April 2010

Finally, spring has arrived and with it, the opportunity to enjoy the many wonderful outdoor activities available to those of us lucky enough to live in Houston.  Whether you are participating in the MS150 ride to Austin or pursuing simpler pleasures, like a walk around Memorial Park, there is no shortage of fun activities to enjoy this month.  Don't miss the continuation of FotoFest, the Grand Wine & Food Event in Ft. Bend, or the International Festival, which this year will be focused on the foods, culture and performing/visual arts of the Caribbean.  The Woodlands hosts their annual Waterway Arts Festival, the annual Heights Home tour takes place this month and George R. Brown will host the annual Home and Garden Market.  The Children's Festival will take place downtown and Miller Outdoor Theater begins their season with performances to fit everyone's taste.  No matter what your interests, there is something for everyone this month in Houston!

Holidays

April 1st:                     April Fool’s Day

April 2nd:                   Good Friday

April 4th:                    Easter Sunday

April 7th:                    World Health Day

April 15th:                  U.S. Tax Day

April 22nd:                 Earth Day

April 26th:                  Administrative Professional’s Day           

April 30th:                  Arbor Day

Dance/Music/Theatre

Alley Theatre   (615 Texas Avenue)

April 12th:  Imprint: Dorianne Laux and Patricia Smith – Dorianne Laux, before becoming an award-winning poet, worked as a sanatorium cook, a gas station manager, a maid, and a donut holer. Tony Hoagland calls her work the poetry of “one who looks clearly, passionately, and affectionately at rites of passage, motherhood, the life of work, sisterhood, and especially sexual love, in a celebratory fashion.” Publishers Weekly says, “Laux works in the idiom of Philip Levine and Sharon Olds, yet Laux’s best verse is perhaps more surprising than theirs.” She is the author of four volumes of poetry, including Smoke, Awake, and Facts About the Moon, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, as was an earlier collection, What We Carry. She is also the author, with Kim Addonizio, of The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry. Patricia Smith, as well-known on the stage as on the page, is a four-time winner of the National Poetry Slam, the most successful slammer to date. Smith’s fifth collection of poetry, Blood Dazzler, a National Book Award finalist and named one of NPR’s Top 5 books for 2008, is “a towering testament to the tragedy of New Orleans before, during, and after Katrina” (Booklist). Terrance Hayes says, "Smith is herself a storm of beautiful, frightening talent. Her words will wash you or wash you away. I consider this new book a major literary event." Smith’s earlier collection, Teahouse of the Almighty, was selected for the National Poetry Series and was awarded the first ever Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. She was also featured in the film, Slamnation, on the HBO series, Def Poetry Jam.

April 21st  – May 9th:  Harvey – Affable Elwood P. Dowd has a kind word for everyone he meets. He lives a quiet life with his social-climbing sister and her daughter and is devoted to his loyal and trustworthy friend and constant companion, Harvey. The fact that Harvey happens to be a six-foot invisible rabbit doesn’t seem to bother Elwood but is an ongoing embarrassment to his family who decides to have him committed. In this Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy, the medical establishment is turned topsy-turvy as Elwood and Harvey cause pandemonium. 

May 26th – June 20th:  Intelligence-Slave – Kenneth Lin’s new play, Intelligence-Slave, tells the story of Curt Herzstark, a concentration camp prisoner who was kept alive by the Nazis because he was rumored to have invented the world's first hand-held four function calculator – a great prize if it could be re-created. Caught between the thrill of technological discovery and the fear of rendering himself obsolete if he produces a working device, Curt's survival plan takes a turn when the Nazis introduce him to a wunderkind member of the Hitler Youth with a soul that might be salvageable. Recommended for mature audiences due to language and subject matter.

May 3rd:  Imprint: Oscar Casares and Gwendolyn Zepeda – Oscar Casares was raised in Brownsville and is a life-long resident of Texas, where his collection of short stories, Brownsville: Stories and now his first novel, Amigoland, are set.   Marilynne Robinson describes Casares’ fiction as “clear-eyed and fresh, full of sweet gravity and pensive humor.” Publishers Weekly says that Casares’ stories, “probing underneath the surface of Tex-Mex culture, with their wisecracking, temperamental, obsessive middle-aged men and their dramas straight from neighborhood gossip, are in the direct line of descent from Mark Twain and Ring Lardner.”  Casares is the recipient of a 2006 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship and now teaches creative writing at the University of Texas in Austin, where he lives with his wife and young son. Gwendolyn Zepeda, a native Houstonian, is the author of the story collection, To the Last Man I Slept with and All the Jerks Just Like Him, and the debut novel, Houston, We Have a Problema, as well as the popular blog, gwenworld.com. The San Antonio Current says of Zepeda’s story collection that it is a “brutally candid, laugh-out-loud, feminist, barrio manifesto that sometimes reads like suggestive science fiction cross-pollinated with Tess of the d’Urbervilles.” Booklist says of her most recent work, “the vibrant Houston setting and the novel’s emphasis on Tex-Mex culture, art, and folklore add unusual and alluring touches to this debut novel.” Zepeda will read from her new novel, Lone Star Legend, also set in Texas, which follows aspiring journalist Sandy Saavedra in her efforts to combat Latino stereotypes. Zepeda also writes children’s books for Arte Público Press.

for more information, see www.alleytheatre.org or call (713) 228-8421

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion   (The Woodlands)

Surrounded by a lush forest, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is an outdoor amphitheater that provides the Greater Houston region with an array of performing arts and contemporary entertainment in a setting of unparalleled beauty.

April 4th:        Easter at the Pavilion   10:00 a.m.

April 29th:      Houston Symphony Tribute to Cynthia Woods Mitchell   7:30 p.m.

May 1st:         Van Morrison   8:00 p.m.

May 2nd:        Buzzfest XXIV   Noon

May 14th:       Houston Symphony Force of Nature   8:00 p.m.

May 15th:       Styx & Foreigner with Kansas   7:00 p.m.

May 16th:       Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers with Joe Cocker   7:30 p.m.

May 20th:       Jimmy Buffet   8:00 p.m.

May 27th:       Houston Symphony Cirque du Symphony   8:00 p.m.     

May 29th:       Boni’s on Broadway Dance Recital   6:00 p.m.                  

May 30th:       Boni’s on Broadway Dance Recital   6:00 p.m.                  

June 10th:     Houston Symphony Family Fun Concert   8:00 p.m.        

June 11th:     Iron Maiden   7:30 p.m.

June 18th:     Texas Music Festival Orchestra   8:00 p.m.     

June 25th:     Sting   8:00 p.m.      

for more information, see www.pavilion.woodlandscenter.org 

Hobby Center for the Performing Arts   (800 Bagby @ Walker)

April 3rd:  Imaginary Scenes – The Houston Ballet Academy and Musiqa present an enchanting evening of music and dance, with works by Al-Sand and Smith (world premiere) and Stanton Welch’s ballet Fingerprints, with score by Hamza El Din.

April 5th:  Chamber Music and Concerto Concert – Virtuosi of Houston, a non-profit arts organization, is a Premier Young Artist’s Chamber Orchestra Celebrating its Fourteenth Season of Excellence in Chamber Music Education and Performance. The musicians aged 11 to 18 are from the greater Houston area and are selected from annual auditions. The limited size of the orchestra, 50 players, requires the young artists to perform at an exemplary level. The artistic directors and conductors are Franz Anton Krager & Andrzej Grabiec, both of whom are also faculty members at the Moores School of Music, University of Houston.

April 6th – 18th:  In the Heights – In the Heights, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, is a sensational new show about chasing your dreams and finding your true home. With an amazing cast, incredible dancing and a thrilling score, this is an exhilarating journey into a vibrant Manhattan community - a place where the coffee is light and sweet, the windows are always open, and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. Experience the next chapter of the classic American story at the most joyous, exciting new musical on Broadway. Find out what it takes to make a living, what it costs to have a dream, and what it means to be home.

April 9th– 18th:  The Full Monty – The adaptation of the 1997 film into a Broadway musical has thrilled audiences worldwide, and now we bring it to you live on the Masquerade stage. The steel mills of Buffalo have all closed. Blue-collar single father Jerry Lukowski and his hopelessly overweight best friend Dave Bukatinsky have been laid off along with dozens of other mill workers, leaving them without jobs, without hope and without confidence. It's not until a chance encounter with the Chippendales-style dancer that their wives have been raving about that Jerry hits on an idea to make money and win back a little pride... if the ladies are so thrilled by a fantasy like Keno the dancer, wouldn't they go nuts over "real men" like Jerry and Dave strutting their stuff as members of amateur strip act Hot Metal?

April 10th – 18th:  Company – The Masquerade Theatre proudly presents Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Set firmly in, and often about, New York, Company follows five married, once married, or soon to be married couples and their mutual friend, Robert, a 35 year old bachelor who has been unable to connect in a long-term relationship. The relationships are presented in a series of vignettes, primarily through Bobby's eyes, so that we see the less than ideal aspects of commitment. However, it is obvious to the audience that the committed are happy. Eventually, Bobby learns that while relationships aren't perfect, they are a necessary part of being alive.

April 28th – May 9th:  Little House on the Prairie – This work has remained one of the most popular and beloved celebrations of early Americana since the appearance of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s popular classic book series 70 years ago. Now the inspirational stories take on a brand new frontier in an uplifting new musical. Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura for 10 years in the much loved television series, continues her legacy by starring as Ma. Families will continue to fall in love with these life affirming stories about the Ingalls’ struggles and triumphs through the celebration of the pioneering spirit and the core values on which this country was founded — a spirit that resonates within each of us today.

April 29th – May 2nd:  Meet Me in St. Louis – Second Baptist school is performing this treasure in musical theatre. A warmhearted story of a happy family’s life as they anticipate the wonders of the 1904 World’s Fair.

May 6th – 8th:  Mixed Rep – Dominic Walsh Dance Theater is performing its spring mixed repertoire program offers an escape to Europe without leaving the city. Czech choreographer Vaclav Kunes will make the U.S. premier of his Small Hour, along with revivals of Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti’s provocative Pression and Walsh’s mysterious yet whimsical I Napoletani which will leave you smiling and craving pizza!

May 9th:  Roman Holiday – Ars Lyrica presents a revival of Clori, Tirsi e Fileno, Handel’s joyous romp through the most thoroughly Roman of Baroque musical genres, the dramatic cantata. This “final stop” of the season features mezzo-soprano Sonja Bruzauskas, soprano Melissa Givens and counter-tenor Gerrod Pagenkopf in the title roles.

May 14th – 23rd:  Jane Eyre – The elegant and beautiful story of the governess whose faith, will and perseverance overcomes all of her earthly faults and failings and instills in her a quiet courage that makes her brave enough for love returns to Masquerade in a new and improved fashion - allowing us to stage the Houston Premiere of Jane Eyre for the second time! Enjoy again the timeless story of plain Jane Eyre's growth from orphaned student at the Lowood School to governess for the ward of the enigmatic and passionate Edward Fairfax Rochester, and the all-consuming love that grows like a fire between the two.

May 25th – June 6th:  Young Frankenstein – The classic Mel Brooks movie is ALIVE...and it's headed here! You'll have a monstrously good time at this spectacular new production, winner of the 2008 Outer Critics Circle Award. Don't miss the sensational cast delivering all your favorite moments from the classic film, plus brand-new show-stopping numbers for the stage, including "Transylvania Mania," "He Vas My Boyfriend" and “Puttin' on the Ritz." This wickedly inspired re-imagining of the Frankenstein legend follows bright young Dr. Frankenstein (that's Fronkensteen) as he attempts to create a monster--but not without scary and hilarious complications. The brains behind the laughter is mad genius and three- time Tony winner Mel Brooks himself--who wrote the music and lyrics and co-wrote the book- along with his record-breaking team from The Producers: five-time Tony-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman and three-time Tony-winning writer, Thomas Meehan.

May 28th – 29th:  The Curt Miller Magic & Comedy Show – Magic, comedy, Las Vegas illusions. Don’t miss The Curt Miller Magic & Comedy Show, the biggest magic show to hit Houston since David Copperfield way back in 1998. You’ll see people floating, sawed in half, and even vanished right before your eyes. Curt blends dazzling magic with great clean comedy in a theatrical show that will leave you amazed, amused, and most of all, entertained. You might even get chosen to be a part of the show.

for more information, see www.thehobbycenter.org or call (713) 315-2525

Houston Symphony   (Jones Hall – 615 Louisiana)

April 1st– 3rd:  The Gershwin Songbook – Remember dancing to your favorite Gershwin tunes with guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli.

April 8th– 11th:  Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony – Shostakovich wrote, “The theme of my Fifth Symphony is the making of a man. I saw man with all his experiences in the center of the composition . . . In the finale the tragically tense impulses of the earlier movements are resolved in optimism and joy of living.”

April 14th:  Eschenbach and Lang Lang – When two incandescent musicians combine, the result is electrifying. Christoph Eschenbach returns to Houston for the first time in eight years.

April 16th– 18th:  Franck’s Symphony in D Minor – In Franck’s greatest creation, you’ll hear achingly beautiful melody with luxuriant harmony, repeatedly transformed into one emotion after another.

April 22nd – 25th:  Beriloz Symphonie Fantastique – Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique, an “Episode in the Life of an Artist,” careens from despair through passion to a psychedelic vision.

April 30th– May 2nd:  Pink Martini – Pink Martini returns to delight you with their refreshing blend of classical jazz, Latin and Parisian cabaret music. Always fun and fresh, they will perform a new set of songs you are sure to love.

May 7th – 9th:  Handel’s Water Music – When Handel’s Water Music premiered in 1717, legend has it that King George I loved the music so much that he had the musicians play it three times from start to finish. Consisting of three suites, Handel’s Water Music will amaze you as it goes from vibrant dance to intimate reflection and back again. Come hear the music that enchanted even kings.

May 13th – 16th:  Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony – Lively and grand, Mozart’s Jupiter symphony is in constant motion from start to finish. At the time of the symphony’s composition, Mozart had become enamored of the work of J.S. Bach. This admiration can be seen in the Jupiter Symphony’s glorious final fugue, which pays homage to Bach. Come delight in this kinetic masterwork.

May 21st – 23rd:  Rite of Spring and “Rach 3” – Upon its debut in 1913, Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” was so innovative and unique, that it started a riot. Though we hope your reactions will be more civilized, come listen to Stravinsky’s hypnotic, sometimes jarring, but always compelling, masterwork. Let the rhythmic dissonance envelop you as you enjoy one of the seminal works of the 20th century.

