Gish Picks: Week of April 30, 2008


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 advertise 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!

GET CREATIVE WITH GOURDS.

This Saturday, May 3, from 11am until 3pm, join Houston Center for Contemporary Craft for "Hands-On Houston", a free craft-activity open house for the whole family on the first Saturday of every month. This month families will join artist and gardening enthusiast Marion Sullivan for a special activity in HCCC’s Craft Garden. Paint and decorate gourds grown in the garden to create your own one-of-a-kind masterpiece. The activity is suitable for all ages and materials will be provided. After beautifying your gourd, stay to see the wonderful variety of fine crafts on display in "Craft in America: Expanding Traditions" for its final weekend. Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is located at 4848 Main Street in the Museum District.

For more information, call 713.529.4848 or log onto www.crafthouston.org.

IT'S TIME FOR THE 18th ANNUAL SPRING OPEN HOUSE AND "FAERIE FESTIVAL".

This Sunday, May 4, from 1-6pm, Lucia's Garden hosts one of their favorite celebrations which is a great festival for all ages. For just $1, visitors can enjoy the magic of the shop, its gardens, and the Faerie world!

There will be faeries and pirates, food and music, storytellers and face painters and lots of fun for kids and adults alike. While there you can enjoy their aromatic herb plants and essential oils, candles and aromatherapy. There are books to peruse, scarves and earrings to try on, and treasures of all kinds to discover. Stop by to support Lucia and her independent shop -- as author Ruth Gendler says "In an age of corporate chains and anonymous internet mega-stores, it is important to support community based businesses; we can vote for the world we want every time we shop. By buying books at our local bookstores, like Lucia's Garden, we are standing for integrity, vision and cultural diversity." Enjoy!

For more information, call 713.523.6494 or log onto www.luciasgarden.com.

"LOOKING AT THE PAST, BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE" IS THE THEME OF THIS MONTH'S "HERITAGE FAMILY DAY".

This Sunday, May 4, from 2-4pm, The Heritage Society at 1100 Bagby in downtown Houston hosts a fun family day. In conjunction with the current museum exhibition, "Jesse H. Jones: City Builder and Public Servant", the theme of this event will be "Looking at the Past, Building for the Future." Crafts will include origami and paper bag buildings, cityscapes and fantasy floor plans. Enjoy a performance by Epig, Aztec Princess, presented by Express Children’s Theater. Epig will take you on a journey through time and fantasy. Refreshments will be served and admission is free.

Free parking is available in the paved lot directly behind the historic Kellum-Noble House which you can enter via Allen Parkway inbound. Founded in 1954, The Heritage Society is a nonprofit organization which strives to preserve the history of the community through preservation, restoration of historic structures, exhibition and educational programs.

For more information, call 713.655.1912 or log onto www.heritagesociety.org.

GET READY FOR "SUMMER ARTS 2008" WORKSHOPS AT BLAFFER GALLERY.

Tuesdays and Thursdays July 1-17, the Gallery offers workshops for kids from 9:30am until noon. Limited to 25 kids aged 6 to 12, art workshops are taught by artist and educator Tina Kotrla (MFA, University of Houston) who will give students the chance to be creative and have fun while making artworks that will test the limits of imagination and spark conversation around the dinner table.

After visiting the "2008 Houston Area Exhibition", Blaffer Gallery's summer exhibition, kids will undertake projects inspired in part by ideas in the show using paint, pastels, drawing media, fabric, natural materials and found objects to create art in two and three dimensions. Each workshop is $60.

For more information or to sign up, call 713.743.9971 or log onto www.blaffergallery.org.

HOUSTON GYMNASTIC'S ACADEMY'S "SUMMER BLAST CAMPS" KEEP KIDS COOL AND BUSY.

HGA's gymnastics camps (for potty-trained kids 3-11 years old) and dance camps (for kids 5 years old and up) are running June 2-August 15 and will be full of fun for all. Kids will flip over the fun weekly themes such as "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Olympics" and they'll get to do obstacle courses, learn new skills and progressions, play exciting and interactive games, enjoy awesome arts and crafts and hop on the inflatable jumpers and the "Incredible Pit". There are full day and half day camps (dance camps are full day only); full day camps run from 9am until 3pm and start at $200/week.

For more information, call 713.688.6001 or log onto www.houstongymnastics.com.

XPLORATIONS SUMMER SCIENCE ADVENTURES NOW IN THE WOODLANDS.

What better way to teach your child about science than to enroll them in the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Woodlands Xplorations Camps? Their camps in The Woodlands offer the convenience of being in the neighborhood while ensuring the high standards of the museum’s summer camp program. This summer, kids can experience the magical world of Harry Potter™ in "Hogwarts Science Academy", track down clues in "Crime Scene Investigators" and build beyond their imaginations in "Build It Big". Day camps start at $185/week and before and after care is available. Camps begin June 9 and will sell out very quickly so sign up now!

To enroll today, call 713.639.4652 or log onto www.hmns.org.

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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 print through 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 parenting (www.freewebs.com/glowfished), marketing, historic preservation, activism, and passion-finding. 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 © 2008 Sarah Gish Designed by West of the World