Lassoing a good time at the Briscoe Western Art Museum’s annual National Day of the Cowboy celebration is taking a pause this year due to COVID-19. Rather than have cowboys and cowgirls crowd the museum’s grounds to celebrate all things cowboy, the Briscoe invites everyone to “Bring Home the Briscoe” throughout the month of July. Part of the museum’s popular Lil Partners children’s programming, “Bring Home the Briscoe” features four weeks of Western Art activities and hands-on art, letting little cowboys and cowgirls immerse themselves in fun. The museum has also created a new program, “Briscoe Buddies,” to share the kits with nonprofit children’s organizations across San Antonio. (Briscoe Western Art Museum, 2020)

Cowboy Fun and More
One of the Briscoe’s most treasured annual events, National Day of the Cowboy, is celebrated on the fourth Saturday of July each year. It traditionally attracts Western fans for a day filled with fun, music and art throughout the museum’s home on the River Walk. With continued safety concerns surrounding social gatherings, the Briscoe decided to create something that celebrates not only cowboys, but all four pillars of Western Art:  wildlife, Native American heritage, Spanish and Mexican heritage and of course, cowboys.

Bring Home the Briscoe:  Summer Fun with a Western Twist
With the Bring Home the Briscoe kits, families can saddle up for arts and crafts, western storytelling and cowpoke games. Choose one theme or go for all four since each kit offers a different excursion through the West. The kits are recommended for children ages 5-10 years old. To purchase a kit, visit the Museum Store, order online or call the Museum Store (210.507.4852) to arrange for contact-less, “river side” pickup outside of the Briscoe. Each take home kit is $20 for members or $25 for nonmembers. Kits are available throughout the month of July.

Briscoe Buddies
The Briscoe traditionally hosts field trips and museum visits for children’s groups throughout the year. To give children the chance to experience the West outside of the museum, the new “Briscoe Buddies” program provides free activity kits to local children’s organizations. Distribution is scheduled throughout July with several community partners including Boys & Girls Club, Haven for Hope, St. PJ’s Children’s Home and Mission Road. To support the Briscoe Buddies effort and give these Lil Partners the chance to “Bring Home the Briscoe,” donations are being accepted and can be made in person at the Museum Store or online.

Briscoe Membership Takes You West All Year Long
If you are ready to dust off your saddle and travel West, there is no need to travel far. Buy a Briscoe membership to see the beauty and spirit of the West in the heart of downtown San Antonio. The Briscoe offers membership packages that include unlimited admission to the museum and through the month of July, every membership includes one free “Bring Home the Briscoe” activity kit. Memberships may be purchased online with contact-less curbside gift pickup from the Briscoe’s Museum Store.

Family membership includes museum admission for two adults and all children/grandchildren under 18, making it great for family fun all year long. Members receive unlimited admission to the Briscoe and free or discounted admission to its events, as well as invitations to private members-only events. Full membership benefits are detailed online. Memberships are instrumental support that help the Briscoe continue to share the art, history and culture of the American West and are tax deductible.

See the West Indoors and Out at the Briscoe
The McNutt Sculpture Garden and the museum grounds feature 30 sculptures portraying various aspects of Western life, giving everyone the opportunity to get out and enjoy the West. Inside the museum’s beautifully restored historic home inside the former San Antonio Public Library building, galleries, exhibitions, monthly talks, exclusive member events and a fantastic museum shop provide art, culture, history and entertainment year-round, but especially now thanks to the 2020 Night of Artists Exhibition and Art Sale.

Night of Artists draws artists, collectors and art enthusiasts from around the country each year to celebrate Western art. The museum’s largest annual exhibition features more than 300 new works of painting, sculpture and mixed media by 80 of the country’s leading contemporary Western artists on display through July 26.

Museum hours are 10a.m. to 5p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10a.m. to 3p.m. on Sunday. The museum is located on the River Walk, with convenient parking at the Riverbend Garage directly adjacent to the museum or one of many downtown surface lots. Now through August, parking is free at city-owned garages, pay-stations and meters all day Saturday and Sunday and 4p.m. to 2a.m. Monday through Friday. Museum hours and admission details are available online.

“Celebrating cowboys and all of the traditions and spirit of the West is something we do every day at the Briscoe. With our spacious galleries and outdoor sculpture garden, everyone can safely visit the museum. Adding to the museum experience, ‘Bring Home the Briscoe’ includes summer fun that families can explore at home, while our new ‘Briscoe Buddies’ program brings the Briscoe to children’s groups who can’t enjoy field trips to the museum right now.” – Michael Duchemin, Ph.D., President and CEO of the Briscoe Western Art Museum