Gish Picks: Week of September 5, 2007


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!

Jennifer Laporte as Mary Lennox and Julian Brashears as Colin Craven in "The Secret Garden"

"THE SECRET GARDEN" OPENS AT THE HISTORIC HEINEN THEATRE FOR FIVE PERFORMANCES ONLY.

Bayou City Concert Musicals presents the magical and inspirational musical, "The Secret Garden", this Thursday, September 6 through Sunday, September 9 for five performances only.

"The Secret Garden" tells the story of Mary Lennox, who after the death of her parents, is sent to live with her uncle at the mysterious Mistlethwaite Manor. She stumbles across a closely guarded secret in the dusty corridors of the mansion. With the help of her newfound friends, Martha (the maid), crotchety Ben (the gardener) and Dickon (who talks to animals), she brings to life not only the secret garden, but those people who live around them. The cast includes Jennifer Laporte as Mary and Julian Brashears as Colin Craven.

Tickets are $25 and $35 and all performances benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Houston.

For the performance schedule or reservations, call 713.465.6484 or log onto www.bayoucityconcertmusicals.org.

LEARN ALL ABOUT TURKEY THIS WEEKEND.

Rain Drop Turkevi is bringing "The Turkic Cultures and Children's Festival" to City Hall's Hermann Square Park this Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9 from 1 until 10pm. The festival is free and open to the public and will educate visitors about the various Turkic cultures, both here in the U.S. and in Turkey, through displays, artwork, craftwork, books, music, Turkic food, children's areas, folk dance, theater, parades, and an evening concert. Throughout the event there will be performances on the stage as well as educational materials to take home, movies and hands-on activities.

For more information, log onto www.turkicfest.org.

THE FRIENDS OF THE HOUSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY ARE SELLING OVER 11,000 CHILDREN'S BOOKS THIS WEEKEND.

The Friends of the Houston Public Library and HISD are partnering to promote Houston children's back-to-school reading initiatives through the "Seventh Annual Children's Book Sale", held this Friday, September 7 from 11am until 6pm, Saturday, September 8, from 10am until 4pm and Sunday, September 9, from 10am until 4pm at HISD's Doris Miller Center, 5216 Feagan Street (near Memorial Drive and Shepherd).

This event is free and open to the public. The sale will feature books for children ages two to 18, most priced from $1 to $2. Kid book categories include fiction and nonfiction books, audio and visual items, reference materials, encyclopedia sets, books in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and resources for parents, teachers, and homeschoolers. Educators need to take their tax-exempt ID for discounts. All proceeds from the Children's Book Sale support the Houston Public Library and provide funding for library programs, materials and scholarships.

For more information, call 832.393.1387 or log onto www.friendsofhpl.org.

TAKE YOUTH SOCCER TO THE NEXT LEVEL.

The Houston Dynamo Youth Development Department has teamed up with Velocity Sports Performance to provide a unique developmentally appropriate learning environment, called "Centers of Excellence". These elite training programs are designed for boys and girls aged 8 to 14 and will provide a carefully structured curriculum based on the Dynamo Academy to focus on the technical aspects of soccer. These exclusive sessions are designed to supplement the training the players are currently receiving throughout the year at their clubs.

The Velocity Sports Performance training programs are scientifically designed to improve speed, power and agility - the three pillars of athleticism. There will be a total of 16 sessions and the cost per player is $279. Each player will receive a Dynamo T-Shirt, Dynamo Ball, a Stadium Graduation Ceremony, a Companion Voucher to a Dynamo Game, Individual Player Evaluation, and Dynamo coach and player appearances. The top players from the "Centers of Excellence" will be invited to a special tryout for the Dynamo Academy and to play in a Dynamo All-Star event.

The fall dates and locations are as follows. Each session runs eight weeks from the start date.

Klein High School
Stuebner Airline at Louetta
Sundays, 4-6pm, starting September 9

San Jacinto Junior College
South 13735 Beamer Rd
Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30pm, starting September 11

Quail Valley
1700 Glenn Lakes Ln
Fridays, 5:30-7:30pm, starting September 14

Langham Creek
17610 FM529
Fridays, 5:30-7:30pm, starting September 14

West University Soccer Club
10001 Stella Link
Fridays, 5:30-7:30pm, starting September 14

For more information, call 713.276.7516 or log onto houston.mlsnet.com/t200/youth/excellence/.

Massage for the Cure presented by Massage Envy

RELAX AND DO SOMETHING GREAT FOR A WORTHY CAUSE.

Massage Envy is hosting the "First Annual Massage for the Cure" at all 22 of their Houston area locations. They are providing FREE 1-hour therapeutic massage sessions for a donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure (the massages are valued at $75) and 100% of proceeds for massages will be donated.

Massage Envy has joined the effort to find a cure for breast cancer because their client base is women and too many of them have lived in fear of breast cancer for far too long. They felt this was a positive way to help the Susan G. Komen Foundation not only raise much needed dollars to fund mammograms and breast cancer research, but to also raise awareness about the importance of early detection and early treatment to offer the best chance of survival.

To book a massage or for more information, find the location nearest you at www.massageenvy.com.

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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 © 2007 Sarah Gish Designed by West of the World