HOWARD DAYS 2024 will now take place on Friday & Saturday, June 7th & 8th at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas.
This change is being made to better accommodate the schedule of the main faction behind Howard Days, Project Pride of Cross Plains.
So, you can now safely mark your calendars for June 7th & 8th, 2024. We hope to see you for Howard Days, The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!
HOWARD DAYS starts next week! We are good to go; the town of Cross Plains is waiting for fans from all over the world to gather, Project Pride has planned for another amazing weekend and the Howard Fellowship will flow like the big family reunion that Howard Days has become.
We've written about a lot of the features, activities and happenings that occur at Howard Days and now it is time for the experience to begin. There are a number of "first-timers" coming to HD this year; rest assured you will be welcomed into the family with open arms!
The schedule is set (look under the EVENTS tab) and all the information you need is found here. For all the "newbies", when you make it the Museum you will find everyone is amazingly helpful with guiding you through your first Howard Days experience. We are all family, gathered to celebrate the life of our distant cousin or favorite uncle, Bob Howard!
Howard Days is all about supporting the life and legacy of the incomparable Robert E. Howard. We gather in his name, discuss his life and works, marvel at the world-wide interest shown to his little town, appreciate the originality of his creating two genres of literature (sword & sorcery and the weird western) and writing in a good number of other areas - including nearly 800 poems; we speculate on what could have been had he not passed so young and generally we are amazed at what he created from dry Texas dust while pounding on a finger-numbing Underwood No. 5 typewriter!
More importantly, remember that Robert E. Howard has, through his amazing talent, brought so many diverse people from all corners of the world together in fellowship. We understand what he did, we appreciate that he left us so many words and we enjoy the friendships made by reading his work.
The speculators among us imagine a world where Howard didn't leave us so soon. How nice it would have been if Ol' Two-Gun was around long enough to know and realize the impact he had on many lives. He deserves every accolade we can muster. We certainly hope that his shade is there next week, wandering the grounds and knowing the warmth of fellowship in his name.
We look forward to seeing everyone in Cross Plains to enjoy Robert E. Howard Days. And if you decide on a last minute trip, y'all come! Texas is a really big state, there's always room at Howard Days!
While Howard Days next week "officially" is held on Friday and Saturday, the 28 & 29th, please don't forget about Thursday the 27th!
A number of folks like to come to Cross Plains a day or two early to soak in that small-town charm, so Project Pride and the city provide several things to do.
The Robert E. Howard Museum is OPEN on Thursday from 2 to 4 pm. While there are no docents on duty, you are free to tour all the rooms of the house, marvel at the treasures contained therein and visit the well-appointed Gift Shop. You may also walk around the yard and enjoy the convenience of the adjacent Alla Ray Morris Pavilion, the central meeting place for Howard Days. Feel free to enjoy a picnic lunch in the yard if you like as you partake of some early Howard Fellowship.
There are several excellent restaurants in Cross Plains that will be most happy to see you! Jean's Feed Barn, Mexico City, Country Donuts and Backwoods Beer Barn are close to the Museum and the Backwoods Grill and Cottonwood Coffee Shop, along with Subway, Dairy Queen and Bubba's BBQ are all uptown waiting for you.
Across from the Museum is Woody's Car & Baseball Museum and is a real treat for visitors. Texas 36 Apparel is on the corner of Main Street and Highway 36 for real Texas duds and Higginbotham's (across from the Library) is as close as we'll see to an authentic Texas general store. (We like to get a pocket knife there every year!)
This year on Thursday evening there will be a Senior Center Dinner & Dance at Treadway Park, which is just west of the Howard Museum. For $7.00 you can support the Cross Plains Senior Center while enjoying beans, cornbread, tea and desserts! Bring your dancing boots for a rousing Texas time!
So show up early and stay late, as the Pavilion will be available to all on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Come and enjoy the Fellowship that being a fan of Robert E. Howard can provide!
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It won't be long now! All the waitin' and anticipatin' becomes an event in two weeks on April 28th & 29th at HOWARD DAYS at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains Texas!