May 28th – 30th:  Cirque du Symphonie – Bigger and better than ever, and with new performers! Experience this exhilarating marriage of symphonic music to artistry, balance and strength. The Houston Symphony breathes musical life into every move of soaring aerial artists, unbelievable strongmen, a hand balancer - and the Spanish Web!

for more information, see www.houstonsymphony.com or call (713) 224-7575

Jones Hall   (615 Louisiana)

April 9th:  Soweto Gospel Choir - Direct from South Africa, the 26 member Soweto Gospel Choir is an awe-inspiring vocal ensemble, performing in six different languages, in a stunning program of tribal, traditional and popular African gospel music, as well as other inspiring songs, earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, acappella and charismatic performances combined to uplift the soul and express South Africa's great hopes for the future.  Under the direction of notable choirmaster David Mulovhedzi and South African Director and Executive Producer Beverly Bryer, the Soweto Gospel Choir, draws on the best talent from the many churches and communities in and around Soweto.  Since the Choir began touring internationally in early 2003, they have performed to nightly standing ovations, sold-out houses and rave reviews.

April 28th:  David Sedaris - With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America's pre-eminent humor writers.  The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that Sedaris is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.  Adult content.

for more information, see www.spahouston.org  

Toyota Center   (1510 Polk Street)

April 3rd:                    Alicia Keys   8:00 p.m.

April 30th:                  Celtic Woman   8:00 p.m.

May 25th – 26th:      Taylor Swift   7:00 p.m.

May 28th:                   Los TR3S Tour  8:00 p.m.

June 9th:                   Maxwell & Jill Scott  7:30 p.m.

July 3rd:                     A. R. Rahman  8:30 p.m.

for more information, visit www.houstontoyotacenter.com or call (866) 4HOUTIX

Wortham Center – Houston Ballet   (Texas & Smith)

April 16th – 17th:  Academy Spring Showcase – The gifted young artists of Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy, the company’s professional training wing, cap their studies with two performances of a program featuring works tailor-made to show them at their best.

May 27th – June 6th:  Pecos – Created by the legendary George Balanchine for New York City Ballet in 1978, Ballo della Regina is a virtuoso set of variations, comparable to the bel canto style of opera, set to ballet music that was cut from the original production of Verdi's Don Carlos. Set to a specially commissioned score by Matthew Pierce, Stanton Welch’s vibrantly theatrical Pecos Bill dramatizes the poignant romance between the legendary Texas hero Pecos Bill and the gutsy tomboy Sluefoot Sue. Modern dance legend Mark Morris’s Sandpaper Ballet contains the hallmarks of his work: wit, humor, and dazzlingly inventive movement, along with whimsical green and white costumes by noted fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi.

for more information, see www.houstonballet.org or call (713) 227-ARTS

Wortham Center – Houston Grand Opera   (Texas & Smith)

April 16th – May 1st:  The Queen of Spades – One man’s obsession with a lucky card trick turns the fates of three in Tchaikovsky’s vibrant melodrama. Russian tenor Vladimir Galouzine returns to HGO as the tormented Hermann, internationally renowned soprano Tatiana Monogarova makes her HGO debut as his beloved Lisa, and Vasily Ladyuk is the dashing Prince Yeletsky. Canadian mezzo-soprano Judith Forst is the keeper of the fated secret. This award-winning production is a visual treat with imaginative puppets and mixed-period costumes. Italian maestro Carlo Rizzi conducts.

April 30th – May 14th:  Xerxes – One of Handel’s most popular operas, Xerxes is a feast for the ears, and the eyes in this classic eighteenth-century production. A mad entanglement of love stories, the opera follows the tyrannical and flamboyant Xerxes in his quest for Romilda, who is beloved by his very own brother Arsamene. The award-winning production is set in an English pleasure garden—the perfect place for an elaborate lovers’ chase!

for more information, see www.houstongrandopera.org or call (713) 228-6737

DaCamera of Houston (as noted below)

April 6th:  Modern Romantics – George Rochberg’s monumental String Quartet No. 3 represented a seminal break in 20th-century music. Radically marking a return to tonality, the quartet’s overt romanticism provoked discussion and controversy at its premiere in 1973. Rochberg set the stage for composers of succeeding generations to carry on the Romantic spirit. Harbison’s November 19, 1828 is a poignant memorial to Franz Schubert. The Shepherd School’s Jalbert, winner of the prestigious Stoeger Award for achievements in chamber music, is represented with the Houston premiere of a major new work.

April 24th:  Esperanza Spalding – If “esperanza” is the Spanish word for hope, then bassist, vocalist and composer Esperanza Spalding could not have been given a more fitting name at birth. The 23-year-old prodigy is blessed with uncanny instrumental chops, a multi-lingual voice that is part angel and part siren, and a natural beauty that borders on the hypnotic.

May 1st:  The Twilight of Romanticism – DaCamera welcomes back the brilliant Orion String Quartet and proudly presents soprano Kelley Nassief in her DaCamera debut for an evening of works on the cusp between Romantic and modern. The seminal compositions of Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms, viewed as musical opposites in their own time, each provided irreplaceable inspiration for the young Arnold Schoenberg. Both influences are heard in the passionate and fiery Chamber Symphony, for which pianist Sarah Rothenberg joins the quartet.

for more information, see www.dacamera.com    

Miller Outdoor Theatre   (Hermann Park)

Located on nearly eight acres in the heart of Hermann Park, Miller Outdoor Theatre is the only free open-air theatre of its kind in the United States. It is a home away from home for some of Houston's most dynamic arts organizations such as HITS Unicorn Theater, Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, Festival Chicano, Houston Symphony, Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) and a host of other multi-cultural groups and theater companies.  Performances take place from March through November.

April 8th –17th:  Cats!– Based on the universally popular poetry of T.S. Eliot, CATS tells the story, in song and dance, of the annual gathering of Jellicle cats at which time one special cat is selected to ascend to the Heaviside layer. A true musical theatre phenomenon, CATS opened at London's New London Theatre on May 11, 1981 and ran for a record-setting 21 years. CATS's London success was nearly matched on Broadway where it ran at the Wintergarden Theatre for just over 18 years. HITS Theatre will be presenting CATS with an all-youth cast, ranging from 8 to 19 years old.  8:00 p.m.

April 20th:  Three Little Pigs – A bilingual (Spanish/English) show about three brothers, one messy, one a daydreamer, and the last who always has a plan for the future. They are Pig Scouts, the pride of youthful swinedom, and they must set up camp to earn their merit badges. Now, who is that unfamiliar scout master who will be judging their work? It’s the Wolf, Big Bad to be specific, that’s who. Presented by Express Children’s Theatre.  11:00 a.m.

April 21st:  Swing, Jive and Pop! Into Dance – Watch dance of all styles and eras explode onto stage to engage, entertain and enlighten students of all ages. Swing in to the 30s, tap to “Singin’ in the Rain,” Hand Jive through the 50s and Electric Slide into today! Students participate in an energy filled hour of dance, music, costumes and learn fun historical tidbits of information on fashion, games, and toys. Program begins at 11:00 a.m. and is presented by the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company.  11:00 a.m.

April 22nd:  Blue and Green: Earth Day Jazz in the Park – Da Camera of Houston and Waste Management present Earth Day Jazz in the Park featuring the University of Houston Jazz Orchestra with special guest saxophonist Bill Evans and student jazz ensembles from around the Bayou City. Throughout his 20-year career as a solo artist, saxophonist Bill Evans has earned multiple Grammy Award nominations and explored a variety of musical settings that go well beyond the confines of traditional jazz, including hip-hop, fusion, reggae, Brazilian and slamming funk. In the 1980's, Evans spent four years in legendary trumpeter Miles Davis's band. Performances by student jazz ensembles from around the Bayou City, including City Jazz Kidz and the HSPVA jazz combo. The evening culminates in a performance by the University of Houston Jazz Orchestra with special guest saxophonist Bill Evans.  6:00 p.m.

April 24th:  Vestas Music at Miller, featuring Ray Wylie Hubbard and Kelly Willis – don’t miss this evening of great music by two iconic Texans . . Kelly Willis, proud mother of four and “alternative country’s golden goddess” with her old-fashioned country voice that slips easily from honky tonk sass to soulful blues, and the legendary Texas troubadour extraordinaire, Ray Wylie Hubbard, he of Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother fame, whose most recent CD “A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment” has been lauded as one of his bluesiest and finest recordings ever.  Presented by the Miller Theatre Advisory Board.   7:30 p.m.

April 30th:  Let’s Dance – Presented by Several Dancers Core, Let's Dance is an electrifying and entertaining dance sampler by CORE Performance Company with guests Becky Valls, Leslie Scates, Teresa Chapman, members of the UH Dance Ensemble and Rice Dance Theatre. The performance travels an array of emotions and styles, from the exciting and frenetic to those of surprise and revelation. The music in each piece acts as a passionate catalyst, adding dimension to this journey of artistic expression.  8:00 p.m.

May 1st:  East Meets West VIII – Dance of Asian America will collaborate with Mitsi Dancing School, Revolve Dance Company, Ad Deum Dance Company, and Barbara King Dance Company to bring you all new and exciting high caliber dances from the East and the West.  8:15 p.m.

May 2nd:  Cinco de Mayo Festival – The Cinco de Mayo event at the Miller Outdoor Theatre has become tradition for the Hispanic community in Houston. Every year we strive to give our community a taste and experience of our culture. Like each year, we bring local talent such as dancers, singers, performers, musicians and more!  6:00 p.m.

May 3rd – 6th:  A Way Home: Opera to Go!– Houston Grand Opera presents the world premiere performances of Las Mariposas (The Butterflies): A 3,000 mile journey begins following a magical transformation. How does a butterfly find the home it has never seen, but that its ancestors have inhabited for thousands of years?  11:00 a.m.

May 7th – 9th:  Mixed Repertory Program – Houston Ballet’s program will feature three diverse works by three of today’s most sought-after choreographers; Stanton Welch’s Falling, Nacho Duato’s, Jardi Tancat, and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room. Falling, choreographed in 2005, is a playful pure dance work set to Mozart’s “Salzburg Symphonies.” Jardi Tancat, created in 1983 by famed Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato and set to a collection of chilling Catalonian folk songs is the poignant story of a people working in their barren land. In the Upper Room, clearly showcases Twyla Tharp’s success as a contemporary dance maker who seamlessly melds the worlds of modern dance and Ballet.   8:00 a.m.

May 12th:  Swing, Jive and Pop! Into Dance – Watch dance of all styles and eras explode onto stage to engage, entertain and enlighten students of all ages. Swing in to the 30s, tap to “Singin’ in the Rain,” Hand Jive through the 50s and Electric Slide into today! Students participate in an energy filled hour of dance, music, costumes and learn fun historical tidbits of information on fashion, games, and toys. Program begins at 11:00 a.m. and is presented by the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company.  11:00 a.m.

May 14th:  Ritmo Latino – Society for the Performing Arts presents Ritmo Latino! Featuring the Grammy award winning Pablo Ziegler Quintet for New Tango, joined by special guest Claudia Acuña combines the sultry tango rhythms with the energetic spontaneity of jazz. Join us for the most successful blend of modern jazz and tango you’ll ever hear. 8:00 p.m.

May 15th:  Folk Dances of India – There are many types of dances in India, from the classical Indian dance forms, which are deeply religious in content to the lively and mirthful folk dances of India, which are danced on more trivial and happy occasions. The skilful swirling of the feet, gracefully moving the bodies to the rhythm of the highly focused soulful music, transports one to the beautiful realm of relaxing solitude! Indian dance forms are beautiful expression of the moods, celebration and gaiety of the people. 8:00 p.m.

May 21st – 22nd:  Tosca – Houston Grand Opera presents Puccini's timeless drama Tosca. The spurned Baron Scarpia will stop at nothing to destroy Cavaradossi, the object of Tosca's affections. Based on HGO's new production originated by acclaimed British director, John Caird, Tosca features classic set and costume designs by Bunny Christie. Louisa Miller directs these performances at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Tosca features Cynthia Clayton as the title role, Hector Vasquez as Scarpia, and Alex Dolgov as Cavaradossi. Members of the acclaimed HGO studio complete the cast. HGO Assistant Conductor Eric Melear leads the cast and HGO Orchestra, Chorus and Children's stories.  8:00 p.m.

May 27th – 30th:  Dancin’ in the Street Motown and More Review – This electrifying and soulful revue features many of Houston’s most talented vocalists and dancers accompanied by the 23-piece soulful BASEMENT orchestra. Dancin’ in the Street…Motown and More Revue features soul music from its inception in the 1950s through contemporary times. The BACE company recreates the music of legendary soul music greats as recorded by Motown, STAX, Atlantic, Philadelphia International, Duke and Peacock and other labels. 8:15 p.m.

June 4th:  Sizzling Summer Dance – Enjoy an evening of sizzling summer dance guaranteed to please everyone!  The Houston Metropolitan Dance Company will explode onto stage in a performance of color, movement, music, diversity and dance.  8:30 p.m.

June 7th :  Hear Ye! Hear Ye! – Musicians are chosen from over 350 applicants.  In order to be a Houston Young Artist, the featured musicians compete against the best young artists in the Houston area.  They will captivate your heart with their passion for their instruments.  Audience members will have an opportunity to participate in the performance.  Presented by Houston Young Artist’s Concert Series.  11:00 a.m.

June 9th – 11th:  Disney’s My Son Pinocchio Jr. – the classic tale of an aging toymaker and his puppet, Pinocchio, takes on timely issues in this production.  Grammy Award winner and master melodist Stephen Schwartz adds a compelling score of original songs to the beloved classics “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “I’ve Got No Strings”.  Join the Blue Fairy, Stromboli and a lively cast of characters as Geppetto journeys beyond the Toy Shop to discover what makes the “perfect child”.  This family friendly musical is appropriate for all audiences and is a magical mix of heartwarming fairytale and action-packed adventure.  Audiences will love following Pinocchio’s journey from an awkward wooden puppet to a real, live boy and will be charmed by Geppetto’s transformation from demanding creator to a real, live father. Presented by TUTs Humphreys School.  11:00 a.m. 

June 11th:  Miller Classic Films: Swingtime – Classic Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers feel-good film of the Depression-era, considered the dancing duo’s greatest collaboration.  8:30 p.m.

June 12th:  The Lee Boys – One of America’s finest African-American sacred steel ensembles, this family group of three brothers and their three nephews deliver an inspired, unique form of gospel music with a hard-driving, blues-based beat.  8:30 p.m.

June 19th:  A Gulf Coast Juneteenth – A Gulf Coast Juneteenth celebrates the rich African-American musical traditions of Texas and the Gulf Coast, including blues, zydeco, jazz and gospel.  The celebration is centered around the historic event of Juneteenth, the commemoration of June 19, 1865, when slaves learned of their freedom.  7:00 p.m.

June 20th:  A Juneteenth Gospel Celebration – This production will feature African-American gospel traditions of Houston and the Gulf Coast region as a celebration of Juneteenth, including a small music combo, a choir and a featured gospel artist.    Presented by Houston Institute for Culture.  6:00 p.m.

