Galveston concert to feature African heritage composers
Galveston author Izola E.F. Collins, director of the Galveston Heritage Chorale, will present anannual concert of “Music by African Heritage Composers and Arrangers.”
It all takes place at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, at Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church, 2013 Broadway in Galveston. Vocal and instrumental soloists will perform.
“We’re very excited to have young men and women who are composing their own songs, and one of these persons, Harold Love Jr., will be on this program with a lot of talent, playing more than one instrument,” Collins said.
Other seasoned artists include vocalists Gary Navy of Houston Opera Chorus, and Evelyn Henley Courtney; and pianist Sharon Barron. Also appearing are Aaron Patterson and Anita Donatto, who are gifted vocalists and teachers of music, she said.
Come on out to hear the music that people of African Heritage have written — whether it is a classical work of a spiritual nature, an art song, a jazz or blues tune, or an unnamed piece of modern styling, she said.
“Bring your children, your neighbors, their children, and experience what you can call ‘worthy use of leisure time’,” Collins said.
For more information, call 409-974-4425. Pearland
The Pearland Crawfish Festival, one of Texas’ largest crawfish festivals, has a new name and location. The new Brazoria County Crawfish Festival will take place April 15-17 at MSR Houston Motor Speedway, 1 Performance Drive in Angleton.
The festival previously made its home in Pearland for three years. Inthe spirit of the move, the festival is expanding its brand to encompass the entire county.
“Brazoria County, including Pearland, is experiencing explosive growth, but part of that growth in Pearland means few open tracts available for the site of a major festival,” said festival organizer Bob Fuldauer.
With much of the region historically used for rice farming, available open tracts have very poor drainage after rains.
“Last year we had huge problems with mud and standing water with storms after a wet spring,” Fuldauer said. “We knew moving ahead we needed a site with concrete for the festival. MSR Houston offers that, as well as being a growing public race and event facility that will be available – and improving – for years to come.”
The Brazoria County Crawfish Festival takes the friendly, relaxed fun and community feel of a small town fair and serves it up big, he said. With the move comes the chance to bring out more. There will be more food, more vendors, more activities and more carnival rides, he said.
Red Swamp Crawfish will handle the key element of boiling and serving the tens of thousands of tons of crawfish for the hungry crowds that flock to this festival, Fuldauer said. Their crawfish comes in daily fromthe best farmers in rice fields and the Atchafalaya River Basin of Louisiana. With four boiling trailers going they can put out 4,000 pounds of bugs anhour.
Specialty entertainment like the popular Splash Dogs will be back and bigger than before, with new iguana races and more added to the armadillo races, and contests.
The Houston Blues Society will fill the Blues Society Stage with top local and regional blues favorites and rising newcomers. More of the area’s best Zydeco, Texas country, and classic rock will raise the roof of the BayouStage.
Vendors will offer unique wares, arts and crafts. The event will include a carnival and children’s area.
For more information, visit www.BrazoriaCountyCrawfishFestival.com or call 281-802-2776. League City
The South West International Boat Show, the largest in-water boat show in the Southwest, will hold its eighth annual event March17-20 at SouthShore HarbourMarina.
The show will feature boats ranging in size from 10 feet to more than 100 feet, both freshwater and saltwater, ready for boarding and viewing, said Peter Bryant, boat show president.
Onshore, live music will provide entertainment and more than 200 vendors will offer a variety of services and products for the boating and outdoor lifestyle.
Show highlights include Discover Boating with programs of one and three hours of hands-on, in-water workshops for all experience levels. All sessions are taught by USCG licensed captains who are professional, certified instructors.
The show also offers a seminar series, covering a range of topics from cruising with couples and families to digital communication technologies and marine electric propulsion.
All seminars will be at the South Shore Harbour Resort & Spa, 2500 South Shore Blvd., and hosted by technical experts, wellseasoned sailors, bestselling authors and world cruisers.
The event also includes the annual Boat Show Cruiser Party onMarch19.
Parking is free with complimentary shuttle buses available on Saturday and Sunday.
In a first, the boat show is adding a second show in September. The three-day event will take place Sept. 23-25, at South Shore HarbourMarina.
For tickets or more information, visit www. southwestinternationalboatshow.com. Galveston
The Grand 1894 Opera House presents “Ragtime: TheMusical” at 8 p.m. Feb. 20, and at 3 p.m. Feb. 21.
New York, at the beginning of the 20th century, is the setting for this Tony award-winning Broadway musical tour-de-force based on the popular 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow. The lives of an upper-class New Rochelle family, a determined Eastern-European Jewish immigrant, and a daring young Harlem musician intersect as each longs for a better tomorrow.
The play weaves the experiences of Harlem musician Coalhouse Walker Jr., “Mother”– a wealthy suburban matriarch, and Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. Other historical figures of the period include magician Harry Houdini, civil rights activist Booker T. Washington, industrialist J. P. Morgan and inventor HenryFord.
