Gish Picks: Weekend of September 28, 2012

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WHAT'S YOUR PICK THIS WEEKEND?

Greetings and welcome to GISH PICKS: A GUIDE TO CULTURAL ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES, a free weekly e-newsletter/blog I created as a service to the Houston community in 2003. Please enjoy and please share!

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, so I wish all my Jewish readers blessings for today. Atonement and forgiveness are such important concepts in our world community so I hope that even if you aren’t Jewish, you’ll take a moment, scan your life, and see if there is anyone you need to make peace with. Start with yourself! You’ll quickly find your blood pressure lowering and your smiles increasing. By complete accident, I happened to find a website for a very important and relevant film today: PROJECT: FORGIVE. It’s an amazing documentary-in-progress that tackles the subject of forgiveness in a beautiful way. It begins with the story of a mother and her 2 children (all friends of the filmmaker) being killed by a drunk driver…another friend. The widowed husband’s path to forgiveness was so inspiring to filmmaker Shawne Duperon, that she felt compelled to create PROJECT: FORGIVE. Hop online and get involved.

Congrats to new GISH PICKS Facebook page LIKE-er Adriene Solomon, who won a complimentary massage with magical masseuse Liz Keels, LMT. This week’s prize is 2 passes for dance classes at Planet Funk Academy, which offers a lively Saturday morning’s kids’ Hip Hop class as well as a slew of other funky dance ed. So go to Facebook land, find GISH PICKS and hit LIKE. I’ll pick winners from my new fans. Good luck! (P.S. While you’re in Facebook land, please like my page for THE SUMMER BOOK: A GUIDE TO HOUSTON DAY CAMPS AND CLASSES FOR KIDS AND TEENS. Many thanks!).

I’ve been busy cooking up a ton of projects – my latest one is “Follow Your Heart: A Transformation Circle for Women” that is meeting on Mondays, 6-8pm at CoInside at 1919 Houston Avenue, near downtown and the Heights and away from the hustle and bustle of traffic. It’s a beautiful new event space that we can’t wait to bring our feminine mama vibes to! Click here and check out other events I’ve got going on, including two workshops and my art show (opening next Thursday night – be there or be square!). And if you want to learn more about Joy Boone’s dream of a Houston Bicycle Museum, tune in to my radio show, ONLY CONNECT: EXPLORING PEOPLE AND PLACES THAT MAKE HOUSTON GREAT tomorrow morning on KPFT 90.1FM from 9:30-10am. We’ll chat and laugh and learn.

I’ve got lots of other fun for you below…a sausage fest, garage sale, and preservation jazz. And this weekend is the very special “eco-Licious Fest” , a celebration of “good taste”, good health, and all that Houston has to offer – for free! It’s a great opportunity to see Houston’s new Green Resource Building Resource Center while enjoying food trucks and vendors, speakers, and artists (especially recycled art). The fun is this Sunday, September 30, noon-4pm.

Have a great week and GO.FIND.FUN.

JAZZ GETS ON DOWN TO CYPRESS.

I love the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, so was excited to see that they’re coming to town this Saturday, September 29 at 8pm to the Centrum. The Band derives its name from Preservation Hall, the venerable music venue located in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter, founded in 1961 by Allan and Sandra Jaffe. The band has traveled worldwide spreading their mission to nurture and perpetuate the art form of New Orleans Jazz. Whether performing at Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center, for British Royalty or the King of Thailand, this music embodies a joyful, timeless spirit. Under the auspices of current director, Ben Jaffe, the son of founders Allan and Sandra, Preservation Hall continues with a deep reverence and consciousness of its greatest attributes in the modern day as a venue, band, and record label.

The Centrum is located at 6823 Cypresswood Drive in Spring and tickets start at $35/each. Students with I.D. get half-priced tickets.

SAUSAGEFEST TO THE MAX.

If you’re vegetarian, this year’s “Fourth Annual Sausagefest” ain’t for you! The Independent Order of Oddfellows Houston Heights Lodge 225 flew in 90 (yes, 9-0!) pounds of delish Bavarian sausage from Wisconsin and they need your help chowing on it this Saturday, September 29, from 11am-5pm. Plates of Bavarian sausage and sides with soft drinks are $10 – beers and baked goods are extra. Bring the kids and pack it in. The Lodge is located at 115 E. 14th Street in the Heights. YUM!

ORANGE SHOW MONSTER SALE.

This came across my email and it was just too good not to mention: the Orange Show Center for Contemporary Art is doing some fall cleaning and we are the lucky ones that get to benefit! This Saturday, 9am-2pm, the Orange Show is opening their warehouse doors and letting the public have a rummage party, aka “The Orange Show Warehouse Sale”. Says their website: “We're cleaning out our enormous warehouse to get ready for some exciting new programs - so we're having a huge garage sale! Head over this Saturday, September 29 between 9am and 2pm and dig through all sorts of stuff that we've been storing in our warehouse for many years, including building materials, warehouse equipment, potential art supplies, gee gaws and incredible odds and ends - all at rock bottom prices! If you're an artist looking for some unique and interesting materials for an upcoming project - you need to be here! If you're a store owner looking for display equipment - you need to be here! If you're curious about what the Orange Show has been hoarding for so long - you need to be here!” Yep, I’ll be there. And I recommend you grab your kids for some junky fun! Just don’t cut in front of me in line, OK?!

JOIN THE WOLF PACK TEAM TO HELP FIND A CURE FOR JUVENILE DIABETES.

My friend, Mary Ellen Wolf, has two boys with Juvenile Diabetes so she has created a “Wolf Pack Team” whose mission is to help fund research by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and to take part in the JDRF Walk on Saturday, October 27 at Reliant Park at 7:30am. Any support will help fund research for type 1 diabetes and its complications and the money the JDRF Wolf Pack Team raises will go directly to support this life-changing research. The JDRF Walk is a fantastic way to make a difference in the millions of lives of people affected by type 1 diabetes. For at least that one day, they will look around and see all the support they have from their friends, family and community. On Walk Day, everyone can have fun and celebrate how much closer to a cure we are because of their efforts. Help them out!

GISH PICKS is a free weekly email in which I highlight family-oriented cultural events, products or services. Please note that I "highlight" 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.

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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 GO FIND FUN! 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.

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Sarah Gish GISH CREATIVE 1940-A Fountainview, PMB 116 Houston, Texas 77057 phone/fax: 713.482.7065 artist.mama.connector.changemaker. © 2012 Sarah Gish Designed by West of the World