APRIL RENDEZVOUS,

If you hurry, you may be in time for Corsicana’s Derrick Days celebration, which begins April 7. This is the eighth year that the city has harked back to its turn-of-the-century days as an oil boom town. Local historians claim that Corsicana had the first oil refinery west of the Mississippi River and that it shipped its first barrel of refined oil out of town in February 1899. If reminiscing isn’t your style, there are other events to keep you occupied, including a canoe race, a chili cookoff, an armadillo race, roughneck rodeo events and a barn dance. Derrick Days typically draws a good crowd from all over Northeast Texas, according to Donita Nesbit of the Corsicana Daily Sun. The locals begin celebrating about a week early, with high school musical reviews and period costumes.