February 2010

While the weather may be a bit unpredictable, one thing is certain – there is no shortage of activities to enjoy around Houston this month.  Hobby Center will have Miss Saigon and Camelot on stage, while the Houston Grand Opera will be presenting both Tosca and The Turn of the Screw at Wortham Center.  The Harlem Globetrotters will be visiting Toyota Center and Stomp will be performing at Jones Hall.  The Houston Museum of Natural Science has Spirits and Headhunters: the Vanishing World of the Amazon and Fabergé: Imperial Jewelers to the Tsars on display, while Reliant Center will be hosting the auto show and later in the month the RV show.  Galveston will be host to a number of Mardi Gras events and it’s time to dust off those boots and cowboy hats, as Rodeo Houston events begin this month.  You won’t want to miss Rodeo Uncorked, the annual Barbecue Cook-off, the Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run, or the Rodeo Parade.  No matter what your interests, there is something for everyone this month in Houston!

Holidays

February 2nd:           Ground Hog Day

February 12th:          Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday         

February 14th:          Valentine’s Day      

February 15th:          President’s Day

February 22nd:         George Washington’s Birthday    

Dance/Music/Theatre

Alley Theatre   (615 Texas Avenue)

Thru February 14th:  Wonderland – Composer Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll and Hyde) returns to the Alley with Wonderland, a delightful new musical that updates Alice’s adventures through an amazing pop score. Alley audiences will be among the first to see this new production filled with extraordinary songs, fantastic characters, and lots of heart. Show is recommended for general audiences. 

February 3rd – 28th:  Mrs. Mannerly – Inspired by a childhood memory of etiquette class, playwright Jeffrey Hatcher conjures up the world of a seven-year-old studying manners from the title character.  Mrs. Mannerly is a demanding teacher, and no student in her 36 years of etiquette classes has achieved a perfect score.  But when he discovers her secret past, Young Jeffrey is determined to be the first.  This unique comic tale reveals truths about the face we present and real selves that lie inside.  Recommended for general audiences.

March 10th – 28th:  Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps – Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre. This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 eccentric characters – played by a prodigiously talented cast of four – an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance. In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she's a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale. A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, The 39 Steps amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure. Recommended for general audiences.

March 22nd:  Imprint: Tracy Kidder – Tracy Kidder, a master of the non-fiction narrative, won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for his book, Soul of a New Machine. Kidder combines award-winning reportorial skill with what one New York Times Book Review critic describes as “the author’s genuine love, delight, and celebration of the human condition.” He has written nine books of nonfiction, including House, Among Schoolchildren, Old Friends, Home Town and My Detachment, Kidder’s personal account of his time as a soldier in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. Of his highly acclaimed book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, author Thom Jones writes, “Mountains is the sort of book that makes you want to buy a hundred copies and pass them out like a street corner evangelist.” Kidder’s newest book, Strength in What Remains, has been described as a book which will “resurrect your faith in the human spirit.” It follows the story of Deogratias, a refugee from the civil war and genocide of 1990s Burundi, who makes his way to New York City. “Deo’s story,” says Alex Kotlowitz,

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.

2010 season begins in March.

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

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

February 9th  – 21st:  Miss Saigon – Once again the pop composers Boublil and Schonberg, inspired by another classic love story in wartime, have woven songs pulsing with memorable melodies and resonant lyrics. With its exotic setting, but familiar conflict of returning draftees, Miss Saigon makes the story of Madame Butterfly new again. It was clear after the 2001 sold-out TUTS debut — subscribers have since clamored for this soaring score and indelible characters to return.

February 19th  – 28th:  Camelot – A legendary production for a legendary season, and the crown jewel in the collaborative efforts of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe performed as only Masquerade can! The legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and of the tragic love between he, his queen Guinevere, and the champion Sir Lancelot is built on the inherent nobility of the King and his struggle to uphold a perfect ideal of chivalry and goodness in an all-too-human world... and all too soon, the choices he must make between being a husband, being a friend, and being a king. Allow yourself to be drawn into the breathtaking drama and the beauty of Camelot, a perfect place that cannot exist. The Masquerade Theatre is happy to offer you and your family seats at the Round Table.

February 23rd  – March 7th:  Cirque Dreams: Illumination – From the creators of the groundbreaking Broadway hit, Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy comes an all new journey of nighttime dreamers whose imaginations are ignited within a landscape of towering buildings and infinite possibilities. Created and directed by Neil Goldberg, this show has been hailed as Dazzling. Audiences of all ages will marvel and experience a journey of city dwellers who reinvent everyday objects, balance beyond belief, delicately dangle from wires, leap tall buildings and redefine the risks of flight in an array of astounding occurrences that transform the ordinary into extraordinary.

