WHAT'S NEW THIS WEEK?

I just love Hope Stone! They have a fantastic program -- Kid’s Play -- which was created to help meet the artistic and emotional needs of underserved and at-risk students ages 6-18. The program uses master teachers in dance, theater, music, photography and yoga to empower and educate local youth. Kid's Play is celebrating Earth Day today with a 5pm outdoor performance at the Dandelion Fountain on Allen Parkway (rain location will be the Hope Stone Center, 1210 W. Clay). They're also presenting "Skool of Rock" in two performances on Saturday, May 8 at 2pm and 7pm at Barnevelder Movement Arts Complex, 2201 Preston, so get your tickets now as seating will be limited. Seeing performances like these are a great way to take in some culture without breaking the bank and, as an added bonus, your dollars support great non-profits like Hope Stone.

Since today is Earth Day, I urge you to celebrate in some way. Talk to your kids about how to help our planet and what they can do. I pick up trash and I recycle - what do you do?

A BATTLEGROUND COMES TO LIFE.

Booming cannons, cracking musket fire, thundering hooves and piercing war cries will resound across the San Jacinto Battleground this Saturday, April 24, 10am-6pm, as hundreds of history reenactors recreate the events leading up to Texas winning her independence in the Battle of San Jacinto. The San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Reenactment is a free event taking place on the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site in La Porte. The very full day will include living history camps, period demonstrations, family entertainment, children’s activities, and the state’s largest battle reenactment. The historically correct encampments and the Battle Reenactment are presented by hundreds of members of the San Jacinto Volunteers and other living history organizations from across the state. These groups help families new to the state as well as native Texans understand the history of this great state. Completed in 1939, the San Jacinto Monument stands as a tribute to those who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto. Constructed of Cordova shellstone, the 570-foot structure is the world’s tallest war memorial – standing 15 feet taller than the Washington Monument – and includes a 34-foot Texas star. In addition to visiting the Museum’s permanent collections and the display of special artifacts, guests can take the famous ride to the top of the Monument, enjoy the digital presentation “Texas Forever!! The Battle of San Jacinto” as well as tour the special exhibit “Reflections of an Exhibit: Cecil Thomson Revealed”.

There is free admission to the Festival activities and the Museum and modest fees for the elevator ride, photo exhibit, and digital presentation. Visit the San Jacinto Museum’s Facebook page! Festival goers can participate by uploading photos and videos of their experience.

THIS WEEK'S ATTRACTION...HOUSTON POLICE MUSEUM. For more attractions, go to www.gishcreative.com/attractions.htm.

The Houston Police Museum is open by appointment and is located at 17000 Aldine Westfield Road. It’s unique in that it was created by caring individuals in the Houston Police Department. There are a large number of images and gear on display that cover both the history of our police force (which started here in 1841) as well as current policing practices. The Museum also has many early uniforms and gear as well as artifacts dating back to the late 1880's, such as badge number “One”, which was first issued in 1878 and is still in service today. They have the earliest known photograph of Houston police officers, probably taken sometime in the late 1880's in downtown Houston. And they have displays showing what the early “men in blue” wore (a police hat made of cardboard that was covered with a dyed mole skin and a wool uniform made in 1915 by Sakowitz of Houston) as well as their uniforms throughout the years. You can learn about the Motorcycle Squad, the HPD Mounted Horse Traffic Squad, the Houston Police Helicopter Division, as well as what the Department did during the war years. This Museum is an amazing slice of police and Houston history that is well worth the trip!

CELEBRATE SPRING WITH THE HOUSTON CHILDREN’S CHORUS!

Mark your calendars now to hear the Houston Children's Chorus at its popular annual “Spring Concert” on Saturday, May 1 at 5pm at Rice University’s Alice Pratt Brown Hall, 6100 Main Street (entrance #8 on University Boulevard, Entrance #18 on Rice Boulevard). The Chorus will be performing a variety of popular compositions from its repertoire and premiering a new composition written to the poetry of child prodigy Mattie Stepanek, a bestselling young author and world renowned peace advocate who was a friend of Jimmy Carter, Oprah, and many others. The Chorus will be showcasing its talents in preparation for its June 2010 performance at Carnegie Hall. Don't miss this chance to hear one of our city's most delightful singing groups!

The Houston Children’s Chorus is currently hosting auditions for boys and girls in grades 2-8. This is perfect for kids who love to sing, perform on stage, and make new friends. To learn more about the Chorus, please log onto www.houstonchildren.org and to request an audition, please click on the "Auditions" tab and complete a Prospective Chorister form.

The Houston Children's Chorus, now in its 21st year, is one of the finest children's choruses in the country. Led by founder and director Stephen Roddy, the Chorus performs a variety of concerts for thousands of people each year. More than 100 children in grades 4 through 8 from across the greater Houston area sing in the Chorus each year. The Chorus has toured around the world, singing for presidents and many other famous people. Rehearsals for their 2010-2011 season will begin in September at a convenient central location.

Tickets for the May 1 concert are $16/orchestra and $13/balcony. Special discounts are offered for groups of 6 or more and no children under five years of age are allowed at the concert.

"LIVING ARCHIVES" PANEL NEXT WEEK.

The Friends of Women's Studies present a Living Archives Panel Discussion: "Designing Women: 3 Deans of Architecture" next Tuesday, April 27, 11am-1pm (interview 11:30am-12:30pm) at the Rockwell Pavilion, UH central campus. The Houston Chronicle's Lisa Gray will moderate a panel discussion with three leading ladies in Architecture, Patricia Oliver (UH), Ikhlas Sabouni (Prairie View A&M) and Sarah Whiting (Rice University).

Patricia Oliver received a Master of Architecture degree in 1977 from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of California at Los Angeles. She received a bachelor of arts degree, independent studies, with honors from UCLA in 1974. As acting dean (1988) of the California State Polytechnic University (Cal Poly), Oliver organized and led the first California State University System-sponsored competition for a new classroom/laboratory/administration building, establishing a standard for campus-administered competitions that was adopted by several other institutions. As associate dean (1987-1992) at Cal Poly Pomona, Oliver founded the Ontario Community Center for Urban Research, the university's first interdisciplinary, public/private design research center. She became Dean of the UH Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture in January of 2010.

Ikhlas Sabouni earned her Ph.D. in Architecture from Rice University. She received the 2000-2001 Distinguished Professor's Award and the 1995-1996 Creative Achievement Award from ACSA. She is currently the Dean of the School of Architecture at Prairie View A&M University and serves as the school's liaison on AIA Houston's 2009 Board of Directors.

Sarah Whiting earned her Bachelor of Arts at Yale, a Master of Architecture at Princeton and her Ph.D. in the history, theory and criticism of art, architecture and urban form at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has taught at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Princeton University. As a principal of WW Architecture, a firm she co-founded with her husband, Ron Witte, she is currently working on projects for the drama division of the Juilliard School in New York and the Golden House, a private residence in Princeton, N.J. Before forming WW, she worked with Rem Koolhaas at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture in Rotterdam, Netherlands. She is the author of the forthcoming book Superblock City. She became Dean of the Rice University School of Architecture in January of 2010.

The panel will explore the changing dynamics of the design world, both professional and academic. The Living Archives series explores the history and experience of Houston women. In video form the programs become part of the Women's Archive and Research Center at the University of Houston. The discussion is free to the public and a free lunch is served if you RSVP to 713.743.3214 or wost@uh.edu.

Convenient parking is available in the Welcome Center garage - rates begin at $2 for the first hour and $1 per each subsequent hour. Temporary parking lot permits can also be obtained for $3 per day.

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

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