Above and Beyond the need for event enhancers to give to our volunteers, guests, and other participants, we are needing to make improvements to our venue.
Structures
One of the most time consuming items is the venue set-up. Currently, for each event, we have to haul everything from a storage unit to the event venue. This makes having a storage shed in the venue area a necessity. The one we have found would act as a dual purpose addition.
The storage on one side would eliminate the need for items to be brought up the event area of the property, meaning Robin, plus helpers (not Matt), can move items to where they belong the day before the event. The carport on the side would make a nice place for people to gather for our Community Chats during the event.n elect
What we have already done and will do with this donation:
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Create a Solid, Level Foundation for the Structure
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Build the Structure
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Secure the Structure to the Ground
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Run Electricity to the Structure
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Alternatively Place Portable Solar Panels for Sunny Days
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Provide Seating
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Provide Security Lighting and Cameras to Protect the Asset
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Provide Swap Cooler, or Fans, for Comfort of Guests
While all of our links lead back to Amazon, should you find one of equal quality and ease of construction, please feel free to donate that item. Color is not an important feature. Our preference is brown or other dark color, so that it blends into the nature feel of the event venue.
The second most time consuming task that happens before the event is the setting up of canopies. Many of our canopies are durable, but not immune to the effects of South Texas sun. They also take more than one person to put up, especially the 10 x 20's!
We currently set-up:
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10 x 10 canopies (6-10 - depending on the needs of the event and our mobility challenged exhibitors)
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Guilds Related:
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Volunteer Pavilion - somewhere our volunteers can take a break, rehydrate, have a small snack, or eat their food
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Seed Give Away
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ARG - Amateur Radio Guild
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2 Technicians Guild Canopies
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First Aid Station
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10 x 20 canopies (5) that cover:
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Merchants Guild - items for sale to support our non-profit
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Resources Guild - Information about the Guilds and any giveaways for that event
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Presenter Canopies (2)
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Food Court Canopy
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Once again, we will cover the foundation, construction, security monitoring, solar accessories, seating, and solar panels as these are not used on a daily basis.
Robin is currently hunting down lockable, weather resilient storage sheds, that we will provide, so items specific to the pavilion is stored there, or relatively close by that is not in the way of the guests' experince.
We have chosen the Tooluck brand based on durability, ratings, ease of construction, and aesthetics. We would like to keep these to the same brand and color for unity, along with ease of recognizing they belong to the Guilds of Requiem. We are upgrading the 10x10 pop-up canopy to their 10x12, as we find many of our 10x10's to be crowded.
It was a challenge to find 10x20 hardtop gazebos, so we also went with their 12x20 gazebo.
Here is a link to our full wish list as it pertains to the Gazebos and other "permanent" structures.
While all of our links lead back to Amazon, should you find the Tooluck Brand Gazebo elsewhere at a better price (including shipping), please let us know so that we can update the links above.
Learning Centers
One of the core mission statements for Guilds of Requiem is Education. To that end, while not only beautifying the event venue, we intend to make each of the raised beds in specific areas an educational moment for Native Texas Plants, Pollinators, Texas Hardy Perennials, Food Forests, and "Nature's Bounty" for wildlife.
Texas Natives
Texas native plants are foundational to local biodiversity, having co-evolved alongside indigenous wildlife, insects, and pollinators to create resilient and balanced food webs. Their deep, extensive root systems also serve as vital natural anchors for erosion control, stabilizing topsoil against heavy downpours and preventing runoff.
Transitioning to a native landscape offers profound practical and educational advantages, including exceptional tolerance to extreme weather, minimal chemical and maintenance requirements, and a living classroom for sustainable land stewardship.
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Cactus Corral
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Back in 2018, the search for a permanent marketplace felt like a logistical marathon. Dragging canopies, tables, chairs, and van-loads of merchandise from storage to event grounds proved to be an exhausting cycle that demanded a better solution. Finding the ideal shaded plot seemed like the answer, save for one prickly detail: a sprawling fortress of cacti dominating the center and surrounding the entire area, immediately inspiring the legendary name "Cactus Corral."