June 21st:  Hear Ye! Hear Ye! – Experience the artists of tomorrow – young geniuses, aged 4-18, perform for your entertainment.  Musicians are chosen from over 350 applicants.  In order to be a Houston Young Artist, the featured musicians compete against the best young artists in the Houston area.  They will captivate your heart with their passion for their instruments.  Audience members will have an opportunity to participate in the performance.  Presented by Houston Young Artist’s Concert Series.  11:00 a.m.

for more information, see www.milleroutdoortheatre.org  

A.D. Players   (2710 West Alabama)

April 23rd – May 30th:  The Little Foxes (large stage) – The story of a family divided by ruthlessness and personal quests for power and wealth. This award-winning play by Lillian Jellman offers a drama of love, hate, betrayal and even the consideration of murder amid the customs and manners of early 20^th century society.

April 21st – May 22nd:  Alice Now! (Children’s Theater) – Alive Now! takes us on a topsy-turvy journey through her adventures in Wonderland. Favorites such as the White Rabbit, Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter and March Hare also join the fun.

July 9th – August 29th:  Leaving Iowa (large stage) – A story for everyone who has ever revisited memories of youth, Leaving Iowa, follows Don, a middle-aged man who returns home to Iowa in search of a final resting place for his father’s ashes.  As he travels across the state searching for the perfect place to scatter the ashes, memories of childhood road trips with his father resurface, and he is finally able to come to peace with his past and present.

for more information, see www.adplayers.org   

Main Street Theatre   (2540 Times Blvd.)

Thru April 25th:  Driftwood (main stage) – A wheat farm in Alfalfa County, OK is the setting for Lans Traverse’s raw and gripping play Driftwood. Moving between 1933 and 1954, the play exposes the gritty underbelly of a family torn apart by greed. Orville, the son who was given a medical education while his sisters went to work, moves like a snake amongst his family members, tricking his sisters out of their inheritance and ultimately turning his own parents out of their house. Yet in the end, it is Orville who must face what he’s done and stand alone, while the strength of family brings the others together and gives hope for the future.

April 13th – May 21st: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Young Theater) – Oompa – Loompas, Golden tickets, and candy bars! Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a magical fantasy where dreams really do come true. Travel through the wacky (and top secret, shhh!) world of jelly bean stalks, chocolate rivers and hair toffee. Join Charlie, Willy Wonka and all the others in their dazzling adventures through the Chocolate Factory, a journey which celebrates the endless possibilities in life.

May 8th – June 6th:  Arcadia (main stage) – “it’s the best possible time to be alive, when everything you thought you knew is wrong”.  In Tom Stoppard’s time-traveling masterpiece Arcadia, the time is 1809, as the Coverly gardens are being transformed to the Gothic picturesque and the young genius Thomasina is forming a startling scientific theory while the adults around her are preoccupied with illicit passions and professional rivalries.  The time is also two hundred years later, as academic adversaries Hannah and Bernard piece together puzzling clues from 1809 in their search for an increasingly elusive truth about Lord Byron and his connection to the Coverlys.  Both worlds intersect and even collide as the quests for knowledge and passion run their courses, and everyone is forced to confront the reality of the attraction Newton left out.  Please note that some material may be inappropriate for younger children.

for more information, see www.mainstreettheater.com or call (713) 524-6706

Opera in the Heights   (1703 Heights Blvd.)

Thru April 10th:  La Boheme – Who doesn’t love opera’s most famous lovers? Mimi and Rodolfo, the most popular work ever… at the end, Puccini doesn’t leave a dry eye in the house.

for more information, see www.operaintheheights.org or call (713) 861-5303

Playhouse 1960   (6814 Grant Road)

Thru April 3rd: God’s Favorite – Successful Long Island businessman Joe Benjamin is a modern-day Job with a high-maintenance wife, ungrateful children and wise-cracking household help. Just when it seems it couldn’t get any worse, he is visited by Sidney Lipton aka A Messenger from God (and compulsive film buff) with a mission: test Joe’s faith and report back to “the Boss”. The jokes and Tests of Faith fly fast and furious as Neil Simon spins a contemporary morality tale like no other in this hilarious comedy.

April 23rd – May 15th: Mixed Feelings – The show revolves around Vernon who is very miserable in his chosen profession of an accountant, lives a rather mundane and boring life to and from his office every day which accounts for most of his life. His wife, Jan is surprised one day when Vernon, without any notice, mysteriously and suddenly disappears from their home in suburban Surrey in England. She is just as shocked when, six months later, Vernon, just as suddenly, re-appears again in their home’s dining room, all without any kind of explanation for, or contact during, his absence. The reason for his leaving and return unfold with surprise and funny explanations and dramatic situations throughout the performance. Twists and turns, misunderstandings, frustrations, exasperations and disbelief that all contribute to this household chaos, further complicated by friends and work colleagues trying to help. Never a dull moment for Vernon as adjusts to his new life where he is leered at by taxi drivers, pursued by his best friend and jealous mistress. But his real concern is, will his wife and daughter, Zoe, understand him! 

for more information, see www.playhouse1960.com or call (281) 587-8243

Radio Music Theatre   (2623 Colquitt)

Thru May 8th:  Birthday from Hell – It has been a year since Ned's passing, and it's Bridgette's birthday.  Unfortunately, in memorializing the anniversary of Ned's death, no one remembers Bridgette's birthday, including her husband, Lou.  And the Widow Mildred is now being courted by Ned's twin brother Gebble.

May 13th – August 28th:  Fear of Ducks – Back again to the shaded oasis of Precious Trees (Houston’s most planned, planned community) – where the water is a perfect shade of blue and the skies are not cloudy all day.  Houston satire reigns as RMT pokes a little fun at our glorious city.

for more information, see www.radiomusictheatre.com or call (713) 522-7722

Stages Repertory Theatre   (3201 Allen Parkway)

Thru April 11th:  Speech and Debate – Teen misfits Solomon, Diwata and Howie discover each other online and build a tentative alliance in the form of their high school's first speech and debate team. Now they just have to decide which of their pressing personal issues will make for the best performance: teen pregnancy, online predators, gay/straight school programs...or who should be the lead in the school play. This winning, fiercely funny dark comedy was hailed as a brilliant look at the modern teenager.

April 21st – May 16th: Man From Nebraska – Ken Carpenter is a good husband and father who awakens one night to realize he no longer believes in God. As  his family grapples with this shock to their orderly lives, Ken follows his pastor’s advice and strikes out on a quest for his faith that leads him through the wild world of London counterculture and ultimately to a new beginning. A masterpiece of subtlety and grace by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, this moving, funny play reveals yearning and deep emotion beneath the surface of seemingly tranquil lives.

June 2nd – 27th:  The Complete History of America (abridged) – 600 years of history in 6000 seconds!  From Washington to Watergate, yea verily from the Bering Strait to Baghdad, from New World to New World Order, three clownish cultural guerillas will take you on a rollercoaster ride through the glorious quagmire that is American History.  We’ll tackle such controversial questions as: Who really discovered America?  How many Democrats does it take to screw in a light bulb? And what the hell is the difference between North and South Dakota anyway?  They say history is written by the winners . . . now it’s our turn.

for more information, see www.stagestheatre.com or call (713) 527-0123

Wortham Center   (Texas & Smith)

April 1st – 3rd:  Dance Salad Festival – The much anticipated annual Dance Salad Festival returns! Each curated performance presents a roster of outstanding dancers and choreography from around the world. Among those coming to Houston exclusively for Dance Salad Festival are The Royal Ballet of Flanders, Antwerp, Belgium; Norwegian National Ballet, Oslo, Norway; Ballet de Lorraine, France; Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genéve, Switzerland; Hungarian National Ballet, Hungary; Compañia Nacional de Danza, Mexico; Jacoby & Pronk, New York/Amsterdam and others.

April 11th:  Interpreti Veneziani – Sitting in a semicircle and playing music in a lively conversation, this nine-member string ensemble performs more than 350 concerts a year in Venice at the San Vidal Church, where Vivaldi used to play. Now the group sprinkles Venetian magic wherever they tour. From the Bayreuth Festival to the Tokyo Suntory Hall, audiences and critics alike have applauded the Interpreti Veneziani for the high level of their playing and their expertise as soloists and ensemble musicians. Their Houston debut program features Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Paganini’s La Campanella, Handel’s Concerto Grosso, and Preludio e Allegro by Pugnani/Kreisler. The Interpreti Veneziani made their debut in 1987, immediately gaining a reputation for the youthful exuberance and all-Italian brio characterizing their performances. Their important achievements include appearances in the Bayruth Festival, concerts at Stockholm’s Royal Palace, participation in the World Vision telemarathon at the Kirov Theatre to mark the reinstatement of the name St. Petersburg, a concert at the Osaka Symphony Hall in live broadcast for Japanese radio, concerts at the Tokyo Suntory Hall and Kjoi Hall and appearances in glamorous concert seasons such as those of Sapporo and Yokohama during four tours of Japan.

April 20th:  Bach in the Saddle Again: An Evening with P.D.Q. Bach – Since 1965 the tireless Professor Peter Schickele has kept audiences in stitches with the music of P.D.Q. Bach, the most dangerous musician since Nero. The Professor has appeared with over fifty orchestras including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the London Symphony Orchestra. On this occasion he joins the Houston Chamber Choir on stage for performances including the Knock, Knock Cantata, The Ground Round and the Liebeslieder Polkas.

April 23rd:  Aszure Barton & Artists – Brilliant Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton has burst on the scene with “works that are quirky, deep, cheeky, and poignant,” says The Globe and Mail. Mikhail Baryshnikov calls her dances “extraordinary” and “uncompromising.” She has choreographed for Sydney Dance Company, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, The Juilliard School, films, and the Broadway stage. Now she brings her own company of consummate, dazzling dancers to Houston in her latest work Busk, set to Russian composer Ljova’s gypsy inspired score, and Blue Soup, a collage of highlights from recent works, including A Travelling Show, Mais Oui, and Come In. Aszure Barton and Artists is an organization dedicated to the growth of artists and production of contemporary dance performance. Since its founding in 2002, the company has developed its activities as an international contemporary dance project based in New York City. With her intimate ensemble, Aszure Barton continues to develop critically acclaimed productions around the globe. These works have toured to Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Asia, Africa, Canada, and the United States.

May 15th:  Classical in the Raw – For the season finale, Mercury broadens into the classical repertoire with a refreshing take on Mozart’s 40th Symphony and Beethoven’s 1st Symphony. These symphonies represent the peak of an era –the finale of Mozart’s career and the brilliant beginning of Beethoven’s. They are the perfect finale to an exciting season. Hear the symphonies as they were meant to be performed with period correct instruments and with the crispness and energy that they were intended to have.

May 15th:  Celebration of Unity – The season finale celebrates 10 years of unity in Texas Medical Center Orchestra. To make beautiful music together, in harmony, requires a unity of purpose and a union of souls, with every member of the orchestra committed to that goal Carmina Burana demands the orchestra merge with a multi generation, interdisciplinary synergy of souls from the adult and children’s choirs to dueling pianos and vocal soloists bringing together four generations of musicians, in a celebration of unity in music making.

for more information, see www.houstontx.gov/worthamcenter/boxoffice.htm

Live Music Venues

House of Blues Houston   (1204 Caroline Street)

April 1st:         Steel Panther   9:00 p.m.

April 1st:         Los Amigos Invisibles   9:00 p.m.

April 2nd:       Julia Nunes   8:00 p.m.

April 2nd:       Edwin McCain   8:30 p.m.

April 3rd:        Scott McCurry   9:00 p.m.

April 6th:        Kidz in the Hall & 88 Keys   8:00 p.m.

April 8th:        Taddy Porter   8:00 p.m.

April 9th:        Yeasayer with Javelin   9:00 p.m.

April 10th:      Emily Osment   6:00 p.m.

April 10th:      Old 97’s   9:00 p.m.

April 11th:      Los Lonely Boys   8:00 p.m.

April 12th:      Julian Casablancas   8:00 p.m.

April 12th:      U.S. Air Guitar Championship   8:30 p.m.

April 13th:      Thunder from Down Under   8:00 p.m.

April 16th:      Aqua Teen Hunger Force   8:00 p.m.

April 17th:      Michael Franks   9:00 p.m.

April 18th:      Puddle of Mudd with Saliva   8:00 p.m.

April 20th:      Les Claypool   8:00 p.m.

April 21st:      Porcupine Tree   8:00 p.m.

April 22nd:     Bone Thugs-N-Harmony   10:00 p.m.

April 23rd:      Serena Ryder   7:00 p.m.

April 23rd:      Green River Ordinance   7:30 p.m.

April 23rd:      Chamillionaire and Paul Wall   10:00 p.m.

April 24th:      Who’s Bad   9:00 p.m.

April 26th:      Steppin Laser Tour   8:00 p.m.

April 27th:      Enrique Bunbury   8:00 p.m.

April 30th:      HIM plus Special Guests   7:00 p.m.

May 1st:         The Dead Weather   9:00 p.m.

May 1st:         Smile Smile   9:30 p.m.

May 2nd:        Toots & The Maytals   8:00 p.m.

May 7th:         An Evening with Gipsy Kings   9:00 p.m.

May 8th:         Ben Folds and a Piano   9:00 p.m.

May 9th:         Gilberto Santa Rosa and Oscar D’Leon   8:00 p.m.

May 14th:       Minus the Bear   8:00 p.m.

May 14th:       Paul Thorn   9:00 p.m.

May 15th:       Toad the Wet Sprocket   9:00 p.m.

May 17th:       Jordan Sparks with Kate Voegele   8:00 p.m.

May 18th:       Angels and Airwaves with Say Anything   8:00 p.m.

May 29th:       Robert Cray Band   8:30 p.m.

May 30th:       La Roux   8:00 p.m.

for more information, see www.livenation.com or call (713) 230-1600

Verizon Wireless Theatre  (520 Texas Avenue)

April 16th:      Owl City   7:00 p.m.

April 23rd:      Chelsea Handler   8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

April 24th:      Jeff Beck   8:00 p.m.

April 25th:      Choo Choo Soul   1:00 p.m.

April 30th:      Phoenix with Two Door Cinema Club   8:00 p.m.

May 1st:         Trans Siberian Orchestra   8:00 p.m.

May 2nd:        An Intimate Evening with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake   8:00 p.m.

May 5th:         Norah Jones   8:00 p.m.

May 7th:         Straight-No Chaser   8:00 p.m.

May 11th – 16th:      Angela Barrow-Dunlap’s Church Girl   various

May 28th:       The Bamboozle Roadshow   3:30 p.m.

for more information, see www.livenation.com or call (713) 230-1600

Warehouse Live  (813 St. Emanuel Street)

April 1st:         Hockey   8:30 p.m.

April 2nd:       The Standard   9:00 p.m.

April 7th:        Local Licks   9:00 p.m.

April 7th:        The Big Pink   7:00 p.m.

April 8th:        Ani DiFranco   7:00 p.m.

April 9th:        One Mic Concert Series   9:00 p.m.

April 11th:      Camera Obscura   8:00 p.m.

April 22nd:     Slightly Stoopid   9:00 p.m.

April 23rd:      Jimmie Vaughn and the Tilt-a-Whirl Band   9:00 p.m.

April 26th:      The James Reese Band   9:30 p.m.