March 1st:  John Banville and Abraham Verghese – John Banville, hailed by The Economist as “Ireland’s finest contemporary novelist,” won the 2005 Man Booker Prize for his novel, The Sea. A prodigious author, Banville has written more than 20 books, including mysteries under the pen name Benjamin Black. The Sunday Telegraph says, “With his fastidious wit and exquisite style, John Banville is the heir to Nabokov.” His other works include The Book of Evidence, which The New York Times Book Review calls “a disturbing little novel that might have been coughed up from hell,” Eclipse, Shroud, The Untouchable, and many others; his Benjamin Black titles include Christine Falls and The Silver Swan. Banville will read from his eagerly anticipated new novel, The Infinities, a wholly unexpected lively, comical, and irreverent multi-generational family saga.

Abraham Verghese, an Ethiopian-born South Asian physician, is the author of two highly acclaimed memoirs, My Own Country, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and The Tennis Partner, a New York Times Notable Book, of which Kaye Gibbons says, “It supersedes any memoir I’ve ever read. . . a wonderful examination of what it means to be alive.” His newest work, Cutting for Stone, marks his transition from memoir to the novel, in a sprawling family epic set mostly in Ethiopia. Verghese is “something of a magician as a novelist,” writes USA Today, adding that “Cutting for Stone is an underdog and a winner. Shades of Slumdog Millionaire.” Simon Schama calls it “beautiful and deeply affecting.” Verghese is currently a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

March 9th  – 21st:  South Pacific – A stunning reinvention produced by Lincoln Center Theater, South Pacific swept the 2008 Tony Awards, winning seven honors including Best Musical Revival and Best Director for Bartlett Sher. Set on a tropical island during World War II, the musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices.

March 20th:  Springtime in Paris – The earthiness of Baroque oboe and the sweetness of the Baroque violin evoke the soft breezes and fragrant blossoms of a French garden in spring. Transport yourself to Paris with this concert of French Baroque chamber works for voices and instruments. Virtuoso oboist Kathryn Montoya returns to perform with the ensemble, joined by two internationally renowned stars of the early music scene: violinist Marc Destrube and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Lane.

March 26th:  Steven Isserlis: The Romantic Cello – Acclaimed worldwide as one of the leading cellists of his time, Steven Isserlis makes his Houston recital debut in a dramatic program evoking 100 years of romantic music. From 19th-century Romantics Chopin and Schumann — whose bicentennials Da Camera celebrates this season — to the 20th-century American composer Samuel Barber, born 100 years ago, we hear the passionate Romantic spirit masterfully expressed within the classical sonata form.

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 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?

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

Houston Symphony   (Jones Hall – 615 Louisiana)

February 5th – 7th:  Red Carpet Oscar Party – February means the Academy Awards. Remember your favorite Oscar winning blockbusters with music from Lawrence of Arabia, Exodus, Ben Hur and Titanic – as well as 2010 Oscar hopefuls.

February 19th – 21st:  Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony – Graf rearranged his schedule to join legendary pianist Radu Lupu so they can together illuminate Mozart's emotionally charged - even operatic - masterpiece.

February 25th:  Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons – The Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Jersey Boys portrayed the lives of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to international acclaim. Now hear them live with the Houston Symphony singing “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man” and “Oh, What a Night.”

February 26th – 28th:  Michael Cavanaugh Sings Billy Joel and More – Michael Cavanaugh played Billy Joel in the hit Broadway musical Movin’ Out. Now hear him perform Billy Joel hits including “Uptown Girl,” “Piano Man” and “Just the Way You Are.” Also hear the music of Jerry Lee Lewis, Elton John and The Who.

February 27th:  Beauty and the Beast – Don’t judge a book by its cover–true beauty lies beneath! Two stories -Beauty and the Beast and Tubby the Tuba- will bring this idea to life on stage through music. Listen to selections from Disney’s Oscar-winning Beauty and the Beast. Also hear Principal Tuba Dave Kirk help tell the irresistible story of Tubby the Tuba.

March 5th – 7th:  Mozart’s Requiem  

March 13th:  Schubert Experience Power Pass

March 18th – 21st:  Hannu Lintu Conducts Sibelius

March 19th:  The Beach Boys – Surf’s up! Hit the California beach as the sun-soaked harmonies of The Beach Boys join the Houston Symphony for an evening of classic songs like “Barbara Ann,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” California Girls” and “Kokomo.”