After several days of cautious clearing, a strategic compromise was struck. The crew tamed the wilderness while preserving as much of the natural growth as possible, including a stubborn central hub of cactus that was fenced off to honor its rightful place—establishing a true, namesake corral in the heart of the venue.
This learning center will focus on native cactus and Xerophyte. The pavilion here will be dedicated location for The Native Plants of Texas in March and the Cactus and Xerophyte Society in September.
Pollinators
Pollinators are the vital link that keeps our local ecosystems and food chains thriving. By transferring pollen between plants, species like native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds enable the reproduction of wildflowers, trees, and agricultural crops, which in turn supply food and habitat for a vast array of wildlife.
To support these hardworking creatures, incorporating native perennial plants into your landscape makes a powerful impact. Three exceptional native perennial options include:
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Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea): A tough Texas native featuring spikes of vibrant blue-violet flowers that provide an abundant, long-lasting nectar source for bees and butterflies through the hottest months.
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Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea): A resilient favorite with striking petals that attracts numerous pollinators during its bloom cycle and leaves behind seed heads that feed local birds in the fall.
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Gregg's Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii): Famous for its fuzzy, powder-blue flower clusters, this perennial is an absolute magnet for migrating Monarch butterflies and a wide variety of beneficial native insects.
Texas Friendly Perennials
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When time is our most precious commodity and life is too busy to wait on growing plants from seed, Texas-friendly perennials offer the ultimate shortcut to a resilient, low-maintenance landscape. To provide essential shelter for smaller animals, the dense growth habit of Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) creates wonderful nesting protection and cover for birds and lizards while feeding hummingbirds. For natural erosion control around gardens, Gulf Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) forms robust, deep-rooted clumps that securely anchor soil along borders and slopes against heavy downpours
Incorporating food-related perennials into the grounds brings both utility and sustenance, featuring the versatile Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia species) with its edible pads and fruits, the tough Texas Persimmon (Diospyros texana) yielding sweet treats for humans and wildlife alike, and the shade-tolerant Chile Pequin (Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum) producing fiery culinary peppers. Finally, to round out the functional plantings, five exceptional perennial herbs thrive brilliantly in the rugged Texas Hill Country: aromatic Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens), heat-loving Rosemary, robust Greek or Mexican Oregano, low-profile creeping Thyme, and sun-loving Lavender.
Food Forest
A food forest is a diverse, multi-layered perennial agricultural system modeled after natural woodland ecosystems. Instead of traditional single-crop rows, it integrates fruit and nut trees, berry shrubs, edible vines, and perennial vegetables across different vertical tiers—from high canopy layers down to root crops and ground covers—maximizing space, sunlight, and soil vitality.
For humans, food forests provide a continuous, highly sustainable harvest of nutritious food, medicinal herbs, and useful materials with a fraction of the labor and chemical inputs required by conventional gardens. For wildlife, these layered sanctuaries offer critical year-round shelter, diverse nesting sites, and abundant natural food sources for birds, beneficial insects, and local mammals, creating a thriving, self-sustaining habitat that benefits the entire ecosystem.
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To visualize how a mini food forest can come to life in a compact space, a 10-foot diameter circular area—roughly 78 square feet—can pack an impressive punch by mimicking nature's vertical layers. Even in a small footprint, you can squeeze in a surprising amount of abundance and wildlife habitat.
The center acts as the anchor and understory layer, featuring a compact or dwarf fruit-bearing shrub or small tree, such as a Texas Persimmon, to provide height and structure. Radiating out into the mid-zone are 2 to 3 productive or pollinator-friendly shrubs, like a Turk's Cap for hummingbird shelter or a Chile Pequin pepper for a spicy harvest. Finally, the outer ring serves as the herb and ground cover layer, featuring a living carpet of tough, low-profile perennial herbs and flowers like Greek Oregano, creeping Thyme, or Mealy Blue Sage to suppress weeds, retain moisture, and feed beneficial insects right down to the border.