April 27th:      Coheed and Cambria   8:00 p.m.

April 29th:      Pretty Lights   9:00 p.m.

May 2nd:        Dr. Dog   9:00 p.m.

May 3rd:         Alexisonfire   7:30 p.m.

May 7th:         The Standard   9:00 p.m.

May 8th:         Stiletto Jam   9:00 p.m.

May 12th:       Local Licks   9:00 p.m.

May 13th:       A Day to Remember   7:00 p.m.

May 15th:       Caribou   9:00 p.m.

May 18th:       Shelby Lynne   8:30 p.m.

May 31st:       The James Reese Band   9:30 p.m.

for more information, see www.warehouselive.com 

Museums

Blaffer Gallery  (University of Houston campus, entrance 16 off Cullen Boulevard)

Thru April 24th: 2010 School of Art Master’s Thesis Exhibition

May 14th – July 31st: Tomas Saraceno: Lighter than Air –This summer, Blaffer Gallery presents Tomás Saraceno: Lighter than Air. Organized by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and showcasing Saraceno’s installations, sculptures, and photographs made since 2003, the touring exhibition is the artist’s first large-scale museum presentation in the United States. By reexamining the conventions of art and architecture, Saraceno suggests imaginative solutions to complex questions about how we populate and coexist in the world. His architectural proposals use the interdependencies of systems to ponder ecological questions that go beyond the natural world. Specifically, the artist contrives environments that anticipate new socio-cultural platforms for experiencing and interacting with our surroundings.

May 14th – July 31st: First Take: Jacco Olivier – Fusing painting and filmmaking, Jacco Olivier continually reworks his canvases, photographing each iteration and brushstroke, and finally combining the various stages with their liquid color into films.

for more information, see www.hfac.uh.edu/blaffer or call (713) 743-9530

Children’s Museum of Houston  (1500 Binz)

The Children’s Museum of Houston offers a wonderful array of ongoing exhibits, created to inspire children’s imaginations and help them to learn through curiosity and hands-on activities and experimentation.

April 1st – 7th:  Egg-Stravaganza Wonderweek – Break out of your shell and spring into action. Celebrate the unbelievable object of the season, the egg. Whether you dye them, eat them or watch tem hatch, eggs are always full of potential.

LED Springtime Bling – Pearls, rubies and diamonds are nice, but if you want our ling to have zing, make it glow. Come design your own jewelry pieces that incorporate LEDs while learning how they work.

Excellent Eggs – investigate nature’s egg-credible creations. Match eggs to the birds that laid them and play a game to figure out which animal comes out of which egg and explore the parts of a chicken egg.

Egg-tastic Friction Fever – Experiment with friction by making an egg zip line, egg parachutes, viscosity tubes, density bottles and more.

The Incredible Edible Egg – Eggs ar energy. Head to Power Science Lab for a lesson on this special food.

Egg Junktion – Weave a wonderful basket ad build your own Humpty Dumpty and 3D egg decorations to hang in your home.

Egg Color Draw – Use your knowledge of probability to figure out which color eggs will be drawn from the basket.

April 8th – 14th:  Universal Language of Children Wonderweek – Being a child is a lot of fun but it’s even more fun when you can express yourself. Learn about storytelling, forensic science, animal calls and other ways to communicate and discover information as the museum explores language in celebration of the Universal Language of Children photo exhibit.

Linda Befeld – Many socities have spoken histories passed down through stories. Listen to storyteller Linda Befeld tell magical tales from all over the world. 6:30 p.m. Thursday and 2:000 p.m. Saturday.

KIPP Sharpstown College Prep Chorus – Enjoy a performance by the group. 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Communicating Sensation – Animals have some pretty amazing communication skills. Learn about bird songs, frog chirps and mammal wails at Eco Station. Make froggy musical instruments and even create your own wildlife call.

Fascinating Forensics – Many children enjoy curling up with a good mystery. But did you know there are people who use science to help solve crimes in real life? Head to Science Station to learn about that science called forensics. Analyze fingerprints, ink and more to crack the case.

Childproof Junktion – Find magazine pictures to shoe what you think it means to be a child, then craft them into a collage. Make a frame for your collage or for another special memory using recyclable materials.

April 15th – 21st:  Week of the Young Child Wonderweek – You’re getting bigger every day, but being young is fun too.

Nature Exploration for the Young Child – Match baby animals to their parents, play with puzzles and use your senses to explore nature.

Building Extravaganza – Race marbles down your own marble maze and build with cups, straws and gwars at Science Station. Creating your own constructions is a great way to learn about the physical world.

Watch Me Grow – Mark your height and draw pictures of your favorite things next to it. As you get taller, add more pictures and watch your interests change.

Thanks a Million – Make a special work of art for a person who has taught you. It can be a teacher, family member or neighbor….anyone you want to thank.

Science of Growing – Learn about calcium and digestion and play hopscotch.

April 22nd – 28th:  Earth Day Wonderweek – Earth Day is here and environmental awareness is more important now than ever. Spend a beautiful spring day or week learning about the flora and fauna around you.

Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center – Meet the people who rehabilitate  wild animals for a living and meet their animals too!. Thursday and Saturday.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Play fun games at EcoStation and learn about recycling and take home your Energy Hog booklet o you can help the Earth at home.

American Chemical Society – Learn about the chemistry of the Earth with demonstrations from the experts. Noon to 2:00 p.m. Saturday.

Go Green at Science Station – Explore natural energy resources like water, wind and sunlight. Play with generators, solar cars and houses.

Reconstructing Recyclables – Recycle, reuse and re-engineer old materials into something totally new.

Earth Junktion – Make a special Earth Day button, play Earth Day dominos or create a floating coffee filter butterfly.

The Great Outdoors – Build up your endurance so you can stay outside longer and get the most out of nature.

April 29th – May 5th:  Cinco de Mayo Wonderweek – The 5^th of May commemorates Mexico’s victory at the Battle of Puebla in 1862 and it is thus a celebration of Mexican culture around the world.

Las Americas Ballet Folklorico – Watch this dance troupe perform traditional Mexican dances. Thursday and Saturday.

Celebration of Sound – Most celebrations involve music and Cinco de Mayo certainly does. Dance over the Science Station and explore sound waves with tuning forks, rian sticks and other instruments.

Cinco do Mayo Crafts – Make taco magnets, chili pepper decorations and your very own sombrero.

Storytelling Through Animation – Every culture has stories to tell. Design and create your own animated stories using stop motion, flipbooks and zoetrope.

Thru May 23rd:  Building Brainstorm –The new Building Brainstorm exhibition is a design studio where you can explore what it is like to be an architect, designer, and engineer. Plan a dream home or a dog house, build a skyscraper model, find the best arrangement of an apartment model’s rooms and furniture, construct a structure you can crawl through, and much more in the bilingual show. The exhibit introduces you to the design process, including collaborative problem-solving, planning, revisions, and execution. Step inside and you’ll find a kid-friendly studio environment inspired by the philosophy and aesthetic of mid-century designers Charles and Ray Eames. Filled with architectural plans, photographs, models, and authentic building elements, the show features interactive workbenches and job sites that equip diminutive designers to brainstorm creative solutions for architectural and engineering challenges. You will discover the basics of buildings while exploring the process of creating structures that match the needs of the people inside them.

The exhibit features several “design challenges,” where you experiment with building materials, engineering concepts, and design decisions in an exciting and educational environment. In the Shape Search Challenge, find basic geometric shapes in complex buildings. Try to replicate unusually shaped structures with wood blocks in the Shapes in Buildings Challenge. To experience curved, angled, and square building shapes from a different perspective, make your own crawl-through structures at the Inside Shapes Challenge. Lighting considerations in building design become clear at the Window House Challenge, when you experiment with changeable clear, translucent, and opaque panels in a house made of windows. The Floor Plan Challenge opens up the world of spatial organization and how people use rooms.  Create the ideal floor plan for a model home by arranging the rooms and miniature furniture in just the right way for your needs. In the Room Design Challenge, create an inspiration board for different types of rooms, using real material samples.

for more information, see www.cmhouston.org or call (713) 522-1138

Contemporary Arts Museum  (5216 Montrose)

Thru April 18th:  Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool – Best known for his life-sized portraits of those living within the urban northeastern communities of Connecticut, Barkley L. Hendricks’s bold portrayal of his subject’s attitude and style elevated these common and overlooked persons to celebrity status. Organized by Trevor Schoonmaker, curator of contemporary art at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Barkley L. Hendricks: Birth of the Cool is the first career retrospective of this renowned American artist. The exhibition is comprised of 57 paintings, including full-figure portraits and lesser-known early works, as well as the artist’s more recent portal-like paintings of the Jamaican landscape, where he returns annually to do outdoor “en pleine air” painting.  Hendricks’s stylistic renderings connect the art movements of American realism and post-modernism while touching upon many of the art movements of the 1960s and 70s—pop art, photorealism, minimalism, even black aesthetic nationalism. His work occupies a space somewhere between portraitists Chuck Close and Alex Katz and pioneering black conceptualists David Hammons and Adrian Piper. Cool, empowering and sometimes confrontational, Hendricks's artistic privileging of a culturally complex black body has paved the way for today's younger generation of artists.

Thru May 2nd: Perspectives 169: Odili Donald Odita – Widely recognized for his pulsating hues and meticulously painted wall and canvas works, Odili Donald Odita creates paintings that often function as narratives. Although devoid of any discernable figurative marks, the works tell of the nomadic journey of our ever-shifting global society: shapes and intersecting lines become metaphors for time and place while color evokes mood and impulse. This exhibition features a site-specific environment created from a new body of paintings that echo the unique architectural features of the Museum’s lower gallery space, The Zilkha Gallery. The result is a familiar, yet fantastical immersive landscape. While Odita’s wall works often find corollary references to those of Sol LeWitt, his angular pulsating color fields immediately hint at the artist’s cultural roots—he was born in Enugu, Nigeria and raised in Columbus, Ohio. Odita’s abstract paintings suggest the fractal nature of his own experience as an African émigré and the interweaving of his past and present selves.

May 7th – July 11th: Perspectives 170: Cruz Ortiz – San Antonio-based artist Cruz Ortiz employs a broad range of media—prints, paintings, sculptures, video, installation, and performance—to talk about life, love, and the struggle for equality. Through his alter ego the Spaztek, a post-punk, post-Chicano holy fool who continually throws himself into quixotic quests for romance and self-realization, Ortiz uses humor and heart to call for companionship and community. For his first in-depth museum exhibition, Ortiz will present a selection of the Spaztek’s work, including a hybrid siege tower and performance platform on the CAMH front lawn, a tent city in the gallery, and launch a guerilla art campaign in Houston’s neighborhoods. Born in Houston in 1972, Ortiz received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in printmaking from the University of Texas at San Antonio

May 15th – July 25th:  Hand + Made: The Performative Impulse in Art and Craft – This exhibition features twenty artists who innovatively expand the traditions of art and craft through the incorporation of performance. The exhibition features a series of on- and offsite performance events, including crochet nights at the Museum in which visitors are invited to crochet works from an installation created by Sheila Pepe, a performance of Anne Wilson’s Wind-Up: Walking the Warp, and a series of public events around the city in which Gabriel Craig creates small articles of jewelry for those he encounters. A complete schedule of dates and locations will be available on the Museum’s website. Participating artists include B Team, Conrad Bakker, Nick Cave, Cat Chow, Gabriel Craig, Lauri Faggioni, Theaster Gates, Cynthia Giachetti, T. Ryan Gothrup, Sabrina Gschwandtner, Lauren Kalman, Christy Matson, James Melchert, Yuka Otani, Sheila Pepe, Michael Rea, Anne Wilson, Saya Woolfalk, and Bohyun Yoon.

 for more information, see www.camh.org or call (713) 284-8250

The Heritage Society  (1100 Bagby)

Thru April 4th:  Rain or Shine: How Houston Developed Space City Baseball – George Scroggins, Texas Baseball Hall of Fame Director,  and Mike Acosta, Astros Archivist are the guest curators for the Rain or Shine exhibit featuring the history of, and memorabilia from, Houston professional baseball teams.

April 12th – July 4th: A Tejano Son of Texas – This traveling exhibit tells the life story of legendary Texas Tejano Jose Policarpio “Polly” Rodriguez. The display begins at the start of his new life in the State of Coahuila y Texas, Mexico and continues through Polly’s experiences as a young boy, gunsmith and surveyor as well as addressing his military and Texas Ranger service and his ranching and public office records. The exhibit concludes with a description of his years as a Methodist minister.

May 23rd:  Heritage Family Day – Customs & Cultures – The Texas Tejano  1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

for more information, visit www.heritagesociety.org

Holocaust Museum Houston  (5401 Caroline)

Permanent Exhibit:  The Permanent Exhibit is personalized with the testimony of Houston-area survivors who lived through a genocidal war that inflicted mass death on unprecedented numbers of innocent civilians. The exhibit begins by carrying visitors back to pre-war Europe and revealing the flourishing Jewish life and culture there. Authentic film footage, artifacts, photographs, and documents expose Nazi propaganda and the ever-tightening restrictions on Jews in the steady move toward the "Final Solution." Visitors learn of the horrific conditions within the Nazi-imposed ghettos, the special mobile killing units that murdered thousands, and the industrialization of death at complexes like Treblinka, Chelmno, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Thru April 4th:  Besa: Muslims Who Saved Jews During the Holocaust – Albania, a European country with a Muslim majority, succeeded where other European nations failed, in dealing with Nazi Germany.  Almost all Jews living within Albanian borders during the German occupation--those of Albanian origin and refugees alike--were saved.  In a five-year project, Colorado-based photographer Norman Gershman set out to collect the names of righteous, non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust.  He discovered that some of the names were of Albanian Muslims.  He then began a quest to meet and photograph the Albanian rescuers or their descendents. During his interviews, when he asked why they had rescued Jews, the resounding response was “Besa,” the code of honor deeply rooted in Albanian culture and incorporated in the faith of Albanian Muslims.  As Gershman later would explain, “There was no government conspiracy, no underground railroad, no organized resistance of any kind--only individual Albanians, acting alone, to save the lives of people whose lives were in immediate danger.  My portraits of these people, and their stories, are meant to reflect their humanity, their dignity, their religious and moral convictions, and their quiet courage.”  The exhibit is traveled by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Museum.

April 8th: “Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World’s Most Notorious Nazi” with Neal Bascomb – Based on newly declassified documents and detailed research, Neal Bascomb chronicles the exhaustive efforts of Nazi hunters to find Adolf Eichmann and bring him to justice. The book offers a complete, gripping account of the intrigue that led to the secret capture of Eichmann and his eventual trial in Israel.  Neal Bascomb is the author of "The Perfect Mile," "Higher" and "Red Mutiny." Bascomb is a former editor and international journalist and has also contributed to the New York Times. Bascomb's appearance is part of the Kosberg Wilkenfeld Distinguished Lectures and generously underwritten by the Kosberg Charitable Foundation Trust and Dolores and the late Buddy Wilkenfeld. Admission is free, but seating is limited, and advance registration is required. The program will be held at the Emery/Weiner School located at 9825 Stella Link.

