The Lampasas County Chamber of Commerce will host the 15th annual Herb & Art Fest on downtown Courtyard Square Saturday starting at 9 a.m.

The all-day event features informative speakers, vendors selling a wide selection of herb- and art-related goodies and food, children's activities, music, seminars and more.

A Kids Thyme area will include moonwalks and face painting. As a special treat, members of the Lampasas Badgers varsity football team will be on hand to sign personal items. Bring footballs for signatures.

Pumpkins and cookies will be available for children to decorate, and the Kiddie Express train will offer rides around the square.

Children will be invited to the courthouse bandstand to dig in a haystack for prizes and treats.

Keystone Square Museum on Western Street will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and this year, museum members will host the Little Wrangler Round-up for youths ages 4 to 8.

Photos on Ole Splinter will be taken at 9 a.m., and at 10 a.m. the group will head to the Lampasas Public Library at the corner of First and Western streets for biscuits and juice, live music, cowboy stories and lasso tricks. The event is free.

Buddy Ferguson, Harold Harton and others will entertain with traditional cowboy songs. Kerry Raish will cook biscuits over an open fire, and Malcolm Dickinson will appear as Bill Pickett, the African-American cowboy who invented the bulldogging technique.

Herb & Art Fest featured speakers will begin presentations, and entertainment will kick off at 9 a.m. with "Lawn Grasses for Central Texas: Their Care and Maintenance," given by Lampasas County Extension Agent Jason Byrd.

At 9:30 a.m., Allison Hendrix will sing a selection of pop and country hits, followed by a performance from Hims of Praise from First Street Church of Christ at 10 a.m.

Dee and John Wisdom will present "From Our Farm to Yours" at 11 a.m., with homegrown jellies and jams and other products from their farm. Mrs. Wisdom will demonstrate products while sharing the benefits of home gardening.

At noon, a potting professional will explain how to have unique designs with potted baskets of plants and flowers.

Bill Luedecke, a master gardener, will speak at 1 p.m. on organic gardening in the Texas Hill Country. He will discuss the ins and outs of fall planting.

Pepper Creek Farms will discuss a campaign that promotes Texas agricultural products in- cluding food, fiber, wine and horticulture at a 2 p.m. presentation.

And at 3 p.m., 3R Recycling, a division of Temple Iron and Metal, will discuss "Recycle Today for a Greener Tomorrow" and share the benefits of recycling everyday materials.

New to this year's lineup is Family Art in the Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hanna Springs Sculpture Garden at Campbell Park.

Dedication of three sculptures will take place. "Pegasus," by Carolann Haggard of Dallas, will become a permanent part of the park's collection after a group of residents purchased the art piece and donated it to Lampasas Association for the Arts.

Dedication also is set for "Rustle" by Jim Huntington of Coupland, formerly of New York. The artist donated the piece for the park's permanent collection.

David Hickman's "Meadow Dancers" will be dedicated as well. The first permanent piece in the garden, it was purchased by local citizens and donated to LAFTA.

Other sculpture park events will include a walking tour, scavenger hunt, people's choice, art projects, sidewalk chalk art contest, hair painting, sand art, mask contest, music, dance and poetry.

Events are being held to celebrate October as National Arts & Humanities Month.

For information on Herb & Art Fest events, contact the chamber at 556-5172, send an e-mail to lampasaschamber@sbcglobal.net or visit www.lampasaschamber .org.