The Stone Fort Museum will host "Interior East Texas" from 1 – 4 p.m., Jan. 20, to kick off the Nacogdoches Public Library’s Big Read featuring Charles Yu’s 2020 novel, "Interior Chinatown." The book explores the themes of race, assimilation, and identity. East Texans are stereotyped as wearing a cowboy hat and boots while driving a big truck to go to a football game where they’ll eat barbecue and say, ‘yall’. Any of those things may be true, but it reduces the individual living in East Texas from a complex individual to a one-dimensional character.
At "Interior East Texas", you’ll explore as much Real Texas as you want while you embrace the Bigger than Texas story of you! Design a collage of the Real You in a poster portrait. We’ll have everything you need to craft your identity with paper, paint, and collage materials. Then, hang on to your identity and your cowboy hat while you stroll through an afternoon of Texas food, games, and music. Tuck into a Texas chili dog, play a round of horseshoes, and enjoy live music by local band, El Camino Real de Nacogdoches. The Sheriff will be on the lookout for trouble and will hand out prizes for the best costumes and trips to jail for the worst!
The event is free and will be held inside the museum and underneath a tent on the north lawn. For more information or to volunteer to help with the event, contact stonefort@sfasu.edu.