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

Jones Hall   (615 Louisiana)

February 8th:  Three Cups of Tea Author Greg Mortenson & The Houston Youth Leadership Awards – Enjoy an inspiring and entertaining evening as Nobel Prize Nominee Greg Mortenson, best known for his New York Times bestselling books Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools, recounts his remarkable journey from mountain climber to global humanitarian. Greg’s non-profit Central Asia Institute promotes and supports community-based education, especially for girls, in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he has built over 130 schools. From the beginning, Greg’s efforts have been supported by school children and other organizations in the United States (and now around the world) through his Pennies for Peace program. The Houston Youth Leadership Awards will feature Greg recognizing and interviewing selected young people from Houston to represent the many youths in the Houston area who have exhibited exceptional efforts as positive change agents in their communities and/or the world. 7:00 p.m.

February 12th – 14th:  Stomp - Stomp, the international sensation, is making its triumphant return to Houston.  The return of the percussive hit also brings some new surprises with some sections of the show now updated and restructured, and the addition of two new full scale routines, utilizing props like tractor tire inner tubes and paint cans.  The changes that can now be seen in the tour are the biggest since the late 1990's.  From its beginnings as a street performance group in the UK, Stomp has grown into an international sensation over the past fourteen years, having performed in over 350 cities and 36 countries.

February 23rd:  Band of the Irish Guards – the Irish Guards was formed on April 1, 1900, on the expressed wish of HM Queen Victoria to commemorate the bravery of the many Irish Regiments who had fought in the South African campaigns.  The Regimental Band was formed at about the same time and consisted initially of 35 musicians and a Warrant Officer, who was the Bandmaster.  The Band quickly gained a reputation for excellence and in 1905, was invited to make what turned out to be the first of many tours of Canada.  In 2010, The Band of the Irish Guards will make its debut tour of the United States.

March 23rd:  We Can’t Stop the Beat: Bayou City Performing Arts – This high energy concert will feature music from all over the world with an emphasis on percussion and rhythmic beat – and dancing. Bayou City Chorale and special guests will even stomp by to help rev things up. From George Gershwin and The Glen Miller Band to "Hairspray" and beyond, we’ll have you on your feet dancing and feeling the beat. 7:30 p.m.

March 26th:  Gilberto Gil – Brazil's internationally acclaimed guitarist and vocalist and former Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil brings his unique sound, incorporating an eclectic range of influences - from reggae, samba and forrό to rock and African music - to Houston for one night only.  Gilberto Gil has developed one of the most relevant and renowned careers as a singer, composer and guitar-player in both world and pop music.  In a career that has spanned four decades with over 30 albums released, Gill has six gold records, four platinum singles and five million records sold.  The Tropicalist genre he introduced, alongside Caetano Veloso, has secured his fame internationally, as well as at home in Brazil.  His extensive and prolific catalogue of work has been covered and recorded by many.

March 27th:  From Broadway to Hollywood – Legendary Broadway and film artists and former child performers - composer Marvin Hamlisch and actor Joel Grey team up for this one of a kind concert experience.  The composer of the musicals A Chorus Line, They're Playing Our Song, The Goodbye Girl, and Sweet Smell of Success and films including The Way We Were, Sting, Sophie's Choice, Ice Castles, and Bananas, Marvin Hamlisch has become the pre-eminent pops artist of our time.  He has won virtually every major award that exists: three Oscars, four Grammys, three Emmys, a Tony, three Golden Globe awards and the Pulitzer Prize.  Academy and Tony Award winner Joel Grey takes the audience on a virtual tour of his career - singing, dancing and story-telling - abut shows like Caberet, George M! and Chicago.  He tells autobiographical tales regarding his father, the legendary Yiddish comedian Mickey Katz and sings songs by Kander & Ebb, Rogers and Hart, Billy Joel, and more.  He considers the audience his co-star - in other worlds, you won't see a line of dancing girls behind him.  It's a natural for Joel Grey and Marvin Hamlisch to share the same stage, as their friendship goes back many years to when they worked together on the very first tour, the Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey tour of 1973.  Here is your exclusive chance to join them for one very special evening.

for more information, see www.spahouston.org  

Toyota Center   (1510 Polk Street)

February 5th & 6th:  Harlem Globetrotters   7:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.

February 22nd:         Jay-Z   7:00 p.m.

February 28th:          The Lipizzaner Stallions   2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

March 6th:                 John Mayer   8:00 p.m.

March 18th:               Muse with Silversun Pickups   7:00 p.m.

