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.

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Now, GO FIND FUN!

THIS PICNIC HAS GONE TO THE DOGS.

Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue (GBGRR) is hosting a celebration of their Tenth Anniversary and a Reunion Picnic called "In Goldens We Trust" that will take place at George Bush Park (16756 Westheimer Parkway) this Sunday, May 3 from noon-4pm. This is a free event, where hundreds of rescued Goldens (and the humans who love them) meet to play, romp, swim, socialize and have lunch, courtesy GBGRR. Dogs in their "Golden Years" will participate in the "Parade of Seniors" and there will also be grooming demonstrations and advice from members of the Greater Houston Golden Retriever Club as well as raffles, door prizes, and free samples for dogs and GReat food for humans.

Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue is an all-volunteer non-profit organization founded in Houston in 1999 for the rescue and placement of homeless golden retrievers. They provide temporary shelter and quality medical care for unwanted, abused, or abandoned retrievers and then place them in permanent homes where they will be cared for and loved for a lifetime. Since its inception, GBGRR has placed thousands of dogs into permanent homes.

All proceeds will benefit GBGRR and RSVPs are requested so that there will be enough food.

COME TO LEAGUE CITY FOR THE TEXAS MUSIC FESTIVAL AND VILLAGE FAIR.

Get your feet tapping at the Texas Music Festival and Village Fair this weekend. This year’s headliners include Kevin Fowler, Fran Cosmo (former lead singer of Boston) and the Robbie Seay Band. The fun kicks off Friday, May 1 and runs through Sunday, May 3 at Walter Hall Park in League City, located halfway between Houston and Galveston. The Festival is open from 5pm-midnight on Friday, 10am-midnight on Saturday and 11am-6pm on Sunday. Some of the bands scheduled for the Festival play Texas country music while others straddle the country-rock divide, but all of them embrace the maverick independence of Texas music. In addition to three days of music, this year’s fun-packed schedule includes a full-scale carnival; the 29th Annual BBQ Cook Off; an Arts and Crafts Fair and Bingo; and Apple Pie and “Mother of the Year” contests. There is a Kids Zone full of kid-friendly fun with games, rides, magic acts, a petting zoo and the Star Family Circus Spectacular (several 30-minute performances of aerial acts, juggling, comedy and more). This Friday the focus is on young people from 11:30am-2pm for “Kids’ Day,” a half day of events open only to children with special needs. The park is closed to the public so these 500+ students from Clear Creek, Pasadena, Hitchcock and Dickinson schools enjoy the Festival all to themselves free of cost.

The Texas Music Festival is the largest fundraising event in Galveston County, raising money to support a variety of Lions Club charities—locally, statewide and nationally. Tickets are $15/door, $12/online, and $20/three-day passes. Tickets and wristbands for the carnival rides are sold separately and children 12 and younger are free.

THIS SUNDAY, MAY 3 IS "LEMONADE DAY" IN HOUSTON.

"Lemonade Day" is a city-wide event that introduces kids to entrepreneurship by teaching them the skills they need to be successful in the future. Youth learn to set goals, develop a business plan, establish a budget, seek investors, provide customer service, and give back to the community.

All you have to do is register today to get started! You’ll receive a backpack full of materials, including The Entrepreneur’s Workbook, which guides them through the entire process.

It is free for each youth to participate, and they get to KEEP THE MONEY that they earn! Online registration is still open.

ATTRACTION: MUSEUM OF PRINTING HISTORY

In this day of electrotechno-overload, it’s nice to visit a place like the Museum of Printing History, a gem that was founded in 1979 by Raoul Beasley, Vernon P. Hearn, Don Piercy, and J. V. Burnham, four printers with passions for preserving their vast collections and sharing them with the community. The Museum displays a dynamic collection of historical documents, fine art prints, and antique printing equipment as well as rotating exhibitions which come alive with lectures and workshops. In their galleries and working studios, artists demonstrate the traditional processes of stone lithography, letterpress printing, papermaking, and bookbinding. Their exhibitions document history from the origins of printing on Mesopotamian clay tablets around 3000 B.C., through pre-Gutenberg manuscript production. During guided tours, visitors participate in the hands-on printing of a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible pulled from a period-accurate press, then move to the printing of the Declaration of Independence on a 19th-century Columbian iron hand press. The Museum also hosts groups dedicated to maintaining the arts of the book: the Museum's Book Arts Group and its Printers' Guild each meet on a monthly basis to promote collaboration, exchange techniques and ideas, and to create hands-on projects.

HERE’S THE BEST WAY TO LEARN LACROSSE: SUMMER CAMPS AND A NEW BOOK.

Crease Ranch is coming again to St. John’s School this summer from June 1-4 (for Girls’ Lacrosse and Field Hockey) and June 8-11 (for Boys’ Lacrosse). These camps offer a special chance for your child to hone their lacrosse skills. Youth players from beginners to advanced level in grades 1-graduating seniors are assigned to a team. Led by an all-star coaching staff from Baltimore, Maryland, Crease Ranch offers first-rate coaching, fun and fast-paced action and each camper will receive custom apparel and a ticket to the HUGE raffle!

Be sure to check out the new book for youth, Head Case Lacrosse Goalie: Sports Fiction with a Winning Edge, written by Crease Ranch Director Sam Chambers and sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella. The book comes out in May and is in pre-orders now.

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

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