IT'S TIME TO VOTE NEXT TUESDAY AND BAYOU BEND HELPS YOUR FAMILY CELEBRATE THIS SEASON WITH A SPECIAL "OLD NEW ENGLAND ELECTION DAY" THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2.

Here’s what’s planned:

• A non-denominational Election Day sermon, calling for a safe and organized Election Day
  
  
• Voter registration with the sheriff
  
  
• A stump speech delivered by the minister extolling the virtues of voting rights
  
  
• Casting ballots for election slogans, which will be tallied using the typical Old New England method of counting corn and beans, with winners announced at 4:30pm
  
  
• Early American games of Quoits (a precursor to horseshoes) and Jackstraws (similar to pickup sticks)
  
  
• A doll-making craft project
  
  
• Musical performances by Dennis Heckathorne and Co.’s fife and drum corps and by the Sideshow Tramps
  
  
• Election Cake
  
  
• A replica of a “Whig Ball.” The large, canvas-covered balls, typically eight-feet in diameter, were adorned with a candidate’s name and rolled from town to town to raise awareness. William Henry Harrison used such a ball in his successful 1840 election against incumbent Martin Van Buren, which resulted in the popular phrase “keep the ball rolling.”

Bayou Bend is located at 1 Westcott Street, off Memorial Drive. For more information, call 713.639.7759 or log onto www.mfah.org/bayoubend.

THERE'S A LOT GOING ON AT THE PAGE PARKES CENTER OF MODELING AND ACTING.

Page Parkes Center of Modeling and Acting develops those with potential talent in the modeling and/or acting industries along with offering acting and modeling camps to those wanting to update their individual style. Model Camps are operated by Page Parkes Center of Modeling and Acting and are licensed, approved and regulated by the Texas Workforce Commission, Career Schools Section. PPCMA is strictly a training and development company.

Page.713/Page Parkes Talent Agency is world renowned for the development and placement of its New Faces models and actors. Past and present models have graced the covers of Seventeen, YM, Elle, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Men's Health, Brides Magazine and Sassy, as well as landed many prestigious campaigns such as Ralph Lauren, Miss Sixty, Gap, Abercrombie and Fitch, Adidas, Target and L'Oreal. Page Parkes Talent actors have worked in productions for TV shows and films such as Step Up, The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants 1 & 2, Shallow Hal, She’s the Man, Pepper Dennis, Gilmore Girls, American Pie and productions for Hasbro, Disney, and Nickelodeon, among many others.

Their purpose is to discover individuals with potential talent and to develop, nurture and grow that talent, thereby producing top quality actors and models whose career they will promote for their benefit, the benefit of their clients, and the benefit of the corporation. They achieve their goals by providing excellent customer service to their talent, their clients and their industry.

Services include:

• Model + Summer Camps
• Acting Workshops
• International Agent Review
• Kid’s Agent Review
• Placement
• Birthday parties

For more information, call 713.807.8200 or log onto www.pageparkes.com.

SIGN UP NOW FOR THE TEXAS RECREATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE (“T-ReX LaX”).

Sign ups are going on now through November 16 for Houston’s T-ReX Lacrosse League. As youth lacrosse programs flourish in schools across the state, the goal of T-ReX LaX is to give young players an opportunity to learn and compete in an age-appropriate manner. With top instructors from respected area coaches and players, T-ReX LaX is dedicated to meeting the needs of developing lacrosse players. Sessions take place Sunday afternoons from 2-4pm for K-8 and the high school division plays from 4-5 pm. Players will work on skills, drills, and have the thrills of putting it together in games. Featured guest speakers will add to the education of young athletes. The final session will conclude with a raffle of lacrosse gear and tournament championship games.

The League will take place on Sundays, November 16 and 23, December 7 and 14, and January 11, 18, and 25. The League is $235 for girls (grades 3-8) and boys (grades K-8) and $125 for high school boys and girls. Rental equipment is available on a limited basis. Each fully paid player will receive a free jersey, harrow packet with water bottle, lanyard, and sticker. All sessions are at the St. John's School fields at 2401 Claremont Drive.

For more information, call 713.850.0222, extension 264 or log onto www.creaseranch.com.

For more about my marketing company, Gish Creative, and the services we offer, please click here. You are on this list because I thought this e-newsletter would be helpful to you or because you signed up for it. However, if you want off this list, click here and you're a goner. Please feel free to tell your friends to subscribe by clicking here.

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 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 summertime fun, passion-finding (for adults, children, and parents helping their children), marketing, historic preservation, art classes, and activism. 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”.