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

Wortham Center – Houston Ballet   (Texas & Smith)

February 25th – March 7th:  La Bayadere – The high point of Houston Ballet’s fortieth anniversary season will be a spectacular new production of one of the great classical works of the nineteenth century repertoire, featuring choreography by Stanton Welch and lavish scenery and costumes by the celebrated English designer Peter Farmer. Set in the Royal India of the past, La Bayadere is a story of eternal love, mystery, fate, vengeance, and justice. The ballet relates the drama of a temple dancer, Nikiya, who is loved by Solor, a noble warrior. She is also loved by the High Brahmin, but does not love him in return, as she does Solor.

March 11th – March 21st:  American at Heart – Together in one program: three ballets that changed the landscape of American dance. It wasn’t West Side Story that made American choreographer Jerome Robbins a celebrity, but his first ballet, Fancy Free, staged when he was just 24. Though he was born in Russia, George Balanchine is often regarded as America’s greatest choreographer. His Apollo traces the birth of the god and his flirtation with the muses who inspire him. Though he’s not American born, Christopher Bruce’s Hush is. It’s a comic and moving celebration of life set to the music of Yo-Yo Ma and Bobby McFerrin.

April 16th – 17th:  Academy Spring Showcase – The gifted you g 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.

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

Wortham Center – Houston Grand Opera   (Texas & Smith)

February 4th:  Concert of Arias – The 22nd Annual Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers promises entertainment as some of the best emerging operatic talent compete head to head for top honors at this prestigious competition – and don’t forget to cast your vote for the coveted Audience Choice Award. Following the competition, the evening reaches its pinnacle with a Celebration Dinner in the Grand Foyer. Don’t Miss this special opportunity to see and “discover” emerging stars of tomorrow.

Thru February 7th:  Tosca – Renowned soprano Patricia Racette makes her role debut as the passionate Floria Tosca in Puccini’s timeless drama.  Tenor Alexey Dolgov is the painter Mario Cavaradossi, whom Tosca adores and Raymond Aceto sings the menacing Baron Scarpia who will stop at nothing to destroy the object of Tosca’s affections. Created especially for Houston Grand Opera, this new production by John Caird features classic sets and costumes designed by Bunny Christie in the style of nineteenth-century Rome.

Thru February 13th:  The Turn of the Screw – In this operatic thriller two children are pulled toward the world of the dead by the ghosts of their prior governess Miss Jessel and her lover Peter Quint. Internationally acclaimed soprano Amanda Roocroft plays the governess whose obsessive efforts to protect the children may prove more of a threat than the spirits themselves. Powerhouse mezzo-soprano Judith Forst is housekeeper Mrs. Grose, the governess’s only ally. Haunting Victorian sets depict the world of the Henry James novel on which the opera is based. Directed by Neil Armfield, this is the third opera in HGO’s ongoing Benjamin Britten series.

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.

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

DaCamera of Houston (as noted below)

February 6th:  Ben Allison and Man Size Safe – Ben Allison is a “visionary composer, adventurous improviser, and strong organizational force on the New York City jazz scene and has emerged as a rising star over the past decade” (JazzTimes). He has been cited in the “Best Bassist” category of the 2007, 2006 and 2005 Down Beat Readers’ Poll. Allison’s Man Size Safe quintet mixes joyous exuberance and good-humored irreverence with textured grooves and an occasional political jab.

February 12th:  The Spirit of England – Three gems of the British chamber music repertoire are featured in this English tribute: Vaughan Williams’ atmospheric settings of A.E. Housman poems, Elgar’s majestic Piano Quintet and Britten's expressive Phantasy Quartet. Tenor Andrew Kennedy, known for his dramatic performances in song and opera, and celebrated rising-star Orion Weiss make their DaCamera debuts.

March 20th:  Brandon Lee Quintet – The talented trumpeter and graduate of Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts makes his Da Camera debut on the heels of the release of his debut album, From Within. The youngest faculty member in the jazz studies program at The Juilliard School, Brandon Lee has performed with Benny Golson, Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Wycliffe Gordon, Hank Jones, Ray Brown, Eddie Henderson and Lewis Nash.

March 26th:  Steven Isserlis: The Romantic Cello – Acclaimed worldwide as one of the leading cellists of his time, Steven Isserlis makes his Houston recital debut in a dramatic program evoking 100 years of romantic music. From 19th-century Romantics Chopin and Schumann — whose bicentennials Da Camera celebrates this season — to the 20th-century American composer Samuel Barber, born 100 years ago, we hear the passionate Romantic spirit masterfully expressed within the classical sonata form.

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.

