Own Your Own Universe (OYOU) is a 501 C3 non-profit organization based out of San Marcos and Martindale, Texas.  It is our mission to make the arts accessible to everyone, and particularly to empower and transform lives by connecting the mind, body, and spirit through music and the creative arts. We do this by offering low-cost and or free events, workshops, OYOUth activities, and women’s retreats. We also provide programs for those with special needs. 

Please make check payable to "Own Your Own Universe" 

Own Your Own Universe

C/O Terri Hendrix 

9191 FM 1979 

Martindale, Texas 

78655

This year's raffle item is a mid-sized coffee table made out of a repurposed 200 year old oak tree! It's handcrafted by local artist Chester Francis. 

Repurposed non-playable guitars! These make awesome decorative shelves! They come with a guitar hanger to mount to your wall! Handcrafted by Chester Francis. 

Terri Hendrix and friends announce 2024 OYOU Fest, a two-day event benefitting the non-profit organization OYOU (Own Your Own Universe)

Tickets on sale now for Saturday, Sept. 28 “Matinee in Martindale” fundraiser, entertainment by Stringtown Texas, Hendrix, Lloyd Maines, and special guest Michael Hearne; OYOU Fest then continues on Sunday, Sept. 29, with a free "The Spirit of Martindale" all-local outdoors festival in downtown Martindale with music by Mark Jungers, Joel Hofmann, David Beck, and O'Malarkey. 

Martindale, TX — Texas singer-songwriter Terri Hendrix spent the better part of a decade working tirelessly to build an arts center, officially launching the OYOU (Own Your Own Universe) as an official non-profit organization in 2012. Today, countless all-inclusive community concerts, workshops, arts classes, and other special events later, that dream is now bigger and stronger than ever. And to celebrate the occasion of organization’s 12th anniversary, Hendrix and Team OYOU invite YOU to a party: The 2024 OYOU Fest on Sept. 28 and 29!

For the third year in a row, this year’s OYOU Fest kicks off with a ticketed concert in downtown Martindale, Texas — only this year’s fundraising event, scheduled for Sept. 28, will be an indoor Saturday matinee at 413 Main Street, perfect for families! Tickets are just $30, with free admission for children under 12. Doors open at 2:30 pm, with the fun beginning with a lively happy hour featuring music by Stringtown Texas, a cash bar, an “Oh-Queso, It’s a Fundraiser” nacho bar buffet, a top-notch silent auction, and a raffle. Terri Hendrix and her fellow award-winning musician friends Michael Hearne (founder of the legendary Big Barn Dance music festival!) and Lloyd Maines will continue the entertainment with an "in-the-round" song swap, with music running to 7:00 p.m. — finishing just in time to enjoy the Martindale sunset, and catch plenty of sleep to get ready for Day Two!

On Sunday, Sept. 29, the OYOU Fest continues from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with even more family-friendly fun. There will be a free (donations to the OYOU are encouraged) outdoor music festival on Main Street in downtown Martindale, featuring "The Spirit of Martindale" — an all-local line up with music by songwriters Mark Jungers, Joel Hofmann, David Beck, and the Irish infused toe-tapping band, O'Malarkey. 

Every dollar raised at OYOU Fest — via tickets for Saturday's concert and from voluntary donations collected in person or online throughout the weekend — directly funds the OYOU's mission of making the arts accessible to everyone and empowering and transforming lives by connecting the mind, body, and spirit through music and the creative arts. 

Since obtaining its non-profit status, the OYOU has hosted numerous programs and special events online and in person — both at the OYOU headquarters on Wilory Farm in Martindale, and throughout the greater Central Texas area. The OYOU’s calendar is booked year-round with arts and crafts classes, workshops on music and writing instruction, free community concerts, the OYOUth Club (a music and song camp for children), song circles, picking circles, two low-cost women’s retreats, programs for schools, and specialized workshops for individuals with disabilities. Hendrix also leads additional OYOU outreach programs that aren’t even publicized, including one-on-one “Heart Song” projects (working with youth and or adults with special needs), monthly concerts by the “Brookdaliens House Band” at the Brookdale South Residential Home in San Marcos, and a variety of low-cost or free Zooms and workshops addressing everything from music and writing, to mental health needs, to support groups for people with epilepsy and/or dysphonia and tremors. People like Hendrix herself, who has spent most of her adult life managing her music career while living with epilepsy, Chiari Malformation, spasmodic dysphonia, and essential vocal tremor.

All OYOU events and workshops provide a welcoming, non-judgmental environment that celebrates diversity and inclusivity. The OYOUth programs fill a void in arts-based education, which is increasingly absent in underfunded public schools, while other programs provide lifelong learning opportunities for adults and senior citizens. The high demand for the OYOU’s workshops and classes has led to consistent full capacity. While most programs require tickets, the OYOU offers scholarships to ensure that individuals who cannot afford tuition can still attend and learn. Scholarships are available based on financial need and for teachers, veterans, special-needs students, and for those living with chronic medical conditions.

The OYOU’s mission not only benefits its participants but also supports local artists and professional musicians. These individuals are hired to lead workshops and are paid for their work or performances — even those that are free to the public. In an era in which technology and changing consumer habits have disrupted the performing and visual arts industry, this provides artists with additional income and a meaningful way to inspire and teach through sharing their talents and experiences with appreciative audiences. Several of the OYOU’s teachers have faced personal challenges, such as strokes, cancer, depression, or other life-altering conditions. Through mentoring students with similar conditions, they also find a renewed sense of purpose.

Hendrix can certainly testify to that sense of purpose herself. It’s her belief, grounded in the fact that she’s still here today, not just writing and singing — despite her own medical conditons — but thriving, that music and art have been as vital to her mind, body, and spirit’s resilience as any medication she’s ever been prescribed. Which, of course, is how she first came up with the whole idea for the OYOU in the first place.

“What ‘Own Your Own Universe’ means to me,” she says, “is that I have the power within me to live the best life I can, regardless of my circumstances — and in doing so, inspire others to do the same. The beauty of the OYOU is that anyone can take the tools we provide by way of our events and programs and apply them to their own lives. This reaffirms the power of the creative arts to impact the human condition and soul. Our programs are accessible to everyone. Because everyone should be able to embrace and enjoy the arts!”

For Hendrix, the OYOU is more than just a dream come true: It is a mission that continues to grow and inspire. And it’s her hope that it will have a lasting impact long after her time on earth is done.