Gish Picks: Week of March 18, 2009


Welcome to this week's "Gish Picks", where I highlight family-oriented cultural events, products or services. Please note that I "highlight" these 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. Now, GO FIND FUN!

A PLAYGROUND FOR YOUR MIND™ - THE ALL-NEW CHILDREN'S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON.

Incredible, inviting, energizing and totally geared for kids to explore at their own unique pace, if you thought the Children’s Museum of Houston was a gem before, you will realize it is truly a treasure now. The all-new Museum has doubled to an astounding 90,000 square feet offering seven new, permanent exhibits including the chance to build robots in "Invention Convention"; anchor the news, run a business, or elect a mayor in "Kidtropolis, USA"; explore nanotechnology in "Matter Factory"; portal through a mathematical quest in "Cyberchase: The Chase Is On!", based on the PBS cartoon; take a wet, wild adventure into "FlowWorks"; climb a three-story tower in "PowerPlay"; and bring children two and younger to their own exclusive floor in "TotSpot". The most unique aspect of the Museum is the integrated technology within the exhibits, including the interactive "Kid Card". Children can use it as a debit card to make purchases or deposits in Kidtropolis, USA, a city run by kids, and they can also use it in PowerPlay to track fitness measures and their progress over years!

Don’t miss this week’s Spring Break events, including:

Daily early hours: The Museum opens at 9am through March 21

"Digit" from Cyberchase appearing daily at 11:15am, and 1:15, 3:15 &
4:15pm

The Houston Urban Line Dance this Saturday, March 21 at 2pm, a group that
will help kids get fit while dancing to choreographed steps for jazz, pop
and hip-hop!

"My Bots–Exploring Engineering": Daily at 10am, noon, and 2 & 4pm. Kids
will get to invent a super-vehicle, a space station, or even a moon base
with wild construction systems that uses a combination of LEGO Bricks and
screws in the "Invention Convention" area!

COME ON, GET FIT!

It’s a perfect concept: give kids information about healthy eating and lifestyles through an “edu-tainment” show that can travel to schools and be performed for the public at various venues around town. Talented actor David LaDuca of CanDoCreative created “Hip 2B Fit!” as a concept that includes a show, a “Healthy Contract” given to kids at the end of the show, and a “Hip 2Be Fit!” fun club that just kicked off at Discovery Green and will be there Saturdays from 11:30am-noon through June 26 (cancelled in case of inclement weather). The show is a 45-minute interactive high-energy program geared for children grades K-5 and you can see a sample online. Their rap-inspired urban version of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ pits Fast Eddie against Slow ‘n Steady. Kids get advice from "wrapper" Whole Grain D-Wayne and there is a special appearance by fitness superstar Brocklee Spears. The game show, “Let’s Make a Meal!”, gets kids in the act as contestants compete to create a balanced menu. Currently the show travels to schools and will probably spawn more fun clubs than the one at Discovery Green. I first learned about it when my 3rd grader, Matthew, came home raving about it – and the concepts really do stick: he picked out cereal with only 3 grams of sugar recently! What a great way to become “Hip 2Be Fit!”

"The Reluctant Dragon" presented by Main Street Theater

HERE'S A DRAGON THAT'S SWEET.

Once upon a time there lived a boy who befriended a lonely dragon who hated such dragonly things as fighting knights and breathing fire. Nonetheless, the simple-minded villagers in the local town beg a fierce knight – St. George himself - to slay the dragon, even though he was doing them no harm. Just when it seems hopeless, the resourceful boy finds a solution that changes the hearts and minds of the entire village in “The Reluctant Dragon,” a touching adventure by renowned author Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows). Main Street Theater brings the show to town through April 4; upcoming shows are Saturdays at 1pm and 4pm March 21, 28, and April 4. This Friday, March 20 there is a special “Target Family Day” at 11:30am (activities and refreshments begin at 10:30am) that’s open to the public with 2 for 1 tickets and there are school matinees throughout the run of the show at 9:30am, 11am, and 12:30pm.

The show is recommended for pre-Kindergarten and up; children under the age of 3 are not allowed in the theater.

JOIN A CELEBRATION OF OUR ARMED FORCES.

Virtuosi of Houston presents "Legends of the Future VII: Honoring the United States Armed Forces" with Andrzej Grabiec and Franz Anton Krager, Artistic Directors and Conductors. Virtuosi of Houston is holding its annual fundraiser on Saturday, April 4 at 6pm at the Hotel InterContinental Houston. The evening of patriotic music and fine dining with United States Armed Forces honorees will celebrate the Virtuosi "Legends of the Future" as they celebrate the youth of Houston. Virtuosi of Houston is a program unlike any other fine arts program for young musicians in the country. The nonprofit was formed in 1996 to increase education and performance opportunities leading to a music profession for Houston’s exceptionally gifted middle to high school age musicians and to bring an expanded repertoire of chamber works to Houston audiences. The chamber group is smaller (55) than a typical symphony orchestra, allowing these exceptional musicians to experience increased confidence, leadership, responsibility and skill through individual attention from two world-class conductors.

Tickets start at $250.

HOUSTONPBS IS VERY BEE-SY.

Lights, Camera, Spelling! On Saturday, March 28 at 2pm, HoustonPBS/Channel 8 will televise the 2009 HoustonPBS Spelling Bee LIVE from the Melcher Center for Public
Broadcasting on the University of Houston Main Campus. The top 55 spellers from 1,000 schools and 42 counties, from East Texas to Austin, will compete for a chance to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the nation’s highest-profile academic event. The top speller will win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Washington, D.C. to represent Houston at the Scripps National Spelling Bee during Bee Week. Last year's national champion won over $35,000 in cash and prizes. The purpose of the Spelling Bee is to help students improve spelling, increase vocabularies and develop correct English usage that will help them all of their lives. Bee participation also provides valuable experience in developing poise, a necessary skill for public speaking, performing arts, and athletics. Who needs spellcheck?!

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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 helping their children), 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 © 2009 Sarah Gish Designed by West of the World