April 11th: Citywide Yom HaShoah Commemoration – Join us for Houston’s annual service in memory of all who died in the Holocaust and to pay tribute to those who survived. The service is free and open to the public. The service is being held at Congregation Beth Yeshurun located at 4525 Beechnut.

April 13th: “A Perspective on the Holocaust: The Role of Ethics and Morality for the Military Professional” – Col. Edward B. Westermann’s lecture “A Perspective on the Holocaust: The Role of Ethics and Morality for the Military Professional,” will address how the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Academy’s course on the genocide of the European Jews during the National Socialist dictatorship prepares the academy's students to confront moral dilemmas that may arise when the execution of military orders directly affects the life and death of innocent civilians. Westermann is the commander of Air Force basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base. He holds a bachelor's degree in military history from the USAF Academy, a master's degree in European history from Florida State University, a master's in military art and science from the School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and a doctorate in military and European history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was a Fulbright Fellow at the Free University of Berlin, a summer fellow at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Fellow on two occasions. Seating is limited, and advance registration is required.

April 16th – October 3rd: Never Let it Rest! An Art Project by Hans Molzberger – Never Let It Rest!" is a documentary art project by contemporary German artist Hans Molzberger relating to the small town of Salzwedel in the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany during the time of Nazi control.

Thru April 25th:  The Book of Memory – Holocaust Museum Houston is proud to collaborate with the Consulate General of Mexico in presenting samples of the work by artist Bela Gold. For several years, Gold's work has been a reflection of the complexity of contemporary culture. Her work is defined by a contrast between beauty and cultural references; in her case, the Holocaust. She puts this conflict on display in all her pieces, which offer evidence of our own ambivalence toward the beauty of artistic expression and the social impact it creates. Gold offers a sample book of the various graphics techniques depicting a variety of metal etchings, photoengraved-intaglio, engraved-intaglio, laser engraving, graphite on stone, silkscreen and graphite drawing on stone, and digital embroidery on cloth. 

for more information, see www.hmh.org or call (713) 942-8000

Houston Museum of Natural Science (One Hermann Circle Drive – Hermann Park)

April 23rd – September 6th:  Archaeopteryx: Icon of Evolution – Most scientists believe that birds evolved from small therapod dinosaurs. The key step was the development of feathers, turning animals that could walk or climb into animals that could fly. The first fossil discovered with feathers was found in 1861, just two years before Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution. This fossil is known as archaeopteryx and is the earliest bird known to science. Archaeopteryx, which lived over 150 million years ago, is a classic example of an evolutionary link between two groups of animals. As of today, there are only seven known specimens of archaeopteryx. This premier exhibition will present some of the finest known fossils from the late Jurassic period showing life at the time of these first birds. Fossils from the world renowned quarries of Solenhofen, Germany will be featured.

Thru July 25th:  Faberge: Imperial Jeweler to the Tsars – Discover the spectacular designs of Carl Faberge, a master goldsmith and legendary jeweler who is still celebrated for his inventive design and meticulous craftsmanship.  Perhaps best known for the Imperial Easter Eggs created for the Russian Royal family, the House of Faberge also fashioned jewelry and luxurious gifts for many ruling families of Europe as well as other wealthy patrons.  Marvel at exquisite objects produced by the Fabergé workshop at its peak, including personal gifts to the Tsar and Tsarina, an extravagant tiara, magnificent "fire-screen" picture frame, and the famed Nobel Ice Egg, a stunning piece that is one of the few Imperial-styled eggs in private hands. From elegantly simple to breathtakingly ornate, the jewelry, clocks, picture frames, boxes and eggs in this collection were thoughtfully selected to exemplify extraordinary materials and workmanship.  In recent years, the McFerrin Collection has become one of the world’s most important private collections of Fabergé. While many of the pieces in this collection have been featured individually in other exhibitions and publications over the past 60 years, this event marks the first time that the McFerrin Collection has been presented for public display. Highlights of the exhibition include: Empress Josephine’s tiara, the Nobel Ice Egg, Fire Screen Picture Frame, Nicholas II Presentation Snuff Box, The Wedding Clock, and the personal cigarette case of Nicholas II.

Thru September 6th:  Magic: The Science of Wonder – Magic – Illusory feats of wonder that dazzle the eye and confound expectations – has fascinated humanity for centuries. Mesmerized by the masters of illusion who perform this mysterious craft, we’re drawn to the spectacle, curious to discover “how did he do that?” Though their methods are enshrouded in secrecy, magicians combine the art of performance with a variety of scientific disciplines, including math, physics and psychology, to create their dazzling effects and fascinating illusions. With a touch of hocus-pocus and a dash of abracadabra, the Houston Museum of Natural Science pulls a spectacular new exhibition out of its hat—Magic: The Science of Wonder, opening Friday, February 26, 2010. The extraordinary show examines how science and magic are intertwined, tapping into our universal desire to know "How does that work?" Magic is the perfect subject to inspire people of all ages—especially kids—to learn about the science behind the magic, and the world around them. Presenting an array of artifacts connected with legendary performers of the past and present, the exhibition will also feature film and video clips of famous magicians, as well as guest illusionists performing live. At the "University of Magic" inside the exhibition, visitors will have the opportunity to learn a magic trick of their own. Among the many intriguing artifacts to be featured are torches for fire eating; magic lanterns and automatons; Harry Houdini's trademark milk can and water escape trunk; Harry Blackstone's "Zig Zag Girl" prop; Mike Caveney’s linking coat hangers; and items from the acts of Doug Henning, Penn & Teller, and other superstars of magic.

Permanent Exhibit:  Lester & Sue Smith Gem Vault - Intensely hued jeweled masterpieces float wondrously in utter darkness, embodying the ultimate combination of natural perfection and flawless artistic execution.  Don't miss the chance to see this exciting new permanent exhibit.

Planetarium Showings:

Impact Earth – In 2006, the Museum unearthed a piece of an asteroid that crashed into the North American prairie long ago.  The story takes us from the birth of our solar system, to the catastrophe that tore this asteroid apart, to the surface of Mars, and to a future asteroid mining colony.

Dawn of the Space Age – An epic, full dome experience recreates the great moments in human spaceflight, including the Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs.  You are there each step of the way, sharing the adventure, immersed in each great event.

Night of the Titanic - A great tragedy unfolds in the icy North Atlantic.  Weather, ice, the sun, and human error all contribute to the sinking of this unsinkable ship. Experience the Titanic's last day to find out what went terribly wrong and discover how changing Arctic ice can prepare us for tomorrow.

Starry Night Express - Audiences can practice finding constellations, planets, the moon, meteor showers and the Milky Way band.  Then the show will drop into a star party led by Laurence Fishburne.  From his country setting, the show takes audiences through the solar system and into the Universe.  Breathtaking images from the Hubble Space Telescope hover and combine to show the life cycle of stars.  Audiences experience the eventual collision of our Milky Way Galaxy with the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy as visualized by the Space Telescope Science Institute.  Then visitors plunge down and sweep through the gigantic Valles Marineris canyon, simulated by the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University of Technology, using the latest data from the Mars Global Surveyor. 

Black Holes - The attraction of Black Holes is more than just gravitational.  These mysterious graveyards of dead stars have fascinated generations.  The Planetarium's new feature explores the history, physics and mystery of black holes.  Narrated by actor John de Lancie, this space adventure features rich, expansive panoramas and incorporates several of the latest scientific theories about how black holes are formed and where they are hiding now.  Witness the bending of light, the skewing of perception, and the dizzying descent into a black hole.  This show incorporates some of the most visually stunning three dimensional effects ever created for the planetarium.  Add to that, a sound effects track and 5.1 surround sound mix by George Lucas' Skywalker Sound Studios, and you have an incredible sensory experience.

Earth’s Wild Ride – A grandfather and granddaughter watch a solar eclipse from scenic cliffs overlooking their moon colony.  Conversation leads to contrasts between the moon, the only home the granddaughter knows, and the Earth, where the grandfather has spent most of his life.  Through his stories, the grandfather takes audiences on a wild canyon ride, to an ice age winter with a woolly mammoth, and to the time when the dinosaurs lived and died.  Each experience begins with a telescope view of the dynamic Earth in stark contrast with the unchanging lunar landscape.  Earth’s Wild Ride is like many tales shared by grandparents over the centuries, except “the old country” is really another planet – always visible from the moon base, but totally unlike the granddaughter’s world.  Adventure and appreciation for home fill this 20-minute journey back to the Earth.

Life in the Universe – Where is it hiding? 2010 marks the 50^th anniversary of the first experiment to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. In 1960, astronomer Frank Drake used a radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia to listen to two nearby stars. He heard nothing interesting, but the idea of searching for life beyond Earth was born. Fifty years of searching for signals and occasional broadcasting of messages has not detected any transmissions that require intelligent alien authors. Either intelligent life is much more rare or short-lived than we expected or we are not looking in the right places with the right tools. Life in the Universe takes a fresh look at this fifty-year-old question, looking forward from the big bang, in search of those special places that might harbor life, including all of the planets in our solar system. It’s a beautiful scenic tour of our universe through the eyes of astronomers looking for clues about the origin of life and the development of intelligence. The vistas are breathtaking from stellar birth clouds like the Orion and Trifid Nebulas to the death throes of Eta Carinae and the mysterious surfaces of nearby planets, their moons and rings. Join the search and enjoy the adventure. Life in the Universe is partially funded though a NASA public outreach grant directed by Dr. George Fox, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston.

IMAX Theatre Showings:

Sharks 3D – Presented by Jean-Michel Cousteau, Sharks 3D is a breathtaking new 3D IMAX theatre film experience that offers audiences an astonishing up-close encounter with sharks – the lions and tigers of the ocean. Come face-to-face with a multitude of shark species, including the Great White, Hammerhead, and Whale Shark. Witness them as they really are: not wicked man-eating creatures, but wild, fascinating and endangered animals that thrived millions of years before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Join an expert team of ocean explorers in this unique round-the-globe expedition documenting the life of the ultimate predator.

Bugs 3D – Bugs 3D! follows the life cycles of a mantis and a butterfly, from their birth to their inevitable encounter in the rainforests of Southeast Asia, where predator meets its prey. Bugs 3D! stars Papilio, a butterfly, and Hierodula, a praying mantis, who live in an abandoned hut by a river, surrounded by lush tropical foliage and a supporting cast of other intriguing and extraordinary insects. Meet Papilio, a caterpillar that undergoes one of nature’s miraculous transformations in her short life span of eight weeks, and Hierodula, a praying mantis who embarks on an extraordinary hunting journey through the rainforest. Along the way, meet a host of other fascinating insects: Leaf Cutter Ants, Rhino Beetles, an aggressive Spiny Katydid, an Orchid Mantis, and the aptly-named Thorn Bug, in addition to scorpions, tarantulas, frogs, lizards and a colony of 3 million bats which consume two and half tons of bugs every night! Along the way, we meet a host of other insects, which, in various deceptive guises, which also inhabit the rich, green and humid world: Leaf Cutter Ants that consume 20% of the rainforest’s leaves; Rhino Beetles battling for the attention of a female; the Trilobite Beetle hiding his tiny head under amour plating; a Scale Bug disguised as a ball of fluff; an aggressive Spiny Katydid; an Orchid Mantis which resembles the flower and the Thorn Bug, identical to a thorn. In addition, scorpions, tarantulas, frogs, lizards and a colony of three-million bats which consume two and half tons of bugs every night, skitter across the screen, some magnified 250,000 times their normal size.

Mummies 3D: Secrets of the Pharaohs – What is it about mummies?  These preserved human time capsules from ancient Egypt fascinate and intrigue us, but why?  Is it because the blur the line between the living and the dead?  Or is it because they provide such a powerfully visual window to our ancient past? Whatever the reason, there is little doubt that mummies are some of the world’s most spellbinding subjects.  And Egypt is one of the most fascinating civilizations, in large part because of the great mummies that have been discovered there in modern times.  Part historic journey and part forensic adventure, this feature follows researchers and explorers as they piece together the archaeological and genetic clues of Egyptian mummies.  Through ambitious computer graphics and dramatic reconstructions, the film tells the story of one of the greatest finds in modern history: the late 19th century discovery of a cache of forty mummies, including twelve Kings of Egypt, among them the legendary Ramses the Great. Mummies 3D: Secrets of the Pharaohs is a walk back thousands of years to the wonders of ancient Egypt, a real-life Indiana Jones adventure complete with thieves and hidden treasure, and a modern day scientific journey to extract clues about our past.  The film covers topics of grand proportions, making it ideal for the high-impact experience in IMAX and other giant-screen theaters.

for more information, see www.hmns.org or call (713) 639-4629

Menil Collection   (1515 Sul Ross)

April 2nd – July 25th: Steve Wolfe on Paper – Steve Wolfe was born in Pisa, Italy in 1955 and lives and works in San Francisco, California. For the last twenty years, Wolfe has created objects and drawings of astounding craft and visual presence that investigate intersections among material culture, intellectual history, and personal and collective memory. Wolfe’s art represent objects of cultural mass dissemination—books and records. Rather than the ordinary depiction of books on canvas or another two-dimensional framing device, Wolfe’s painted objects employ the tradition of trompe l’oeil, the trick of the eye. Tattered books and worn album covers are meticulously produced to convey the mark of time and handling, and often literally fool the eye on first inspection. The tears, creases, and basic wear point to human contact and become metaphors of enlightenment and culture. Indebted to Pop Art, Wolfe’s optical strategy manifests an updated approach to craft. But while the patina of time is crucial to Wolfe’s art, perhaps what is most interesting about the collection is its sense of autobiography. Wolfe’s work is conceived and made with both personal history and personal touch, and suggests an almost erotic representation of the fact that one can fall in love with that which is ephemeral (ideas, music). For Wolfe, it is not just any book that necessitates scrupulous handmade reproduction with wood, ink, paper, lithography and paint. His carefully considered subjects include reproductions of books by Gertude Stein, Pablo Picasso, Raymond Chandler, Frank O’Hara, Marcel Duchamp, and James Joyce, thus creating a portrait of the artist as a perpetual student. This exhibition will focus on the artist’s works on paper, some of which are purely drawn, but most of which combine aspects of drawing, collage and printmaking. The artist’s transformation of common objects requires the viewer to re-think what they mean as such, placing emphasis on craft and the handmade to transform the common into the uncanny and the sublime.