Here are some more features to tell you about to make your visit even more enjoyable:
As we round the bend headed for Howard Days on April 28th & 29th, we'd like to remind you of a number of happenings at The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom. The event will be here in a little over two weeks now and we want you to maximize your enjoyment factor as you help us celebrate the Life & Legacy of Robert E. Howard!
Without question, the Cross Plains Public Library is the most important entity in the 37 year history of Howard Days. The vision that the Library has afforded REH fans from all over the world is immeasurable and because of it, Howard Days on April 28th & 29th will provide us with The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!
In 1985, Howard fans Rusty Burke and Vern Clark made the journey to Cross Plains in search of a connection with the spirit of REH. Lady Luck smiled upon them when they met Billie Ruth Loving and Joan McCowan at the Library that day. With these two wonderful ladies' help, the seed was planted and bloomed into a world wide event focused on Cross Plains, Texas, where REH lived and wrote and enthralled the world with his words.
While both Ms. Loving and Ms. McCowan have left us, their legacy lives on today as the world-class Cross Plains Library. Since 1985 it has doubled in size, won numerous awards and become a mecca for Howard Fans all over the world.
The Cross Plains Public Library boasts a sizeable collection of original Robert E. Howard typescripts, several dozen issues of Weird Tales and REH pulp magazines and an impressive Howard section of books, magazines, fanzines and artwork. These are always on display for Howard Days and copies of the original typescripts are available for a modest fee.
In addition to all the REH permeating the air at the Library, this year will once again feature Hyborian Age role-playing gaming during Howard Days. Jeb Boyt will generously provide two sessions of the Sword & Sorcery 5E RPG for gamers who would like to sit in. Friday he's running a scenario from 12 to 4 and Saturday from 11 to 3. Stop in an roll up a character or to observe and say hello.
While you are in Cross Plains, please visit and enjoy all the Cross Plains Library has to offer Howard Fans. Be sure to register at the front desk (visitor numbers are important to them), make a donation to help them with continued upkeep - and maybe say "Thanks" for what they've done for Howard fans everywhere.
Yep, we're looking at four weeks until Howard Days happens at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas on April 28th & 29th.
As that time will be here before we know it, we're going to post little reminders about happenings at Howard Days that aren't necessarily listed in detail on the schedule for the next few weeks.
First up: time's a wastin' for you to send your donated REH items to be placed up for bid at the Silent Auction, held in conjunction with the Friday Celebration Banquet. This is the big fund raiser for Project Pride, the community civic group which maintains the Museum. Please check over your REH collection for any items you could donate to Project Pride and send them to PP, POB 534, Cross Plains, TX 76443. Books, paperbacks, magazines, fanzines & small press, comics, artwork - c'mon, we've all got duplicates that we can spare. Help out the REH Museum in this exciting event. We know that this year there'll be a nifty set of pint glasses complete with REH quotes etched into them at the auction. There might even be some pieces of the picket fence that REH may have gazed on!
The good thing about the Silent Auction is that it's available to everyone, not just Banquet ticket holders. You may enter and bid to your heart's content without partaking of the dinner. But for only $25 you can have a great meal surrounded by the incredible Howard Fellowship that makes every Howard Days feel like a family reunion. Plus, your $25 goes to helping out the REH Museum!
Tickets to the Banquet are going fast, so don't miss out! You may send your $25 to the address above or you can Pay Pal to Projpride@yahoo.com.
Don't delay! Howard Days is a memorable experience. Y'all come!
One of the exciting things about Howard Days (April 28-29) is that in addition to all the regular features of the weekend, we get to peruse a number of new publishing events that keep the Life and Legacy of Robert E. Howard on our minds!
The long-awaited ROBERT E. HOWARD PHOTO ALBUM, edited by Dennis McHaney, will debut at Howard Days in April. The Robert E. Howard Foundation Press has put together a photographic history of Bob Howard, compiling all the 38 known photos of him, along with "snaps" of his family, friends and close environs. It is a beautiful edition, available in hardback and soft cover, that will add to your REH knowledge and appreciation. Plus, you'll get to see Ol' Two-Gun in his underwear!
