It is now official. Gov. Greg Abbott signed the joint House/Senate resolution June 11 during the 88th Texas Legislature - Designating Granbury, TX the official Celebration Capital of Texas; recognizing the wide array of special events, celebrations, both time-honored and new, that add greatly to the city’s distinctive charm and sense of community both residents and visitors have come to enjoy.
According to Tammy Dooley, “the ‘Celebration Capital of Texas’ Designation is not only an honor for the city but an invaluable marketing tool to promote and tell our story. Celebrations are our brand. Visitors come to Granbury to Celebrate everything! Festivals, history, patriotism, arts and culture, music, culinary, nature and recreation, lake activities and even monarch butterflies. But that is not all, girlfriend weekends, family reunions, weddings, conventions, car shows and more. We have become known as a place to head to for a celebration.”
She added “Congratulations Granbury! And a huge Thank You to Representative Shelby Slawson who authored the bill and Brian Birdwell for sponsoring the bill. Slawson filed House Concurrent Resolution (HCR 104) and championed the bill during their session. Welcome to the Celebration Capital of Texas, let the Celebrations begin!”
In March the Granbury City Council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution to request the Texas House of Representatives designate Granbury as the “Celebration Capital of Texas.” The action to adopt a resolution was taken at the request of Tammy Dooley, Visit Granbury Director after the tourism team worked with local stakeholders to identify Granbury’s story and heartbeat. By a unanimous recommendation the team determined “celebrations” summed up who Granbury is today. “I have so much gratitude for the support the city tourism team receives in Granbury, especially from our City Council, Mayor, Jim Jarratt, and City Manager Chris Coffman. They are amazing motivation for our efforts.”
For the Legislature to assign a “Place Designation” it must reflect a locations historical or cultural significance. No two cities may have the same designation. Approximately 90 Texas cities have a “capital” moniker, and a designation will remain in effect ten years.
Tourism is Granbury’s number one industry. Travel Texas reports 58.1M was attributed to Total Direct Travel Spending in Granbury in 2022, (purchases by travelers during their trip, including lodging taxes, and other applicable local and state taxes, paid by the traveler at the point of sale) along with 4.6M Direct Tax Receipts (taxes collected by state Counties and Municipalities as levied on applicable travel-related purchases, including lodging, food and beverage service, retail goods and motor fuel.) Last year, for the first time ever, Granbury exceeded the $1M HOT mark.
Soon Visit Granbury will be rolling out new marketing campaigns and materials specifically announcing and promoting the designation. Granbury host over 40 events annually with well over 75,000+ attendees. Some of Granbury’s showcase events include 4th of July Celebrations, Wine Walk, Harvest Moon Festival, Lone Star Street Rod Association, Hood County Stampede Rodeo, Spartan & Tough Mudder, Spooky Spectacle, LakeFest, Founder’s Day, Bulls on the Beach, Jazz Fest, Goosebump Jump and many others “Our visitors know there is always something fun going on Granbury.” Dooley said.
For event calendar and to read the entire H.C.R. 104 go to visitgranbury.com “Celebration Capital of Texas” visitgranbury.com