Thru August 15th:  Maurizio Cattelan – Contemporary Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan is known for his witty embrace of semantic shifts that result from imaginative plays with materials, objects, and actions. In his work, contradictions in the space between what the artist describes as softness and perversity wage a sarcastic critique on political power structures, from notions of nationalism or the authorities of organized religion to the conceit of the museum and art history. Like the traditions established by Dada and Surrealism, his uncanny juxtapositions uproot stable understandings of the world around us. For Cattelan even the banal is absurd. The exhibition at The Menil Collection, organized by Franklin Sirmans, curator of modern and contemporary art, will be the artist’s first solo show in Texas. The exhibition will focus on recent large-scale works that premiered in Europe in 2007 and will feature sculptures that range in tone from the melancholic and politically contentious to the decidedly irreverent. Cattelan will also realize additional works for the exhibition in response to site visits to The Menil Collection campus and the museum’s world-famous collection of Surrealist works. Significantly, these pieces will also mark the artist’s return to sculpture-based practice. For the last five years his work has largely centered on publishing and curating.

Thru August 8th:  Leaps into the Void: Documents of Nouveau Realist Performances – Pyrotechnics, exploding pigment, blowtorches, lacerated décollage, and found materials, define the radical gestures of the avant-garde movement, Nouveau Réalisme. Translated as “New Realism,” it was founded by art critic Pierre Restany and artist Yves Klein in Paris in 1960. The circle of artists formally and informally associated with the movement included Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, Martial Raysse, Christo, Mimmo Rotella and Arman, among others. They believed direct and aggressive physical explorations, characterized by a paradoxical emphasis on notions of deconstruction and accumulation, and the use of discarded materials from everyday life in the tradition of Dada, achieved a more truthful understanding of modern society in a moment of rising consumerism. As proclaimed in the First Manifesto of Nouveau Réalisme, “if one succeeds at reintegrating oneself with the real, one achieves transcendence, which is emotion, sentiment, and finally, poetry.” Leaps into the Void draws from the Menil’s strong holdings of work and material from the archives and collection that document through film, photographs and works of art, the movement’s ephemeral and performance-based projects, perhaps most famously epitomized by Yves Klein’s “Leap into the Void.” The photograph by Harry Shunk, capturing the artist hurling himself from a Parisian rooftop, will be exhibited alongside other documents of the jump, including Klein’s publication emulating the Sunday edition of a daily newspaper, which he inserted into newsstands as a guerrilla intervention on the streets of Paris. Archival photo documentation of Jean Tinguely’s self-destructing sculpture that went up in flames in a square in Milan, to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the founding of Nouveau Réalisme, will also be on display, alongside a 1966 film by Francois de Menil of the construction and deconstruction of HON, a monumental sculpture installed at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm by Niki de Saint Phalle, Jean Tinguely, and Per Olof Ultvedt.

for more details, see www.menil.org  or call (713) 284-8250

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston   (Caroline Weiss Law Bldg. @ 1001 Bissonnet and the adjacent Audrey Jones Beck Bldg., 5601 Main)

Thru April 16th: 2010 Core Exhibition – The Glassell School of Art showcases work created by artists in its internationally acclaimed Core Residency Program.

Thru May 9th:  Prendergast in Italy – This exhibition brings together for the first time the unparalleled bodies of work that American impressionist Maurice Prendergast produced during two trips to Italy in 1898 and 1911.

Thru May 9th: Ruptures and Continuities: Photography Made after 1960 – As part of the Fotofest 2010 Biennial, nearly 200 photographs from the MFAH collection examine the course of post-`960 photography across the globe.

Thru May 23rd:  Sargent and the Sea – American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent is famous for his glamorous society portraits, but this exhibition is the first to examine the little explored maritime paintings and drawings that Sargent produced in various locales during the first five years of his career. In a complimentary exhibit Houston’s Sargent, 30 works drawn from local private collections and the museum’s own art will offer a look at Sargent’s entire career.

Thru May 23rd:  Feathers, Fins and Fur: Natural history Illustration of the 19^th Century – Artists and naturalists such as John James Audubon produced an unprecedented record of the natural world in the 19th century. Art, science, and technology converged in a multitude of printed images that fed a growing public interest in the amazing diversity of living creatures.

Thru July 8th: Liquid Lines: Exploring the Language of Contemporary Metal – This exhibit surveys the innovative and diverse range of metal in the MFAH collection.

Thru June 13th: Alice Neel: Painted Truths – One of the greatest American painters of the 20^th century, Alice Neel is best known for her psychologically accurate portraits. Having consciously set out to chronicle the zeitgeist of her time, Neel painted friends and family, as well as the celebrated artists and writers of her day such as Andy Warhol, Frank O’Hara and Meyer Shapiro.

for more information, see www.mfah.org or call (713) 639-7300

Museum of Health & Medical Science  (1515 Hermann Drive)

Thru May 9th:  Backyard Monsters – The 6,000 square foot exhibit is a tour through what you’ve been stepping on in your own backyard. It’s where you are the size of the bug and the bugs are enormous! The giant animatronic insects move and make the chirping, clicking noises bugs make. The 8-foot tall robotic insects include a tarantula, ants, a wasp, caterpillar and a big, beautiful monarch butterfly. But don’t worry, they don’t bite! Visitors will also experience insect specimens and education stations. In the education stations, visitors can drive a robotic bug and learn to eat like a bug too! Find out what it’s like to see through the eyes of a bug. Learn how antennae work and why crickets chirp. And hundreds of insect samples from around the world will also be on display!

Ongoing:  Planet You – At The Health Museum, you will experience a world you never knew existed before.  A world that is so much closer than you think. Planet You is a 3D microscopic journey into the foreign landscape that is your skin!  This summer premiere 3D film mixes live action and cutting edge computer animation to tell the story of all the tiny critters that live on the surface of your skin and the miraculous process of how the body heals itself.  From dust mites to the catastrophic paper cut, you will encounter it all at the most cellular level. It will leave you both amazed and perhaps a little uncomfortable in your skin.  But it will certainly be a unique experience. The Planet YOU film is an original production of The Health Museum and The Museum of Science, Boston. This film is the first of what will become a series of 3D film collaborations.  This partnership also marks the first time in the museum/science center industry that science-based original 3D films will be produced for a museum-based audience.

Ongoing:  The Adjustable Eye - A permanent addition to The Amazing Body Pavilion, the Adjustable Eye gives visitors a chance to experiment with the eye's inner workings and see the mechanics of the eye like never before.  The shape of the lens can be altered in order to focus on an image, duplicating what happens in our own eyes.  The exhibit encourages visitors to take care of their eyes and get eye exams regularly to prevent eye diseases and vision problems.  Currently one in 10 children has undiagnosed vision problems that, if left untreated, may lead to permanent vision loss and difficulties in school.

Ongoing:  You: The Exhibit - The Health Museum is proud to announce the first new permanent exhibition since its opening in 1996 - You: The Exhibit.  This unique gallery immerses visitors of all ages in The World of Tomorrow – reminiscent of the 1939 World’s Fair.  Join your fellow museum visitors in a learning environment that allows investigation into the who, what, where, when, and how of YOU. Using the latest multi-media and special effects technology, The Health Museum has created an experience that will take the museum visitor on a journey to explore their physical selves, mental selves and their future selves. The sophisticated media nature of the exhibition encourages group interaction and participation in the exhibition, and visitors are able to leave something of themselves behind to change the experience over time.

Ongoing:  Pump It Up - As you exit the Amazing Body Pavilion, get ready to dance at Pump It Up, a cardio intense exhibit that encourages up to two dancers to get their heart pumping in a challenging dance game.  Each dancer must follow the on-screen performer and lightly tap lighted panels as they illuminate the dance floor.  The fast paced game can increase in difficulty as the dancer masters the steps.  In an effort to stem increases in the obesity rate, Pump It Up illustrates that fitness can be fun.  There is a one dollar charge for each dancer.

Ongoing:  Brain Teasers - Hands-on problem solving is the focus of Brain Teasers, a collection of 20 different games that challenge the whole family to tackle puzzles, solve number games and manipulate intriguing shapes.  A wide array of challenges for individuals of all ages; test your dexterity by tying and untying knots; solve tangrum puzzles and intriguing number games; balance 14 nails on the head of one nail and much, much more.  These mind benders are guaranteed to challenge even the most experienced problem solver.

for more information see www.mhms.org or call (713) 942-7054

Space Center Houston   (1601 NASA Parkway)

Daily:  Level 9 Tour.  Go Behind the Scenes. This tour takes you behind the scenes to see the real world of NASA up close and personal.  On this tour you will see things that only the astronauts see and eat what and where they eat.   All your questions will be answered by a very knowledgeable Tour Guide as you discover the secrets that have been kept behind closed doors for years.  The Level Nine Tour is Monday-Friday and includes lunch in the astronauts' cafeteria.  The only security clearance is that you must be 16 years of age or older.  Only 12 Level Nine admissions are available each day.

Astronaut Gallery:  The Astronaut Gallery is an unparalleled exhibit outside Northrop Grumman Theater featuring the world's best collection of spacesuits. Astronaut John Young's ejection suit and Judy Resnik's T-38 flight suit are two of the many spacesuits on display. The walls of the Astronaut Gallery also contain crew photos of every U.S. astronaut who has flown in space.

Space Center Theater.  The challenge of President John F. Kennedy, to put a man on the moon by the end of the 60's, had its beginning several decades before the formation of NASA.  As the guests have seen in other parts of Space Center Houston, the equipment and the technology have been developing since Robert Goddard's time.  This attraction shows the excitement, the commitment and the risks taken by the people who fly in space.  Here we can see the evolution of the equipment and the training of the men and women who dreamed to be astronauts.  Nearly 300 people have flown in space since the first Mercury rocket took off in May 1961 with astronaut Alan Sheppard, Jr. on board.  That first flight lasted only 15 minutes.  Contrast that with the May 1992 flight of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, which was 9 days with 7 crew members on board. 

Starship Gallery.  The journey into space begins with the film “On Human Destiny”.  Artifacts and hardware on display in the Starship Gallery trace the progression of America’s Manned Space Flight.  This incredible collection includes: an original model of the Goddard Rocket; the actual Mercury Atlas 9 “Faith 7” capsule flown by Gordon Cooper; the Gemini V Spacecraft piloted by Pete Conrad and Gordon Cooper; a Lunar Roving Vehicle Trainer, the Apollo 17 Command Module, the giant Skylab Trainer, and the Apollo-Soyuz Trainer.

The Feel of Space.  The Living in Space module simulates what life is like for astronauts aboard the space station.  A Mission Briefing Officer gives a live presentation on how astronauts live in space.  The presentation uses humor to show how the smallest tasks like showering and eating are complicated by a microgravity environment.  A volunteer from the audience helps to prove the point. Beyond the Living in Space Module are 24 part task trainers that use sophisticated computer technology to provide visitors with the experience of landing the orbiter, retrieving a satellite or exploring shuttle systems.

Blast Off Theatre.  The space program comes alive in the Mission Status Center, where Mission Briefing Officers provide live updates on current space flights and astronaut training activities.  At any time, they may look behind-the-scenes at Johnson Space Center and other NASA facilities around the country to see astronauts train or a shuttle launch via satellite from Kennedy Space Center. During missions, the center shares communication between Mission Control and the astronauts on board the shuttle.

for more information, see www.spacecenter.org or call (281) 244-2148

Sports

Houston Dynamo – Major League Soccer   (Robertson Stadium - University of Houston)

April 1st:       Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake  8:00 p.m.

April 10th:     Houston Dynamo vs. LA Galaxy  7:30 p.m.

April 17th:     Houston Dynamo vs. Chivas USA  3:00 p.m.

April 24th:     Houston Dynamo vs. Chicago @ Chicago  7:30 p.m.

May 1st:        Houston Dynamo vs. Kansas City  7:30 p.m.

May 5th:        Houston Dynamo vs. FC Dallas  8:00 p.m.

May 8th:        Houston Dynamo vs. Chivas USA @ Chivas  9:30 p.m.

May 13th:      Houston Dynamo vs. Real Salt Lake @ Salt Lake  8:00 p.m.

May 22nd:     Houston Dynamo vs. D.C. United  7:00 p.m.

May 29th:      Houston Dynamo vs. Philadelphia  7:30 p.m.

for more information, see www.houstondynamo.com

Houston Aeros – American Hockey League (West Division)       (Toyota Center, 1510 Polk)

April 2nd:     Houston Aeros vs. Chicago Wolves  7:35 p.m.

April 3rd:      Houston Aeros vs. Texas Stars @ Austin  7:00 p.m.

April 6th:      Houston Aeros vs. Rockford Ice Hogs  7:05 p.m.

April 8th:      Houston Aeros vs. Rampage@ San Antonio  7:00 p.m.

April 10th:    Houston Aeros vs. Texas Stars  7:35 p.m.

April 11th:    Houston Aeros vs. Rampage @ San Antonio  2:00 p.m.

for more information, see www.aeros.com or call (713) 974-7825

Houston Rockets – National Basketball Association   (Toyota Center, 1510 Polk)

April 2nd:       Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies @ Memphis 7:00 p.m.

April 7th:        Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz  7:30 p.m.

April 9th:        Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte Bobcats  7:30 p.m.

April 11th:      Houston Rockets vs. Phoenix Suns @ Phoenix  8:00 p.m.

April 12th:      Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings @ Sacramento  9:00 p.m.

April 14th:      Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans Hornets  7:00 p.m.

for more information, see www.rockets.com or call (713) 758-7200

Houston Texans Football  (Reliant Stadium)

Season is complete.

for more information, visit www.houstontexans.com or call 713-629-3700

Houston Astros  (Minute Maid Park, 501 Crawford)

April 2nd:       Houston Astros vs. Toronto Bluejays  7:05 p.m.

April 3rd:       Houston Astros vs. Toronto Bluejays  1:05 p.m.

April 5th:        Houston Astros vs. San Francisco Giants 6:05 p.m.

April 6th:        Houston Astros vs. San Francisco Giants 7:05 p.m.

April 7th:        Houston Astros vs. San Francisco Giants  1:05 p.m.

April 9th:        Houston Astros vs. Philadelphia Phillies  7:05 p.m.

April 10th:      Houston Astros vs. Philadelphia Phillies  6:05 p.m.

April 11th:      Houston Astros vs. Philadelphia Phillies  1:05 p.m.

April 12th:      Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals @ St. Louis  3:15 p.m.

April 14th:      Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals @ St. Louis  7:15 p.m.

April 15th:      Houston Astros vs. St. Louis Cardinals @ St. Louis  12:40 p.m.

April 16th:      Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs @ Chicago  1:20 p.m.

April 17th:      Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs @ Chicago  TBD

April 18th:      Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs @ Chicago  1:20 p.m.

April 20th:      Houston Astros vs. Florida Marlins  7:05 p.m.

April 21st:      Houston Astros vs. Florida Marlins  7:05 p.m.

April 22nd:     Houston Astros vs. Florida Marlins  7:05 p.m.

April 23rd:      Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates  7:05 p.m.

April 24th:      Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates  6:05 p.m.

April 25th:      Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates  1:05 p.m.

April 27th:      Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds  7:05 p.m.

April 28th:      Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds  7:05 p.m.

April 29th:      Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds  7:05 p.m.

April 30th:      Houston Astros vs. Atlanta Braves @ Atlanta  TBD

for more information, see http://houston.astros.mlb.com

College Sports

Rice University – Baseball

April 1st:         Rice vs. U of H   6:30 p.m.