From Dennis McHaney and Old Tiger Press is FORBIDDEN MAGIC & Other Poems & Miscellanea in Weird Tales. This gem will be first available at Howard Days 2023 and contains not only all the poems that REH had published in Weird Tales, but also the poems he used as chapter headings in some of his stories. Plus, we get to see all the the letters that Howard had published in The Eyrie, WT's letters page. Also included herein are the black and white illustrations that accompanied some of the poems. This will be officially released at Howard Days; it is available at lulu.com now.
2023 finds us with the theme of 100 Years of Weird Tales and will be about REH's involvement with his most prodigious publisher. What better way to learn about this than to pick up Dennis McHaney's ROBERT E. HOWARD AND WEIRD TALES, a beautiful 178 page book available from lulu,com. Filled with art and anecdotes, it is an illustrated history of everything Ol' Two-Gun Bob had in Weird Tales magazine: stories, poems, letters to the editor - this book has it all.
And Mr. McHaney's recently published "companion" volume, ROBERT E. HOWARD IN THE PULPS, is also available now. This volume has been nominated for the REH Foundation's Atlantean Award this year for Outstanding Achievement, Book. (Seeing as how it is the only book nominated in that category, congratulations to Dennis!) You can get this award-winner now at lulu.com. SIDE NOTE: Dennis has been involved with REH publishing for 50 years. From the early days of mimeographed fanzines, Dennis has continued on to be the world's most prolific publisher of Robert E. Howard's works! Check out his page at lulu.com.
Jason Waltz, kingpin at Rogue Blades Foundation, is presenting HITHER CAME CONAN, a collection of essays examining the 21 original Howard Conan stories. This title collects Bob Byrne's award-winning series "Hither Came Conan", hosted by John O'Neill at www.blackgate.com. Over 35 REH scholars have contributed to this fine examination of the Howard Conan writing, (17 of the stories that originally appeared in Weird Tales) plus the unpublished Conan tales and drafts. This book will be available in person at Howard Days, and a number of the authors collected therein will be at Howard Days to sign your copy! It is also available now at amazon.com.
THE ROBERT E. HOWARD ART CHRONOLOGY is coming from Chenault and Gray publishing, a 4 volume set compiled and written by Michael Tierney. It covers the visual aspects of Howard's published works in almost 1,500 pages or art and text. Mr. Tierney will be on hand at this year's Howard Days to show this magnum opus of REH art and he will display the books and take orders for these weighty tomes.
St. Patrick's Day was Bob Howard's favorite holiday! So, Happy O'Day to you - we hope you're enjoying your corned beef, cabbage and green beer as you plan for the April 28-29 version of Howard Days! Only six short weeks away!
Selecting the various tabs on this page will help you with those plans, as we've tried to include as much information as you would want. The schedule is 95% complete, Project Pride is getting Cross Plains ready and Howard Days is on our minds for a cooler springtime presentation!
That being said, there are a number of things to remind you about for the upcoming Best Two Days in Howard Fandom.
And don't forget he was Irish! Slainte!
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With only 8 weeks to go until Howard Days, things are starting to hop!
Above you see the flyer that Project Pride likes to send to previous attendees. If yours has not arrived, never fear! You may use this form here to register for the Banquet at Howard Days, and your $25.00 fee will also help with hot dogs, snacks and drinks.
Please remember you do not need to register to attend Howard Days. This fee is primarily for a seat at the Friday night Celebration Banquet. All of the other activities are FREE: Bus, Walking, Grounds and Museum tours, panels and access to the House, Gift Shop, yard and Pavilion are without cost. You won't find a finer deal in all of Texas come April 28-29!
If you do register, remember you can also do it by Pay Pal; include your name and address and send to Projpride@aol.com.
Howard Days will be here before you know it, so make your plans now to come to Cross Plains and enjoy a fine time of Howard Fellowship while we honor his Life and Legacy!
