon Lake Christmas Parade - the only Christmas parade in Comal County - Downtown Sattler 11am

Dec 10: Parade of Lights - Yacht Clubs Holiday Boat Parade - 5:30pm

Dec 8-9-10 15-16-17: North Pole Village - Community Resource & Recreation Center - Sattler

Quick Links

Directions
Contact First Mountain
More about the Developer--Warner Group Inc.

Las Brisas Monument

Las Brisas Entry

First Mountain Entry

Resort Pool

First Mountain

FM Mountain Entry

First Mountain

First Mountain

First Mountain Hill Top Pool

Come Tour!

877-427-5253

Canyon Lake Activities

Spotlight: Fly Fishing below Canyon Lake Dam on the Guadalupe River

Did you know that fly fishing below the Canyon Lake Dam on the Guadalupe River is one of the best places to fly fish in the US?

Listed in America's 100 Best Trout Streams, the Guadalupe River in Texas is the southernmost Trout fishery in the United States. It is a tailwater fishery, emerging from the bottom of Canyon Lake, sheltering a very cold water layer due to the lake's depth which gives Rainbow and Brown Trout a chance to live through the hot Texas summers.

In fact, the Guadalupe River is the feature story in the Nov/Dec issue of Southwest Fly Fishing in the article by Lefty Ray Chapa, Trout between the Tubes.

Want to learn more about Fly Fishing below the Canyon Dam?

There is a wealth of websites, maps, tour guides and outfitters to help you get started and make your fly fishing expedition a great experience.

Who stocks the Guadalupe River and when?

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocks rainbow trout in more than 100 locations across Texas each winter from December through early March. For the section of the Guadalupe River below the Canyon Dam, a total of 18,351 trout will be released at the Canyon Tailrace location from early December of 2011 through January 2012.

Specific dates for trout release are: December 4, 11, 17, 23 and January 7, 14, 21 and 28. The dates are subject to change, so the TPWD recommends that you contact the hatchery to confirm release dates. For the Canyon Tailrace location, call the A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery at 512/353-0572 for last minute updates. Hatchery-reared trout are usually 9 to 12 inches long and most are caught within a few weeks after being stocked. In spring and summer, most Texas waters are too warm to provide suitable habitat for rainbow trout.

New to Fly Fishing?

If you are new to fly fishing, checkout the whitepaper published by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department written by Marcos J. De Jesus entitled, Winter Trout Stocking Program Angling Tips. (Click here for the complete document.) The whitepaper contains a wealth of information ranging from describing common tackle, baits and lures used to graphically showing simple knot tying techniques. From the whitepaper,

Tips when Trout Fishing Stocked Waters

Arrive early to stock sites on stocking days.
Maintain a safe and courteous distance from fellow anglers.
Have an array of baits or lures available.
When harvesting trout, have ice available to keep catch fresh.

To read more of the Fly Fishing article, click here.

First Mountain

on Canyon Lake

"I just couldn't get over the beauty of the Texas Hill Country. . ."

Sandy McQueen

"We have been talking about where we'll retire for years...salt water or fresh, Texas or out of the country (which basically means "out of Texas"). We had pretty much decided on fresh water in Texas when I brought my son to summer camp in Vanderpool, TX in August.

While driving back toward Houston I just couldn't get over the beauty of the Texas Hill Country. It didn't take long to convince Greg that the time was right to start looking for property. After an exhaustive search of the hill country lakes (and we looked at ALL of them!), we kept coming back to Canyon Lake. You just can't beat the location for access to big cities, but still be able to enjoy the absolutely beautiful countryside.

We knew that we wanted a gated community with nice amenities, and First Mountain had everything we were looking for and more. It only took a few minutes to make the decision once we were finally on the land; we both knew right away that this was home.

Even though we're not going to build for a few years, and not going to retire for many years, we felt that the opportunities within the First Mountain development were just too good to pass up. We can't wait to meet all of our neighbors and to get started on our dream home! Our 11 year old son Jackson is having a great time sketching up some plans for us to consider."

19th Annual Wassailfest in New Braunfels, Texas

A Fun Family Event!

December 1 marks the 19^th annual Wassailfest in downtown New Braunfels---a fun family event. Wassailfest is the perfect time to take the family

to listen to the sounds of Christmas carols from over 20 musical and church groups,
see a live nativity scene,
munch on great local fare,
and sip up to 30 different wassails as you leisurely walk the closed off streets in downtown New Braunfels.

According to Robin Kunkel, recreation manager for New Braunfels Parks and Recreation, in 1992 Wassailfest began as a way for downtown merchants to thank customers for their patronage and to highlight the beauty of downtown New Braunfels.

Wassailfest Bandstand

Wassail is an apple cider based drink derived from the Saxon words "was hail" or "be whole". Wassails can be alcoholic or non-alcoholic. They vary widely. They can be savory, sweet, or a mixture of the two.

For fun, a number of community groups and businesses make their special Wassail and compete for the People's Choice award and the Wassail Meister Grand Prize. The attendees, by means of a ballot, pick the People's Choice Award, and a group of judges, made up of representatives from the community and businesses, pick the Wassail Meister Grand Prize, which is the non-alcoholic version.

To read the winners of the 2010 Wassailfest, click here.

Winter Musical Events!

Three Great Live Music Venues

Gruene Hall

Phoenix Saloon

River Road Ice House

Check out the winter lineup! Links to music venues below.

Gruene Hall

Phoenix Saloon

River Road Ice House

Winter Music Events

Winter Calendar of Events

New Braunfels - Gruene - Canyon Lake

December-February

Gruene's "Cowboy Kringle"

December

Dec 1: Wassailfest - 6-9 pm Main Plaza New Braunfels, TX 78130- An evening of music, fun food, great shopping, thousands of twinkling holiday lights and, of course - lots of free wassail for you to sample!

Dec 3-4: Old Gruene Market Days - 10am-5pm Historic Downtown Gruene in front of the Adobe Verde Restaurant nearly 100 vendors offer uniquely crafted items, collectibles and packaged Texas foods. Free admission

Dec 3-10-17-24-31: New Braunfels Farm to Market - 9am-12pm On South Castell next to Friesenhaus, New Braunfels - Rain or Shine 50 plus vendors feature locally grown fresh produce, cheeses, meats, jams and jellies, flowers, art and much more.

Dec 3-4, 10-11, 17-18: Cowboy Kringle's kids workshop and photos 10am-5pm Next to Gruene Outfitters. Gruene, TX 78130 - Children can come and create one-of-a-kind holiday presents to give to family and friends while enjoying hot cocoa and hot cider.

Dec 3-4, 10-11, 17-18: Photos with Cowboy Kringle - 10am-4pm 1601 Hunter Rd - New Braunfels, TX 78130

Dec 3: 10^th Annual Gruene Pony Express Ride - 10am -Gruene Historic District will receive Pony Express riders from the Heritage Trail Ride Association of New Braunfels at 10:00 am. Relay riders carry a "Christmas Greetings" message from the Governor of Texas

Dec 3: Christmas Tour of Homes - 10am-5pm Tickets available at Chamber of Commerce 830-237-6615

Dec 3: Holidays in Gruene: 5:00 PM 1601 Hunter Rd Gruene Historic district - Gruene closes out the many festivities of the day with a brass band street performance at 5pm followed by the annual town lighting at 6pm when Cowboy Kringle rides into town on horseback and hands out candy canes to the kids.

Dec 7: Art on the Beach - 6-8pm 6700 North IH 35 New Braunfels, Texas 78130 -This monthly event will introduce you to local artists who will show and sell their artwork. Includes a kids activity area and painting classes for adults.

Dec 8-9-10, 15-16-17: North Pole Village - 125 Mabel Jones, Canyon Lake TX - With the help of many volunteer elves, our Recreation Center is transformed into a pint sized village for children with lots of fun activities for young and old alike.

Dec 8: Holiday Come and Taste it 5-8pm - The Grapevine - Texas Wine Bar 1612 Hunter Rd. Gruene Historic district 78130 Holiday wine tasting event featuring Holiday wines, coupled with live jazz music by Ryan Waguespack.

Dec 10: Canyon Lake Christmas Parade - 11am FM 2673 in downtown Sattler - The only Christmas parade in Comal County

Dec 10: Parade of Lights - 6pm Canyon Lake Marina in Canyon Park, South of FM 306 Canyon Lake -Hill Country Yacht Clubs Holiday Boat Parade

Dec 22: The Film "Nightmare Before Christmas" - McNay Art Museum Chiego Lecture Hall 6:30pm

Dec 29: Holiday Come and Taste it 5-8pm - The Grapevine - Texas Wine Bar 1612 Hunter Rd. Gruene Historic district, Holiday tasting event featuring champagne & sparkling wines, coupled with live jazz music by Ryan Waguespack.

January

Jan 4: Art on the Beach - 6-8pm 6700 North IH 35 New Braunfels, Texas 78130 - This monthly event will introduce you to local artists who will show and sell their artwork. Includes a kids activity area and painting classes for adults.

Jan 7-14-21-28 New Braunfels Farm to Market - 9am-12pm On South Castell next to Friesenhaus, New Braunfels - Rain or Shine 50 plus vendors feature locally grown fresh produce, cheeses, meats, jams and jellies, flowers, art, music and much more.

Jan 14: The Man in Black - A tribute to Johnny Cash - 7:30pm The Brauntex Theater 290 W. San Antonio Street New Braunfels, TX 78130

Jan 28: 7^th Annual Comal County Huntsman's Ball - 6pm 801 W San Antonio Street New Braunfels, TX 78130 - Benefiting the American Cancer Society.

February

Feb 4-11-18-25: New Braunfels Farm to Market - 9am-12pm On South Castell next to Friesenhaus, New Braunfels - Rain or Shine 50 plus vendors feature locally grown fresh produce, cheeses, meats, jams and jellies, flowers, art, music and much more.

Feb 9: The Texas Tenors - 7:30pm The Brauntex Theater 290 W. San Antonio Street New Braunfels, TX 78130 - Their rise to fame began on "Americas got Talent" and it continues with this unique blend of Country, Gospel, Classical and Broadway.

Feb 18: Love your heart 5k run/walk - 8am-12pm TBD New Braunfels, TX 78130

Feb 18-19: Old Gruene Market Days - 10am-5pm Historic Downtown Gruene in front of the Adobe Verde Restaurant Nearly 100 vendors offer uniquely crafted items, collectibles and packaged Texas foods. Free admission

Feb 18: Mid Texas Symphony presents "Appalachian Spring" - 7pm 2154 Loop 337 N. New Braunfels, TX 78130

Feb 24-25-26: Trout Fest: Rio Raft Resort 14130 River Road New Braunfels, Texas 78132 Outdoors banquet 6pm Friday (tickets required) and Expo Saturday and Sunday (free to the public). will be held on the Guadalupe River. Fly tiers, kid fish pond, fly casting lessons and educational classes will provide enjoyment for the whole family.

For San Antonio City events year round:

http://saevents.com/Events/Events.asp

http://events.mysanantonio.com/

http://www.visitsanantonio.com/index.aspx