About
Dobie Dichos started in 2011 at the suggestion of author William Sibley, and via the instigation of former George West Storyfest Exec. Director, Mary Margaret Campbell. The yearly event (always the first Friday in November) honors Live Oak County’s most famous son, J. Frank Dobie, and celebrates Dobie’s works and contributions to literature, folklore, and storytelling.
Invited Texas writers/authors and storytellers (some famous, some infamous!) read from, discuss, debate and/or tell stories from the works of J. Frank Dobie on the grounds of the Historic Oakville Jail, located in Oakville, TX on IH37 in Live Oak County (between Three Rivers and George West.)
LEWIS FISHER, STEVE DAVIS, DIANA LOPEZ, PAULETTE JILES (Author "News Of The World"), MIKE BLAKELY, MARY MARGARET CAMPBELL, JIAAN POWERS, ANDY WILKINSON, BILL SIBLEY
History
An event to honor Live Oak County’s most famous son, J. Frank Dobie, and his contributions to folklore, literature, and storytelling was suggested in 2010 by playwright, journalist, and novelist William Jack “Bill” Sibley. The event Bill suggested – people sitting around a campfire telling Dobie stories – would not fit at Storyfest because of the campfire aspect, but in the summer of 2011, then Storyfest executive director Mary Margaret Campbell found the perfect spot: the original Live Oak County jail grounds at Oakville.
It was determined by the Board of Directors that the Dobie event would be a pre-festival event, held on the Friday night before Storyfest Saturday and that a portion of the proceeds would be donated to the Dobie/West Performing Arts Theatre. Dobie Dichos:Campfires, Chili con Carne, and the Words of J. Frank Dobie has been presented by George West Storyfest Association, Inc. since 2011. Since 2011, George West Storyfest Association, Inc. has donated $8928 to the Dobie/West Performing Arts Theatre.
Reviews
What Participants Have Said about Dobie Dichos
“If you can attend only one literary festival a year, make it this one. Where else can you bring a chair, sit under the stars, feast on barbeque, and celebrate a literary giant? Only in George West, Texas. Only at DOBIE DICHOS. ”
“Being a part of Dobie Dichos was without question a high point in my literary career. There was something at once magical yet very real about gathering with so many good people under a starlit sky in a clearing in the Brush Country to celebrate one of the important voices of Texas literature.”
“It’s like going back in time. Just magic. Out there, seemingly in the middle of nowhere, listening to stories, it can slip your mind that the last century—or two—is actually over.”
“Attending the magical DOBIE DICHOS evening with some of my Austin students and a San Antonio poet friend was one of the literary highlights of my recent years in Texas. All readings were stunning and transporting, and will change the way you think about J. Frank Dobie and our state forever. I urge everyone who can make it to attend!”
“Dobie Dichos is a night of magic for any lover of Texas and our lore. Magical down home Dobie tales are told under the star laden heavens while embers from the fire pit crackle as the scattered oaks dance with the breeze. ”
“A quiet night, stars, a fire, chili, and the stories and folklore of J. Frank Dobie. Now that combination certainly makes for a totally Texas experience!”
“At Dobie Dichos we reclaim a timeless heritage as we gather round the campfire, swapping stories and summoning J. Frank Dobie’s spirit out of the smoke.”
