CITY SHOWS IT HAS MORE TO GIVE
Parades, feasts celebrate just how strong Houston is post-Harvey
Regardless of all the highs and lows of the past few months, Houston-area residents were thankful Thursday for a pictureperfect day, no matter how they spent it.
Thanksgiving 2017 in the region started with a trot — an annual fun run — but ballooned into a number of parades, charitable meals and other events, not to mention countless turkey dinners with friends and family.
For a city still reckoning with Hurricane Harvey and grinning from a World Series win, it was a lot to consider on a shining day.
“They should all be like this,” Gus Washington said as he watched his two grandsons play in the grass at Discovery Green, before they all volunteered at the Big Super Feast.
The event, one of the largest free holiday meals in the nation, takes over the George R. Brown Convention Center for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Volunteers, lined up by the dozens, were ready to serve an estimated 25,000 people this year, City Wide Club Director Stephanie Lewis said. The club organizes the annual event, now in its 39th year.
It was one of many Thanksgiving events planned to provide for the homeless, elderly and those directly affected by Harvey. A meal for homeless families currently in shelters sent a stream of Yellow Cabs in a caravan from Star of Hope’s family center west of Sunnyside to the Hard Rock Café in downtown Houston.
Gallery Furniture owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale fed an estimated 2,500 outside his north Houston store with turkeys brought in from Centerville, along with other food options donated by various restaurants.
Shelters and groups across the region raced to fill needs, which have been more acute since tens of thousands were flooded from their homes in late August. Of those, at least 47,000 remain in hotels, based on the latest federal estimates.
Lewis said there were concerns that all of that charity over the past few months would reduce donations as the holidays approached, just as need was increasing. She said the feast will feed about 7,000 more people this Thanksgiving, a direct result of Harvey.
Donations still were pouring in, Lewis said Thursday, easing some early fears that Houston may have helped all it can.
Health screenings
A lack of help was hardly the case on Thursday. Volunteers did everything from cook meals to paint superheroes on children’s faces. Trice Williams, a Humble barber, did her part to freshen up the locks of a few men and women.
“It makes them feel better,” Williams said as she worked on a sideburn.
The feast also is a chance to check in on some of Houston’s most vulnerable residents. Harris County Public Health operates an extensive medical screening station where people can check glucose and blood pressure and even receive flu shots. This year, with Harvey waters affecting many who live on the streets, health department education and communications director Elizabeth Perez said officials added free tetanus shots.
With limited time, Perez said she was hoping health officials could screen a few hundred clients.
“This might be our only chance to help some of them,” she said of the Thanksgiving and the Christmas meals.
Those receiving the help said it is an invaluable bit of aid at a critical time. Michael Williams, 59, has spent about a year homeless. He found himself at the feast for the first time, coincidentally across the street from his last job as a carpenter during construction of the Marriott Marquis. “When the job finished, there was no work,” he said.
Rather than impose on his mother, he said he lost his apartment and flipped from place to place. A set of warm clothes in time for temperatures to drop was just what he needed, Williams said.
“This is my first and hopefully last time here,” he said. “I’m coming back up.”
Some of Houston also showed signs of turning a corner from the storms, buoyed by the excitement earlier this month from the Houston Astros’ world championship. Thursday, in roughly the same spot where revelers relished the World Series win on Nov. 3, Houston did it again, hosting the 68th annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Scott Spiegel, 46, came dressed head-to-toe in Astros gear, still celebrating the win. He let out his heartiest cheer when an inflated baseball passed by.
“It was a great cap to a hard year,” Spiegel said of the victory. “It really got me ready to celebrate and see everyone today.”
Parade recalls Harvey
It may have lacked the signs and frenzy of the parade proclaiming the Astros world champs, but Thursday morning’s celebration brought young and old together to kick off a holiday season following the heartbreak of Harvey.
Mentions of the storm were marked throughout the procession, from the “Houston Strong” signs to the Pham family, rescued from the floodwaters, riding on a float with Houston police who assisted in rescue efforts.
Bundled under blankets and with children tucked in strollers, parade-goers basked in a sunny, albeit chilly morning to come together.
“This is Houston to me,” said George Grafton, 56, of West University Place. “Look around. There’s every culture, every part of Houston. Together. You don’t see that every day in one place.”