April 2nd:       Rice vs. U of H   6:30 p.m.

April 3rd:        Rice vs. U of H   2:00 p.m.

April 6th:        Rice vs. Dallas Baptist   6:00 p.m.

April 9th:        Rice vs. Tulane @ New Orleans   6:30 p.m.

April 10th:      Rice vs. Tulane @ New Orleans   2:00 p.m.

April 11th:      Rice vs. Tulane @ New Orleans   1:00 p.m.

April 13th:      Rice vs. Sam Houston State @ Huntsville   6:30 p.m.

April 14th:      Rice vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi   6:30 p.m.

April 16th:      Rice vs. UCF @ Orlando   5:30 p.m.

April 17th:      Rice vs. UCF @ Orlando   3:00 p.m.

April 18th:      Rice vs. UCF @ Orlando   11:00 a.m.

April 20th:      Rice vs. Texas A&M @ College Station   6:30 p.m.

April 23rd:      Rice vs. East Carolina   6:30 p.m.

April 24th:      Rice vs. East Carolina   2:00 p.m.

April 25th:      Rice vs. East Carolina   1:00 p.m.

May 5th:         Rice vs. Texas Southern   6:30 p.m.

May 7th:         Rice vs. Marshall @ Charleston   1:05 p.m.

May 8th:         Rice vs. Marshall @ Charleston   1:05 p.m.

May 9th:         Rice vs. Marshall @ Charleston   9:35 p.m.

May 11th:       Rice vs. Oklahoma State @ Stillwater   6:30 p.m.

May 14th:       Rice vs. Southern Miss   7:00 p.m.

May 15th:       Rice vs. Southern Miss   2:00 p.m.

May 16th:       Rice vs. Southern Miss   1:00 p.m.

May 18th:       Rice vs. Houston @ Cougars   6:30 p.m.

May 20th:       Rice vs. UAB   6:30 p.m.

May 21st:       Rice vs. UAB   6:30 p.m.

May 22nd:      Rice vs. UAB   1:00 p.m.

May 26th:       Rice vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

May 27th:       Rice vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

May 28th:       Rice vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

May 29th:       Rice vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

for more information, see http://riceowls.cstv.com/sports  

University of Houston – Baseball

April 1st:         U of H vs. Rice @ Rice   6:30 p.m.

April 2nd:       U of H vs. Rice @ Rice   6:30 p.m.

April 3rd:        U of H vs. Rice @ Rice   1:00 p.m.

April 6th:        U of H vs. Sam Houston State   6:30 p.m.

April 9th:        U of H vs. TCU   6:30 p.m.

April 10th:      U of H vs. TCU   6:30 p.m.

April 11th:      U of H vs. TCU   1:00 p.m.

April 13th:      U of H vs. UTSA @ San Antonio   6:00 p.m.

April 16th:      U of H vs. Memphis   6:30 p.m.

April 17th:      U of H vs. Memphis   6:30 p.m.

April 18th:      U of H vs. Memphis   1:00 p.m.

April 21st:      U of H vs. Lamar @ Beaumont   6:30 p.m.

April 23rd:      U of H vs. Southern Miss @ Hattiesburg   6:30 p.m.

April 24th:      U of H vs. Southern Miss @ Hattiesburg   4:00 p.m.

April 25th:      U of H vs. Southern Miss @ Hattiesburg   1:00 p.m.

April 27th:      U of H vs. Sam Houston State @ Huntsville   6:30 p.m.

April 28th:      U of H vs. Lamar   6:30 p.m.

April 30th:      U of H vs. UAB @ Birmingham   6:30 p.m.

May 1st:         U of H vs. UAB @ Birmingham   6:30 p.m.

May 2nd:        U of H vs. UAB @ Birmingham   11:00 a.m.

May 7th:         U of H vs. Tulane   6:30 p.m.

May 8th:         U of H vs. Tulane   6:30 p.m.

May 9th:         U of H vs. Tulane   1:00 p.m.

May 11th:       U of H vs. Texas A&M   6:30 p.m.

May 14th:       U of H vs. Marshall   6:30 p.m.

May 15th:       U of H vs. Marshall   6:30 p.m.

May 16th:       U of H vs. Marshall   11:00 a.m.

May 18th:       U of H vs. Rice   6:30 p.m.

May 20th:       U of H vs. East Carolina @ Greenville   6:00 p.m.

May 21st:       U of H vs. East Carolina @ Greenville   6:00 p.m.

May 22nd:     U of H vs. East Carolina @ Greenville   12:00 p.m.

May 26th:       U of H vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

May 27th:       U of H vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

May 28th:       U of H vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

May 30th:       U of H vs. TBA   TBA Conference USA Championship

for more information, see http://uhcougars.cstv.com/sports   

Parks

Houston Arboretum  (4501 Woodway)

Wednesdays - April 7th, 14th, 21st, & 28th:  Introductory Tai Chi - The Arboretum provides a serene, natural backdrop for this graceful, meditative form of exercise.  Class is held outside except when weather conditions are prohibitive. Cost is $45 per month or $15 per session. 5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

Thursdays, April 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th:  Yoga on the Way Home - Why fight the traffic?  Slow down and relax in the peaceful beauty of the Arboretum during a one-hour yoga session in the Arboretum's classroom overlooking the forest.  Cost is $15 per session or $10 a session when registering for the month.  Registration is required. 5:45 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

April 7th & 10th:  Beginning Bird Watching – This introductory class will acquaint participants with the basics of bird watching, including how to find and identify birds, how to select and use binoculars, what homeowners can do to attract birds to their yard and which birds are found in the different habitats of southeast Texas. Class is open to anyone over the age of 10 and family participation is encouraged. The Saturday field trip will be to the coast to see birds in migration and to practice identification skills. Instructor and Arboretum staff member Bill Eley has 30 years birding experience on the Gulf Coast and all over the world.  $30 for members/$40 for non-members. Class will be held Wednesday from 7:00 p.m. – 9:0 p.m. Field trip is Saturday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

April 9th:  Tadpole Troopers: Weird Plants (ages 3-5 with an adult) – Tadpole Troopers is a nature class for 3, 4 and 5 year olds with an adult.  This spring classes will explore the weird and wild side of nature.  In April children will explore peculiar plants, including plants that eat bugs. $13 for members/ $26 for non-members. 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Pre-registration required.

April 9th:  Sounds of the Night Forest Hike – The night forest pulses with the sounds of melodious songs, clicking calls, flapping wing and shuffling feet. Frogs, crickets, bats and other animals are on the move, meeting mates, finding food and warning others to stay away. Come out and discover which creatures are sounding off, participate in a special frog symphony and take a night hike into a forest rich in sounds and excitement. All participants will receive a free night forest recording for attending this event. Ages 12 and up. Minors must be accompanied by a parent. $18 for members/$30 for non-members.

April 10th:  Tadpole Troopers: Weird Plants (ages 3-5 with an adult) – Tadpole Troopers is a nature class for 3, 4 and 5 year olds with an adult.  This spring classes will explore the weird and wild side of nature.  In April children will explore peculiar plants, including plants that eat bugs. $13 for members/$26 for non-members. 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m. – Noon, or  1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Pre-registration required.

April 10th:  Naturalist Explorers: Energy Smart (ages 5-8) – This spring, Naturalist Explorer students will learn to be Eco Kids!  In April children will learn the many sources of energy and how to make wise choices. They will also make their own solar oven to take home. $15 for members/$30 for non-members. 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. or 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

April 10th:  EcoTrackers: The 411 on Energy (ages 9-12) – EcoTracker classes inspire young naturalists with hands-on, engaging activities about a nature topic each month.  This spring, EcoTrackers students will learn to become Eco Kids!  In April’s class children will discover different forms of energy and construct their own solar oven. Cost: $15 for members/$30 for non-members. Pre-registration required by noon on Friday prior to class.  9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

April 11th:  Backyard Habitat Builder Series: Rain Gardens – Backyard Habitat Workshops are monthly half-day classes teaching simple ways to transform a landscape of any size to attract birds, butterflies, frogs, toads and other beneficial Houston wildlife.  Taught by Arboretum Conservation Director Joe Blanton, workshops focus on learning through hands-on projects completed during class, with many including items that participants can take home.  In April, learn how rain gardens not only help with water drainage and flooding, but can also be a beautiful water feature to attract birds and other wildlife. Each class is $40 for members/$50 for non-members. 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

April 16th & 17th:  Arboretum Book Sale – Books from the Arboretum’s natural history library will be available for sale, proceeds benefit the arboretum.

April 17th:  Arboretum Earth Day Celebration celebrates Wetland Wonders – Crawfish, turtles and other wetland creatures will be the guests of honor at the annual Earth Day Celebration. Fun activities for the whole family will include: a puzzle hike to visit an Arboretum pond, children’s “Crawfish Crawl” and “Race to Recycle” activities, carnival games, face painting, kids’ zip line, live music and hayride. Arboretum memberships will be discounted and those joining will enjoy members-only reception area featuring live animals from the Gulf Coast Turtle & Tortoise Society. Visitors can learn more about greening up their home and garden through composting demonstrations and a native plant sale including wetland plants. Information on the City of Houston’s new yard trimming guidelines, curbside recycling and Reuse Warehouse for recycling building materials will be available.

April 23rd:  Home School Class: Slimy Salamanders – Designed especially for home schoolers, the spring classes will focus on herpetology.  In April, students will learn about salamanders in our area, including where they live and what they eat. $15 for members/$25 for non-members. 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

April 24th:  Tadpole Troopers: Weird Plants (ages 3-5 with an adult) – Tadpole Troopers is a nature class for 3, 4 and 5 year olds with an adult.  This spring classes will explore the weird and wild side of nature.  In April children will explore peculiar plants, including plants that eat bugs. $13 for members/$26 for non-members. 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m. – Noon. Pre-registration required.

April 29th:  Movie Screening: What’s on Your Plate? – What’s on Your Plate? Is a witty and provocative documentary produced and directed by award winning Catherine Gund about kids and food politics. Filmed over the course of one year, the film follows two 11-year-old multi racial city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah take a close look at food systems in New York City and its surrounding areas. With the camera as their companion, the girls talk to each other, food activists, farmers, new friends, storekeepers, their families and the viewer in their quest to understand what’s on all our plates. They visit the usual supermarkets, fast food chains and school lunchrooms. They also check into innovative sustainable food system practices by going to farms, greenmarkets and community supported agriculture programs. They discover that these programs both help struggling farmers to survive on the one hand and provide affordable, locally-grown food to communities on the consumer end, especially to lower-income urban families. Cost is $8 per person. Admission fee includes small snacks and giveaways. Kids under age 12 are free. Seating begins at 6:30 p.m., with the movie starting at 7:30 p.m.

for more information, see www.houstonarboretum.org or call (713) 681-8433

Houston Zoo  (1513 North McGregor)

Founded in 1922, the ever-evolving Houston Zoo is an exciting recreational destination and a unique educational resource serving 1.4 million guests annually.  Set in a lush 55-acre landscape, the Zoo is home to more than 3,100 exotic animals representing more than 500 species.  The first Saturday of every month, Houston Zoo Members are invited to enjoy the Zoo an hour earlier and see keepers, grounds crew, and other staff preparing to open the Zoo for the day, including releasing animals from their night holds into their habitats. Members can experience the Zoo before the crowds on these select mornings and start the day off right with a trip to the Zoo.  Please note that the Wildlife Carousel, and concessions stands, and cafes will open at 9:00 a.m. The Gift Shop, Aquarium and Natural Encounters will open at 8:00 a.m.  

April 3rd:  Breakfast with the Easter Bunny – You can see many animals here at the Zoo, but this is the only time you can see a bunny quite like this!  Join us for this year’s Breakfast with the Easter Bunny, where kids can meet the Bunny himself!  You’ll also enjoy a hot breakfast buffet, and get up close and personal with some other furry (but much smaller!) animals, courtesy of our Zoo Keeper. Reservations are required.

April 24th – 25th:  Waste Management Earth Day – Celebrate Mother Earth and learn what you can do to protect the planet at Waste Management Earth Day at the Houston Zoo. Activities this year include the popular Recycling Relay Race, an environmental maze, and our re-usable giant coloring mural. Our Meet the Keeper Talks – sponsored by Target – will feature conservation messages and recycled enrichment for our animals.  There will also be plenty of educational – and fun! – booths highlighting what the Zoo is doing, as well as what other Houston-area non-profit organizations are doing, to help save our planet. Also this weekend, kids can start their very own nature journal. Not sure what a Nature Journal is?  It’s a way for kids to get in touch with nature by filling the journal with photos, stories, or artwork to describe what they see in their own backyard.  Visit our Earth Day craft booth to get your journal and decorate the cover.  Once you get home, explore the natural world around you and begin filling the pages. Be sure to visit our Naturally Wild Swap Shop during Earth Day weekend as well.  The Swap Shop is a place to bring items you have found in nature and trade them for natural items in our collection.  During Earth Day weekend only, guests will receive double points for any items brought to our Swap Shop.  This is your chance to collect even more points to put toward that bobcat skull you’ve been eyeing. Be sure to stop by with your newly-created nature journal– you’ll get points for that too.

