Wallonia, Belgium, is more than 5,000 miles away from Austin, Texas. But the distance doesn’t matter to Texas Rangers Wallonie Belgium, because the Texas-obsessed group is bringing the Lone Star spirit over to their own country
Texas Rangers Wallonie Belgium is a group of people who cosplay as Texas Rangers and celebrate Western American culture.
Krys Copeland, a Texas native who has been living in the Netherlands for the last six years for healthcare purposes, said she and her partner stumbled across the group at a country western festival they found while camping in the Ardennes.
“I’m like, ‘Why do they have this here of all places?'” Copeland said. “But I definitely need to check it out and see what this is all about. And I thought it was just going to be like, you know, a couple of little tents, maybe some live music, but it was like a huge fairground area just outside a little village there in Belgium.”
“And when you walk up, you see the Texas flag immediately. And I’m like, wait, whoa, what is this about?” she continued.
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The Texas Rangers Wallonia Belgium tent at the Country & Western Fest in the Belgian Ardennes in July, 2026. (Photo courtesy: Krys Copeland) -
The Texas Rangers Wallonia Belgium tent at the Country & Western Fest in the Belgian Ardennes in July, 2026. (Photo courtesy: Krys Copeland) -
American and Texas flags at the Country & Western Fest in the Belgian Ardennes in July, 2026. (Photo courtesy: Krys Copeland) -
Country & Western Fest flyer in the Belgian Ardennes in July, 2026. (Photo courtesy: Krys Copeland) -
A truck expo and show at the Country & Western Fest in the Belgian Ardennes in July, 2026. (Photo courtesy: Krys Copeland) -
A truck expo and car show at the Country & Western Fest in the Belgian Ardennes in July, 2026. (Photo courtesy: Krys Copeland)
Copeland said she and her partner approached, and the only person in the group who spoke English told them about his group, Texas Rangers Wallonie Belgium.
“I saw these guys dressed up in like Western clothes, like the white shirt with the brown vest over the top, and they’re wearing these little stars and they have the Texas flag over their tent,” Copeland said. “He knew the differences between the badges like who could wear which badge and he said he outranked the other guy that was cosplaying with him.”
Copeland said she asked the man how he got involved in cosplaying as a Texas Ranger, and he told her it was because he loved the Lonesome Dove movies as a kid, and that he was fascinated with American Western history in general.
Copeland said meeting the group reinvigorated her love for Texas and eased her homesickness.
“I remember, you know, as a kid, in Texas, I always wanted to go to Europe and all these other cool places,” Copeland said. “I never thought that anyone from Europe would ever want to, you know, celebrate Texas in this kind of way. So yeah, it was really just cool to see and it made me feel a little bit less homesick that day. So that was really nice too.”
She said the group loves the Friendship motto of Texas and the values of freedom and individualism in the Lone Star state.
“I really felt like they captured the Texas spirit in a way that I see a lot of Texans don’t these days. So that was really impressive,” Copeland said.
Copeland has kept in touch with the group since meeting them, and she’s become somewhat of a Texas liaison for them.
She’s now on a very niche mission on behalf of the Texas loving group.
Copeland posted in the ActuallyTexas subreddit Thursday morning asking if anyone could help connect Texas Rangers Wallonie Belgium with a “real Texas flag made by a real Texan from real Texas cotton.”
She is accepting DMs on Reddit from anyone who could help the group find what they’re looking for.
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