Future Devlopment
Looking further ahead, the long-term vision for the venue includes replacing the temporary port-a-potty setup with permanent, functional restrooms. However, this development will require strategic timing and patience, as it must wait until the installation of a large water storage tank and the securing of dedicated funds for a robust septic system capable of supporting both the new event restrooms and Requiem's Kitchen down the road.
Looking beyond the restrooms, the horizon includes Requiem's Kitchen—an outdoor, screened-in kitchen and dining area designed with food safety and community gatherings in mind. During the warmer summer months, the kitchen will feature cool screen windows to let the breeze through, while the off-season or times of disuse will see it securely buttoned up with frames of corrugated clear greenhouse panels complete with heavy-duty locks to protect the space.
The final chapter of development concludes with a network of intuitive walking paths that weave the property together, including a tranquil pathway winding through a custom sanctuary where classic Victorian garden elegance meets peaceful Zen minimalism.
Beyond the landscaping, this final phase also includes expanding the event venue an additional 75 feet along the state-side fencing to maximize the venue's footprint, along with the addition of three 12x20 hardtop gazebos to accommodate growing community activities and event coordination.
Requiem's Kitchen
You may have come across Requiem's Kitchen 2.0 on Facebook or Instagram. This is an item that is close and dear to Robin's heart: honoring her ancestors that taught her how to cook, bake, and do the science behind her own recipes. She want to have the ability to share cooking skills, food preservation, and the community of generations teaching and learning from each other.
Meticulously, Robin wrote the description of her vision into Gemini. Low and Behold on the first try! Gemini was able to capture her vision darn near perfect. The beauty of this culmination of projects is every step of the way are community learning opportunities.
We will bring in the pros to teach us how it's done, so, yes, there will be a cost to this portion for people to participate in order to pay the professionals and their crew for taking the time away from other projects. We will need to fundraise to pay for the materials. Planning how long each step will take and schedule accordingly.
What people will learn:
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Construction of the pavilion from plans
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From the foundation to the vaulted ceiling above
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Building a cob oven and an old world fireplace that is meant to have real food cooked in it.
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Masonry and wood working
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Wood working
A common thing we hear from professionals, in any field: Why should I teach others my skills when they don't even work for me?
Simple: "Those that can, do. Those that can't, buy. They still need the knowledge to know the difference".
The Little Things
From purely the parent's perspective, we have discovered that many outdoor markets fail to take into consideration of where to change a baby's diaper, somewhere comfortable to sit and feed the baby, or the blessed quiet of a low-stim area. The Parent's Den is our answer to that. We are going to convert a 12' x 20' solarium into sigh of relief for parents. It will be set slightly farther back to be off the beaten path, it will have power run to it so that a portable air cooler can be used. The furniture will be practical and comfortable along with a changing station.
First Aid Station
Over the past several years, we have been blessed with very few emergencies that require a phone call to our local heroes with a badge. A few scrapes, a wasp sting, random bloody nose. However, when South Texas cranks up that heat, we do experience several vendors that are not heat tolerant. It is a blessing that our late Guardian's Guild Master started a First Aid Station that can handle the little things and be a central point of contact when EMS arrives.
Our second blessing, at any given time during an event, we have 2-4 Certified First Aid/CPR attendee. We have had one head injury from a collapsing canopy in 50 mph gusts of wind and one baby that tried to arrive a wee bit too early. To this end, we would like to have a permanent lockable structure that can house general First Aid supplies, a cot, and an AED Unit along with being readily accessible from the highway side of the event venue. Home Depot has the style we are looking for: transom windows and a door we can move fit the space it will be located in.
There you have it!
Outside of beautification projects, ADA compliant walk paths and further expansion that includes a Meditation/Victorian Garden, this is the "Grand Plan" for the Event Venue Area for Guilds of Requiem. Many of the pavilions and buildings will open additional event opportunities, topic specific educational opportunities, and to bring back free GED style classes to Bandera County - a badly needed service in our county.