The performances are sponsored in part by The Humphreys Foundation, McRee Ford, The Tremont House and The Houston Chronicle.
For ticket prices and more information, call The Grand’s box office at 409765-1894, 800-821-1894, or visit www.thegrand.com. Pearland Pearland invites fathers and daughters, ages 4 to 14, to share memories that will last a lifetime at “Daddy Daughter Date Night.”
The event, hosted by the City of Pearland Parks and Recreation Department, will take place from 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 at Pearland Jr. High South, 4719 Bailey Road.
“Daddy Daughter Date Night” includes dessert, dancing and a keepsake photo. Guest attire is dressy or attendees may wear a costume from their favorite princess movie.
The fee is $30 per couple and $10 for each additional sibling. Advance registration is required byFeb. 25.
For details, visit pearlandtx.gov/daddydaughter or stop by the Pearland Recreation Center at 4141 Bailey Roadto sign up. Galveston
Are you ready for some culinary delight?
The Grand 1894 Opera House, has partnered with Hotel Galvez & Spa, A Wyndham Grand Hotel and Yaga’s Entertainment to offer an All-Access Weekend with Food Network celebrity chef Robert Irvine during the seventh annual Galveston Island Food & Wine Festival on April 16-17.
The weekend package offers hotel valet parking, two tickets to Saturday’s Grand Tasting at the Galveston Island Food & Wine Festival, Sunday brunchfor two at the Hotel Galvez, two tickets to see Irvine at The Grand 1894 Opera House on Sunday and breakfast for two on Monday at HotelGalvez.
Saturday’s Grand Tasting — the highlight of the Galveston Island Food & Wine Festival — features a sampling of more than 100 wines and specialty foods from local restaurateurs, and culminates with a live cooking demonstration and book signing by Irvine.
The weekend continues on Sunday as Executive Chef Lance Fegen of Houston’s Liberty Kitchen & Oyster Bar presents the Hotel Galvez legendary Champagne Brunch.
Sunday afternoon, the fun continues at 4 p.m. as Irvine brings his signature culinary style to this highenergy theater experience.
For package reservations, visit www.thegrand. com/ticketoffers. asp. Galveston
Kinky Friedman, the colorful Texas Country singer, songwriter, humorist, cowboy and best-selling mystery writer, will be center stage March 26 for “An Evening with Kinky Friedman at The 1894 Grand Opera House, 2020 PostofficeSt.
The 8 p.m. performance benefits Congregation Beth Jacob Galveston. Friedman will perform signature songs from his celebrated 40-year music career, plus selections from his newly released CD, “The Loneliest Man I EverMet.” (October 2015.)
“Starting from the time he played guitar and sang around the campfire at his parents’ Echo Hill Ranch summercamp in the Texas Hill Country in the 1960s and 70s, to touring with such music legends as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Ringo Starr, and headlining world tours, Kinky has been a one-of-a-kind performer — often irreverent, always quick witted,” said Barbara White, event and host committee chairwoman. “He’s a talented singer, musician and raconteur combined.”
“AnEvening with Kinky Friedman” will celebrate the 85th anniversary of the historic Congregation Beth Jacob Galveston, the “Shul (Synagogue) by the Shore.”
Concert benefit tickets, priced from $45 to $100, are available at http://www. thegrand.com/calendar. asp.
Visit www.galvestonshul.org or call 409-7624545 for details. Galveston
Galveston welcomes the sixth annual Red Cat Jazz Festival to Moody Gardens during Mother’s Day weekend 2016.
Gina Spagnola, president of the Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce, said she’s honored to serve as honorary chairperson of the festival, now in its third year on the island. The event will take place May 5-8 at Moody GardensHotel and Spa.
“Our chamber is very much supportive because the RedCat Jazz festival fits so beautifully within our mission to promote and advocate for business and communitydevelopment,” she said.
Given its phenomenal growth, Spagnola said, the festival has the potential to rival other major jazz festivals throughout the nation.
“We know that we are going to build this event to one of the best jazz fes- tivals in the country,” she said. “Our desire and commitment is to bring the finest jazz artists, which will bring the jazz enthusiasts from across the country to share in this event.”
Some of the biggest names in jazz will be on stage at the 2016 festival, including Ronnie Laws, Jonathan Butler, Gerald Albright, Marion Meadows, Mike Phillips, Karen Briggs, Kermit Ruffins, Mindi Abair, Jessy J. and a host of others.
All events are hosted by Red Cat Jazz Preservation Society Inc., a non-profit 501(c ) organization.
“The Playboy Jazz Festival in LA is synonymous with Fathers’ Day,” said Sam Pink, festival founder and owner of the Red Cat Jazz Café in Houston. “We want our festival to be synonymous with the Mother’s Dayweekend at Moody Gardens.
For more information about the 2016RedCat Jazz Festival, visitwww.redcatjazz.com.