While the experience of visiting the Robert E. Howard Museum is best done in person, this little brochure will give you a good idea of what it's like.
Robert E. Howard Days happens April 28-29 at the Museum in Cross Plains, Texas. Come see for yourself!
With 10 weeks to go, we're starting to firm up the Howard Days schedule. We hope you're making plans to join us April 28-29 at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas, for The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!
Our hosts at Project Pride like to send out a flyer to all former attendees for registration for the Banquet and to help pay for the Hot Dog Lunch and the Sunset Bar-B-Que. But don't let that stop you from registering early for Howard Days!
For only $25.00 per person you will be able to partake of the three meals above (and enjoy donuts Friday morning!) You may either Pay Pal your money to Projpride@yahoo.com or mail a check to:
Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, Texas 76443 ATTN: Registration
FYI: the seating at the Banquet is limited to 150 and almost always sells out in advance, so be advised! And please remember, your money is only for a seat at the Banquet table and to pay for the other food and drinks in the cooler! Every other activity at Howard Days (all tours, panels, hanging at the Pavilion) - are FREE and everyone is welcome to partake in the Howard Fellowship!
We hope to be seeing you in April when we honor the Legacy of Robert E. Howard, plus enjoy a whole bunch of neat Weird Tales stuff!
Y'all come!
Judging by the chill in the air across most of America (and the Northern Hemisphere, for that matter!), it's time to be thinking about Howard Days in the warmer environs of Cross Plains, Texas.
Howard Days 2023 will happen on April 28 & 29, centered around the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains. Sponsored by Project Pride and The REH Foundation and with support from the members of REHupa, the annual event to honor the life and legacy of Bob Howard is underway with planning and scheduling.
While the "generic" schedule usually remains the same year to year, we're always adding additional bits of fun activity and happenings for attendees to enjoy. All the tours (House, Bus, Walking and Grounds) are in place, as is the Friday Celebration Banquet and Silent Auction; we'll have a new Postal Cancellation Stamp souvenir (and new postcards!), the Cross Plains Library will have original Howard typescripts and Weird Tales magazines on display, the REH Foundation Press will be set up near the Pavilion,' Friday's Hot Dog Lunch and Saturday's Bar-B-Que will be feeding us well, there will be dealers in the yard, poetry readings and surprise happenings - and all the Howard Fellowship under the Pavilion will be just as satisfying as ever.
Please look to the EVENTS header on this page for this schedule. We will be updating it with detailed information about our panels and with other info as it becomes available.
Howard Days 2023 is themed to "100 Years of Weird Tales". We couldn't let this Century Anniversary go by without acknowledging its importance to Robert E. Howard and his writing. Our panels will be slanted to this theme, as well as a special REH Poetry in Weird Tales book. Announcements for these will be upcoming.
The Weird Tales theme gives us additional reason to welcome our Guest of Honor, John Betancourt. As a former Editor of a later incarnation of Weird Tales, author and publisher John Betancourt will be a great guest to make Howard Days even more special.
It's never too early to plan your trip to Howard Days. We have helpful information here that (hopefully) gives you what you need to have a great trip and a memorable Howard Days.
Stay tuned here and on our Facebook page for updates and info. Hope to see you in Texas!
January 22nd is the day we celebrate the birth of a true American Original, Robert E. Howard!
2023 finds us marking the 117th year, so let's all honor his being by reading some of his words and raising a toast to his shade. Bob Howard was an important figure in American literature and people all over the world continue to read his words and honor his Legacy.
Happy Birthday, Ol' Two-Gun!
The truth of the matter is, without Project Pride of Cross Plains, there would be no Howard Days.
We are here today to celebrate one of the best community organizations in the U.S., regardless of size. They not only recognized that Robert E. Howard was a writer of importance, but they have been able to accommodate the world which travels to their town because of Robert E. Howard!
So, if you can't make it to Howard Days April 28-29, you can help support Project Pride by becoming a member. No doubt Bob Howard would be amazed at all this fuss over him!
Rusty Burke has some good words:
