Gish Picks: Week of January 20, 2010


Welcome to this week's "Gish Picks", where I highlight family-oriented cultural events, products or services. Please note that I "highlight" events, but I don't know if they are appropriate for your particular children, so choose wisely based on age, maturity and interests. I know many of you go to events based on GISH PICKS recommendations; PLEASE remember to tell the organization that you are there because of us. Word-of-mouth like yours helps our business to grow. In the same spirit, please also feel free to share GISH PICKS with friends and families. Do you have something you would like to promote on Gish Picks? Advertisers can promote family-friendly events, products or services to Houstonians all over the city and the surrounding area who are active parents, involved citizens and great shoppers. We love doing this community service and want to keep it free for our readers but in order to justify the hours spent researching, writing and designing this newsletter, we need advertising support. If you'd like to learn more, please click below. SUMMER'S ALMOST HERE. We're busy putting together THE SUMMER BOOK: A GUIDE TO HOUSTON DAY CAMPS AND CLASSES FOR KIDS AND TEENS, so if you are the director of a summer camp program, please check our website for details. The book will be available in bookstores March 1. Stay tuned for details! TWEETIN' FOR CULTURE! Hey tweet peeps! Follow me on Twitter and you'll get lots of PICKS of fun times in Houston – news you can use. I look forward to being stalked by you! Now, GO FIND FUN!

IT’S ONE, TWO, THREE STRIKES…AT THE HERITAGE SOCIETY.

We all root for the Astros now but have you ever wondered how baseball started in Houston? Find all about its history this Sunday, January 24 from 1-4pm at The Heritage Society during their free “Take Me Out to the Ballgame Heritage Family Day.” Families can explore their new exhibit, “Rain or Shine: How Houston Developed Space City Baseball” and check out cool memorabilia from Houston’s professional baseball teams: the Buffs, the Colt .45’s and the Astros. Kids can compete in an exhibit scavenger hunt and qualify to participate in a drawing for special door prizes. Houston Astros mascot Junction Jack will be there and they will get to create baseball crafts and try their hand at fun baseball activities that test math skills. While there, guests may also tour two of our historic structures.

The Heritage Society, a museum complex at Sam Houston Park, collects, preserves, exhibits, and celebrates the diverse history of the Houston region. Nestled in ten acres of beautiful green parkland in the heart of downtown Houston, Texas, The Heritage Society operates nine historic structures that date from 1823 to 1905. The Heritage Society exists not just to educate visitors about Houston’s interesting history but also to celebrate the diversity of the people who came together to build this world-class city.

"Wonderland" presented by the Alley Theatre

ALICE IN “WONDERLAND” AS A POP MUSICAL

I’ve been looking forward to the world premiere of “Wonderland,” a new musical that updates Alice's adventures through an amazing pop score by composer Frank Wildhorn (“Jekyll and Hyde”). The Alley Theatre presents the show, which just opened last weekend and will be on stage through February 14. In this take on the story, Alice is a children's book writer in Manhattan who is suffering through a creative block, estranged from her husband and alienated from her daughter. It takes a trip to a strange-yet-familiar Wonderland for her to regain her life's balance and to find the love and everyday magic that reside in us all.

The show is recommended for general audiences but it’s 2 hours, 30 minutes long so keep that in mind. Showtimes are Tuesdays-Thursdays and Sundays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets are $40-$60 and there are “Cheap Thrills” $21 tickets on Thursday and Sunday evenings.

MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE WITH THE ST. ANNE CHOIR.

This Friday, January 22, the Choir and Handbell Choir of St. Anne Catholic Church will present a free concert in the church at 7pm. The presentation is a musical journey to lift the spirit and speak to the heart through hymns, songs, and sacred anthems and there will be a punch and cookie reception in St. Basil Hall immediately afterward. While admission is free, all donations will help defray the cost of the choir pilgrimage to Israel in September 2010.

St. Anne Catholic Church is located at 2140 Westheimer Drive at Shepherd Drive.

THIS WEEK'S ATTRACTION...WILLIAMS TOWER AND ART GALLERY. For more attractions, go to www.gishcreative.com/attractions.htm.

You’ve probably seen the Williams Tower, a structure that looms over the Galleria – it was built in the early 1980s by well-known architectural team Philip Johnson and John Burgee of New York in association with Morris/Aubry of Houston. Unfortunately, their all-seeing observation deck has been closed to the public since 9/11. However, the tower also has an art gallery on level 1 which is open for public viewing Monday through Friday from 8am-6pm. I recommend the show that’s on view there right now – the Assistance League of Houston’s juried exhibition, “Celebrate Texas Art 2010.” The show was open to all artists that reside in Texas and is sponsored by the Support for the Arts program of the Assistance League. Kids will love their elongated tricycle and flying whirligig! For family fun on the weekends, you can visit the nearby grounds – the duck park and the Water Wall which has an excellent green space to run and plentiful benches to hang out on. This is a great place to take time out from our busy Houston lives to enjoy the visual majesty and sound of the water.

You can park in the visitor’s section of the Williams Tower parking garage for free after 6pm and $2/hour before.

IT'S JAM-PACKED FULL OF FUN AT KIDS J.A.M.!