April 30th:  22^nd Annual Zoo Ball – Come, travel with us to Africa! Pack your binoculars and grab your passport. Zoo Friends of Houston, Inc. is pleased to inform you that we have discovered A Way To Africa - coming soon to the Houston Zoo! We are excited to announce that the proceeds from Zoo Ball 2010, A Way To Africa, will benefit the much anticipated African Forest exhibit at the Houston Zoo. We invite you to be a part of the Houston Zoo’s history by joining us in supporting the ongoing Phase One capital needs of the African Forest by being an underwriter for Zoo Ball 2010, A Way To Africa.  

for more information, see www.houstonzoo.org or call (713) 533-6500

Food & Wine Related Events

Six Course Beer Dinner – The Flying Dutchman  (#9 Kemah Waterfront, Kemah)

April 1st:  Join us for a St. Arnold Beer Dinner featuring guest speaker Brock Wagner, owner of St. Arnold’s Brewery. The dinner will feature six courses paired with beers from St. Arnold’s. Seating is limited and reservations are required. $45 per person (plus tax and gratuity).  6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (281) 334-7575

Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail, Spring Bluebonnet Wine and Cheese Trail – Various locations  (Navasota)

April 3rd – 18th:  This is the namesake event for the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail/ The Spring Bluebonnet Wine and Cheese Trail is a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of native Texas wildflowers and enjoy the blooming viticulture at some of Texas’ best wineries. For the first three weekends in April, the wineries along the trail will offer a select pairing of two wines and two specially crafted cheese dishes prepared with Texas cheese from local artisans. As an added bonus, receive a packet of Texas wildflower seeds at each winery you visit while supplies last. The bluebonnets will be in full bloom and with the late fall and winter rain this spring bluebonnet trail promises to be one of the most abundant yet. Your trail ticket allows you to sample two wine pairings and two cheese pairings at each participating winery alone the trail. trail. Tickets are $25 per person or $45 for two. 

for more information, call (936-825-8282

SuperVin – Free Huge Wine Tasting – Vintropolis, City of Wine (10001 Westheimer, Suite 2695)

April 3rd:  Vintrpolis is hosting a huge free wine tasting. More than 100 wines will be featured as well as live entertainment and food samples from local restaurants. Tickets for this event are $10, however that ticket will get you a $10 coupon to use in the store. $10.00 per person. 4:00 – 9:30 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 532-WINE

Churrascos Westchase Wine Dinner  (9705 Westheimer)

April 5th:  Five-course dinner featuring Columbia Winery wines from Washington state.  $59 per person (plus tax and gratuity).  Open seating. 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 952-1988

Single Malt Scotch Dinner – Kiran’s Restaurant  (4100 Westheimer)

April 7th:  You are invited to join us for our annual event for the connoisseurs of single malt Scotches, hosted by the very knowledgable James McCartney, Master of Whiskey. $125.00 per person (plus tax and gratuity). 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 960-8472

Miner Vineyards Wine Dinner – Pappas Grill & Steakhouse  (12000 Highway 59 South)

April 9th:  Miner Family Vineyards is a family-owned winery committed to producing small lot, reserve-style wines that reflect the unique characteristics of specific vineyard sites. We are pleased to welcome Rocio Gonzalez for this dinner. $125.00 per person (plus tax and gratuity). 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (281) 277-9292

Around the World in 180 Minutes  (25415 Interstate 45)

April 10th:  Travel through 14 Wine Regions in 180 minutes while benefitting Bridgewood Farms. Enter Customs to pick up your passport, your wine glass, and your traveler's bracelet. Enjoy great wines from throughout the world paired with wonderful finger foods. Your passport lists opportunities to visit oodles of wines with your passport stamped at each wine region to encourage you to acquire stamps from all 14 wine regions. This event benefits Bridgewood farms, a place for special adults. This unique wine adventure is being organized by wine columnist Ron Saikowski and will offer great opportunities to experience interesting wines. These wines will also be available for purchase during the event. A special silent wine auction offering unique one-of-a-kind items for wine lovers is also available for those that want more than wine and finer foods. Tickets are $50 per adult or $250 per first class traveling couple. 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.   

for more information, call (713) 252-3729

Wine Revolution: Battle on the Bayou: France vs. USA – Brenner’s on the Bayou Steakhouse (One Birdsall Street)

April 10th:  Join us for an interesting food and wine comparative tasting, pitting five of France's best known wine regions against their American counterparts. This is a can't miss event, for area wine connoisseurs & budding wine enthusiasts alike. The event will be complimented by live entertainment. This indoor, outdoor event also includes exquisite food paired by wine regions and style by our Executive Chef Grant Hunter. Compare wines from France's prolific regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhone, Alsace and Loire Valley against their American cousins. $65 per person in advance, $75 at the door.  1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

for more information, call (800) 736-9463

Churrascos River Oaks Wine Dinner – Churrascos  (2055 Westheimer)

April 12th:  Five-course dinner featuring wines from Secreto, Chile.  $59 per person (plus tax and gratuity).  Open seating. 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 527-8300

An Evening with Chimney Rock Wines –  Ouisie’s Table (3939 San Felipe)

April 12th:  Chimney Rock is more than a busy thoroughfare in Houston. Join Napa Valley winemaker Elizabeth Vianna to introduce a superb pairing of wines from Chimney Rock Winery with special dishes from Ouisie’s creative imagination. Beginning with a pre-dinner reception, the wine dinner will feature four exceptional wines chosen by the winemaker along with a special surprise cocktail from Ouisie.
Chimney Rock Winery was founded in 1980 in the world-renowned Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. Located along the fabled Silverado Trail, the winery has received accolades worldwide. For movie and television watchers, the winery was used to film Top Chef finale in November, 2009, and its wines were featured in the movie version of “Sex and the City” in 2008. $75 per person (plus tax and gratuity). 6:30 – 10:30 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 582-2264

Shafer Vineyards Wine Dinner – Pappas Bros. Steakhouse  (5839 Westheimer)

April 14th:  Since they crushed their first grapes in 1978, the Shafer’s have been a commanding presence in the world of wine. Their award-winning extraordinary wines are enjoyed and collected throughout the world. The four course dinner will be paired with a variety of Shafer wines. $175 per person (plus tax and gratuity). 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 780-7352

7^th Annual Single Malt & Scotch Whiskey Extravaganza (The Downtown Club, 1100 Caroline Street)

April 14th:  You are cordially invited to enjoy a connoisseur's evening featuring over 100 rare & exceptional single malt and Scotch whiskies. The evening includes a delicious dinner buffet as well as a selection of premium imported cigars for our guests' later enjoyment. The Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza brings the discerning enthusiast the opportunity to sample the participating whiskies in a sophisticated and elegant environment with genuine camaraderie and knowledgeable representatives from each participating distillery. Tickets are $120 for society members and $135 for non-member guests. Tickets by advance purchase only. Reservations are limited. Business attire, jackets preferred.

for more information, see singlemaltextravaganza.com or call (800) 9901-1991

Pinot Fest – Leibman’s Wine and Fine Foods  (14529 Memorial Drive)

April 15th:  Calling all Pinot lovers. It’s time for our annual Pinot Noir extravaganza. Come celebrate the beauty of Pinots as we showcase some of our favorites. Learn the basic differences in geography, terrior and flavor characteristics in pinots frm around the world. Light hors d’ouervres will be provided and the evening includes a free Schott Zwiesel glass. $35 per person (plus tax and gratuity). 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (281) 493-3663

Mommies and Merlot – Cova Hand Selected Wines (5555 Washington Avenue)

April 15th:  Cova Hand Selected Wines and 35 Make-Up are teaming up for a casual and sexy event. Dyanna Wilson, a highly skilled professional make-up artist, is welcoming women to come and try out her featured make up line. We will be offering a complimentary glass of wine and tapas while you wait for you personalized make over. What better way to enjoy a Thursday afternoon….wine and make-up. $25 per person. 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 868-3366

Wine, Stars & Dinner –  Haak Vineyards & Winery (6310 Avenue T, Santa Fe)

April 16th:  Astronomers from the Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society bring their telescopes for you to enjoy the stars and planets (weather permitting)-Guests can come to star gaze while enjoying a glass of Haak wine; Children are welcome.  Dinner is being offered and will be a delicious 3 or more course meal with award winning Haak Wine pairings in the unique setting of our winery.  $35 per person (plus tax) with $15 additional for wine pairings.  Dinner is from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (409) 925-1401

Wine & Golf Event –  Waldon on Lake Houston (18100 Walden Forest Drive, Humble)

April 21st:  Women join us to enjoy the networking benefits of the golf lifestyle as we host business women from all fields and skill levels.  You choose the golf activity suited for you with a special agenda for 'new swingers'.  Complete the afternoon with our famous 19th hole wine and cheese tasting! This is the prefect opportunity to see what the golf buzz is all about.  All pre-registered guests will receive a $25 Fleming's gift card.  (ticket price includes: golf activities, wine, appetizers, prizes & gift bag and fun!) $59 for members and $79 for guests.  2:00 – 7:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 268-5078

The Grand Wine & Food – Various locations

April 21st – 25th:  Join us as more than 100 world-class wineries and chefs showcase their talents at winemaker lunches, vintner dinners, wine seminars, The Grand Tasting, the Sienna Sip & Stroll and the around the world Bistro Brunch. We welcome you to enjoy five unforgettable days of celebration. The Grand Wine & Food Affair is so joyously over the top, you will swear you never had so much fun. Forty celebrated award-winning chefs from all over the United States to South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, France, Spain and many others are proudly offering exotic and sumptuous samplings at The Grand Wine & Food Affair.   Over 100 wineries will be at attendance to make these five inspiring days truly memorable.  In its seventh year, The Grand Wine & Food Affair attracts some of America’s most brilliant winemakers and chefs to the Houston area for a five-day cultural and culinary celebration.  During this festival, to be held April 21 – 25, 2010, visitors will be exposed to an exhilarating array of wines from stellar vintners, and cultural cuisines from many regions in the country. The event will be host to an lively assortment of entertainment and activities including reserve wine tastings, wine seminars, vintner dinners and cooking classes, all conducted by wine experts and chefs of national renown. The Grand Wine & Food Affair is proud to support a permanent endowed scholarship fund at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Restaurant and Hotel Management. This fund will provide opportunities to students pursuing a bachelor of science in hotel and restaurant management.

for more information, call (713) 747-9463

Valentino Vitner Dinner with Patz & Hall & Seven Hills

April 21st:  Italian legend, Piero Selvaggio has been celebrated for providing a true taste of Italy at his award-winning restaurants in Santa Monica and Las Vegas. PS Valentino Vinbar Houston is a new innovation from Luciano Pellegrini and Piero Selvaggio and will serve as the venue for the kick-off week-long celebration of wine and food.  Also present will be Patz & Hall partners, James Hall and Anne Moses are part of the team who turned a desire to craft benchmark, single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs into one of California's most celebrated artisan wineries.   Adding to the delight of the evening are the wines of Seven Hills crafted from  fruit sources harvested from the same rows-the same vines each year to attain the full potential of the grape.
Reserved tables of four, six and eight are available. $125 per person.  6:30 – 7:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 747-9463

Mockingbird Bistro with Beaulieu Vineyards – Mockingbird Bistro  (1985 Welch)

April 22nd:  Chef John Sheely and Winemaker Jeffrey Stambor will collaborate on a memorable menu for guests. Seating is limited. $125 per person.  6:30 – 7:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 747-9463

Stags’ Leap Winery Dinner – Oceannaire Seafood Room  (5061 Westheimer)

April 22nd:  Come join Chef Trevor White and Wine Director Andrew Cecil as they present a menu of Seasonal Favorites paired with the wonderful wines of Stags' Leap.  Five delicious courses will be paired with 2007 Stags' Leap Napa Valley Chardonnay, 2006 Stags' Leap Napa Valley Merlot, 2006 Stags' Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon & 2006 Stags' Leap Napa Valley Petite Syrah.  $75 per person (plus tax and gratuity). 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

for more information, call (832) 487-8862

The Grand Tasting – Marriott Sugar Land   (16090 CityWalk, Sugar Land)

April 23rd:  The Grand Tasting will feature the most sought after wines in the world today and the talents of the country's culinary superstars. The event will also feature The Grand Auction, a silent auction that benefits an endowed scholarship fund at the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management. $125 per person.  7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 747-9463

Sienna Sip & Stroll – Sienna Springs Resort  (7102 Sienna Ranch Road, Missouri City)

April 24th:  This event features over 40 wineries and a restaurant showcase at 40 tasting tables. Guests will enjoy a host of activities, including cooking demonstrations, mixologists and live music. $60 per person. 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 747-9463

Vintage Vino Voyage –  Haak Vineyards & Winery  (6310 Avenue T, Santa Fe)

April 24th:  Raymond and Gladys Haak are hosting this special limited seating dinner in the winery’s cellar. Each course of the five-course meal will be paired with two special wines selected from the Haak library of their rare and limited availability wines.  $125 per person.  Dinner is from 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

for more information, call (409) 925-1401

Bistro Brunch – Sugar Land Town Square  (City Walk at Town Square, Sugar Land)

April 24th:  The around the world brunch features  specialty dishes from the major wine regions of the world, including Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Greece, South Africa, Austrailia, Chile, New Zealand, Argentina, California, Texas and more.  $50 per person. 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 747-9463

For additional information on wine tasting events at local wine shops around town, see: www.localwineevents.com

Central Market Cooking School   (Westheimer @ Weslayan)

April 1st:         Knife Skills 101 – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Central Market Cooking School Staff April 2nd:            Couples Cook: Patio Party – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Central Market Cooking School Staff

April 3rd:        Couples Cook: Tapas – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Central Market Cooking School Staff

April 5th:        Karen Tack, What’s New Cupcake? – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Karen Tack, Food Stylist, Author & Alan Richardson, Photographer

April 6th:        Virginia Willis: The Flavors of Fresh Herbs – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Virginia Willis, Chef, Author, Instructor

April 7th:        Sushi – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Chris Nemoto, Executive Sushi Chef, Zushi Japanese Cuisine

April 9th:        Couples Cook: Spring Roll Workshop – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Dorothy Huang, Cooking Instructor and Author

April 10th:      Cream Pies – 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Central Market Cooking School Staff

April 12th:      Perfectly Prepared – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Tre Wilcox, Top Chef Contestant and Chef, Loft 610, Plano

April 13th:      French Bistro Classics – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Anne Legg, Chef, Instructor, Culinary Consultant, Dallas

April 14th:      Sunday Dinner at Nonna’s – 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Anne Legg, Chef, Instructor, Culinary Consultant, Dallas

April 15th:      Global Tastes – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Peter Laufner, Executive Chef, InterContinental Hotel, Houston

April 16th:      Cooking with Vietnamese Herbs & Spices – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Nicole Routhier, Chef and Author

April 17th:      Mediterranean Delights – 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Darren McGrady, The Royal Chef

April 20th:      Favorite Flavors of Spring – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Molly Fowler, The Dining Diva

April 21st:      Just for the Grill of It! – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Myrna Kallergis, Chef and Owner, Food Innovations

April 22nd:     Cooking for Two – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Myrna Kallergis, Chef and Owner, Food Innovations

April 23rd:      Couples Cook: The World Grill – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Emily Swantner, Chef/Culinary Instructor, Guest Chef, O’Keeffe Café, Santa Fe

April 24th:      Grilled World Flavors – 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Emily Swantner, Chef/Culinary Instructor, Guest Chef, O’Keeffe Café, Santa Fe

April 24th:      Couples Cook: Spicy on the Grill – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Kathy Tauber, Owner Ez*Eatz, Avis Foodie

April 26th:      Flavors of the Indian Grill – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Suneeta Vaswani, Cooking Instructor and Author

April 27th:      Knife Skills 101 – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Central Market Cooking School Staff

April 29th:      Savoring the World: Italy – 6:30 p.m. – Executive Chef Curtis Cooke and Wine Manager Martin Korson

April 30th:      Patio Party: Skewered & Grilled – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Central Market Cooking School Staff

for more information, see www.centralmarket.com or call (713) 993-9860

Other Events

Buffalo Bayou Walking Tour (Architecture Center of Houston – 315 Capital Street, Suite 120)

First Saturday of every month:  Architecture Center Houston, with the cooperation of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership invite you to stroll along Buffalo Bayou Parkway for an overview of downtown Houston’s history and architecture from its beginnings in 1836 to the efforts to revitalize the central city today.  Docents will lead you on this two hour tour.  Reservations are not required, but are appreciated. There is a 20 person limit.   10:00 a.m. – noon – weather permitting.  $15 per person (cash and check only)

for more information, see www.aiahouston.org or call (713) 752-0314

Downtown Green Market: Central City Co-op (Discovery Green, 1500 McKinney)