Check out KIDS J.A.M. for excitement for your kids - it's a locally-owned fun center where education and excitement COLLIDE! KIDS J.A.M. has inflatables, a karaoke room, gaming stations, classrooms and tons of fun. Drop in for open play after school, host a birthday party, or sign your kids up for some of their cool and creative classes. And on Saturdays, they have a "Kids' Night Out" to give parents a bigger break.

KIDS J.A.M. features:

Classes for kids 2 years old and up that include Hippity Hip Hop, Big Messy Art Class, Toddler Sports/Gym, Superheroes and Captain Hook Pirate play, and Music 'n Play and J.A.M. (combines jumping, art, and music). Classes are ongoing and sold in 6- or 12-week segments and each child gets free open gym with class enrollment.

Birthday parties include a full service package with plenty of playtime. Optional add-ons such as arts and crafts and a magician or face painter are available for a small additional fee. KIDS J.A.M. can accommodate up to 50 kids.

Open Play is free time in the inflatables/gaming/karaoke areas or the art rooms Mondays-Fridays - mornings by appointment and afternoons 3:30-6:30pm. The cost is $10/hour and art play includes supplies.

Kids' Night Out is every Saturday from 6:30-10pm and is $20 for your first child and $15 for siblings. Reservations are required.

Academic classes, homework study sessions and private tutoring are provided on an ongoing basis weekdays from 3:30-6:30pm. Subjects include math, writing, reading and time management/organization and are available for grades K-5 (depending on subject).

So what are you waiting for? Come join all the excitement at KIDS J.A.M.!

"BEYOND YOUR OWN CITYSCAPE: ILLUMINATE YOUR DREAMS"

Society for the Performing Arts (SPA), bringing the world’s best to Houston, is pleased to present the 12th Annual Wells Fargo Student Visual Art Contest. The Visual Art Contest offers ALL kindergarten through 12th grade students in the greater Houston area a chance to showcase their talents and win prizes, while learning more about the performing arts.

Titled “Beyond your own Cityscape: Illuminate your Dreams,” this year’s Visual Art Contest is being held in conjunction with Gexa Energy Broadway Across America-Houston’s presentation of Cirque Dreams Illumination. Created and directed by Neil Goldberg, Cirque Dreams Illumination is a story of passion and fortitude and has been hailed by the New York Daily News as “Dazzling!... a reason to stand up and cheer.” Audience members of all ages will marvel and experience a journey of city dwellers who reinvent everyday objects, balance beyond belief, delicately dangle from wires, leap tall buildings and redefine the risks of flight in an array of astounding occurrences that transform the ordinary into extraordinary. Urban acrobatics, musical mayhem, dynamic dancing and bright illusions are ignited by special effects and an original musical score of jazz, ballroom, pop and beats from the street. The show runs from February 23 – March 7, at The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

All submitted artwork will be judged on creativity, skill and interpretation of the theme “Beyond your own Cityscape: Illuminate your Dreams.” Visual art on paper, including photography, is permitted with a maximum size of 16 in. x 20 in. Entries may be matted or unmatted. SPA requires one entry per student and one artist per entry. Students may submit artwork themselves or teachers may submit students’ artwork on their behalf. Please include the following information on the back of the artwork: title of work, student’s name, grade, address, telephone number and email, as well as the school name and address, teacher’s name, telephone number and email.

The deadline for all entries is Friday, February 12, 2010, at 7 p.m. Visual Art Contest entries may be delivered in person or mailed to Society for the Performing Arts; Attention: Education Department; Jones Hall; 615 Louisiana St.; Suite 100; Houston, TX 77002.

Good luck everyone!

For more about my marketing company, Gish Creative, and the services we offer, please click here. You are on this list because I thought this e-newsletter would be helpful to you or because you signed up for it. However, if you want off this list, click here and you're a goner. Please feel free to tell your friends to subscribe by clicking here.My goal is to serve as an information resource for Houston parents through my various endeavors, including:

GISH PICKS, which is online (www.thesummerbook.com/gishpicks_archive.html) and in the Houston Community Newspaper group (www.hcnonline.com);

THE SUMMER BOOK®: A GUIDE TO HOUSTON DAY CAMPS AND CLASSES FOR KIDS AND TEENS (www.thesummerbook.com) which comes out annually on March 1 and is sold at bookstores all over Houston, including Barnes and Noble and Borders; and

SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, INTERACTIVE WORKSHOPS, PRIVATE CONSULTATIONS, and ART PROGRAMS that cover topics such as summertime fun, passion-finding (for adults, children and parents and children together), marketing, historic preservation, art classes, and activism. All of these services can be tailored for any audience and budget.

The purpose of GISH PICKS is to help parents become aware of all the fun things they can do with their children in Houston and the surrounding area, so HAPPY TRAVELS! Please do give me feedback and ideas, as you are out there in the trenches also looking for interesting things for your family and I want to hear what you find. If you are having trouble getting to a website listed here, try hitting the “Ctrl” button and left-clicking on the web address, which should make it “live”.


Sarah Gish Gish Creative 1940-A Fountainview, PMB 116 Houston, Texas 77057 phone/fax: 713.532.1173 email: sarah@gishcreative.com web: www.gishcreative.com and: www.thesummerbook.com and: www.saveourlandmarks.org © 2010 Sarah Gish Designed by West of the World