March 23rd:  Arlo Gurthrie: The Guthrie Family Rides Again – Back by popular demand, the Guthrie Family Rides Again.  The 2010 tour officially introduces the fourth generation of the Guthries to the stage.  together, this legendary family has traveled the world using moving folk music to spread a message of peace.  The evening includes a selection of recently rediscovered Woody Guthrie lyrics put to music by friends and family, along with film clips.  Four generations of voices are together in harmony on one stage.  8:00 p.m.  Produced by Miller Theatre Advisory Board.

March 24th:  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.

March 25th:  Laura Ingalls Wilder: Voice of the Prairie – The A.D. Players are presenting this program which is based on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s experiences on the American frontier, bringing to life the dynamic and distinctive historical era for children and young audiences. 11:00 a.m.

March 26th:  Harlem Gospel Choir – The world famous Harlem Gospel Choir is one of the preeminent gospel choirs in the world. The Choir is a gathering of the finest singers and musicians from various Black Churches in Harlem, and travels the globe sharing its joy of faith through music, and whenever possible, raising funds for children's charities. The theme of every performance is bringing people and nations together and giving something back. Their songs of inspiration touch the depths of the soul and raise spirits to angelic heights. They will literally have you dancing on the stage! 8:00 p.m.  Produced by Miller Theatre Advisory Board.

March 27th:  Noche Caliente featuring Johnny Pachero – Diaz Music Institute presents the legendary Salsa great, Johnny Pachero from New York. He will be performing with Houston’s premier Latin youth ensemble, “Caliente.” 8:00 p.m.

for more information, see www.milleroutdoortheatre.org  

A.D. Players   (2710 West Alabama)

February 3rd – March 20th:  Laura Ingalls Wilder: Voice of the Prairie – Based on the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Voice of the Prairie tells the life story of one of America's most popular authors.  The play brings to life Laura Ingalls Wilder's stories, providing children with a glimpse into the author's life as an American pioneer.

for more information, see www.adplayers.org   

Main Street Theatre   (2540 Times Blvd.)

February 2nd – April 1st:  Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business – She’s back! Junie B. Jones, the world’s most precocious kindergartner, mistakenly believes her new baby brother is actually a monkey. She starts taking bids from Lucille and That Grace, her “bestest” friends, for the first look at him, but then Meanie Jim and Crybaby William enter the fray and things get completely out of control. You won’t want to miss seeing the havoc that ensues when Junie B. and friends team up for wild adventures!

February 13th – March 14th:  A Number and Machinal – Caryl Churchill’s startling one-act A Number examines the emotional repercussions of human-cloning and explores the nature of the father-son relationship. Salter has three sons. His wife gave birth to the eldest. A lab created the second. The third he didn’t even know existed. Forced to explain and try to make sense of his decisions, Salter stares into the questioning, accusing faces of his own flesh and blood who confronts him with the fact that each is merely one of "a number." The play premiered in 2002 at the Royal Court Theatre in London with Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig. Machinal is a tragedy of isolation turned to murder, loosely based on the sensational 1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder, who received the electric chair for killing her husband. Sophie Treadwell used the case as a springboard for her own speculations about what circumstances might drive a seemingly harmless stenographer to commit murder.

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

Opera in the Heights   (1703 Heights Blvd.)

Thru February 7th:  Un Ballo in Maschera – Love and politics - they cannot mix. Despite good intentions, this ill-fated combination can only spell a bad ending. One of Verdi’s greatest masterpieces.

March 26th – 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 February 20th:  Murder on the Nile – Simon Mostyn has recently married Kay Ridgeway, a rich woman, having thrown over his former lover Jacqueline. The couple are on their honeymoon and are at present on a paddle steamer on the Nile. With them is Canon Pennefather, Kay’s guardian, and Jacqueline, who has been dogging their footsteps all through the honeymoon. Also on the boat are a rich, ill tempered old woman with her niece and companion, a rather direct young man, a German who nurses a grudge against Kay’s father and Kay’s maid. During the voyage Jacqueline works herself into a state of hysteria and shoots at Simon, wounding him in the knee. A few moments later Kay is found shot in her bunk. By the time the boat reaches its destination, Canon Pennefather has laid bare an audacious conspiracy and has made sure the criminals shall not go free.

February 26th – March 21st: 13 – The story concerns the life of 13-year-old Evan Goldman as he moves from New York City to Appleton, Indiana, and his dilemma when the move conflicts with the celebration of his becoming a Bar Mitzvah.

March 12th – 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.

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

Radio Music Theatre   (2623 Colquitt)

Thru May 8th:  Birthday From Hell – It’s It's 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.

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

Stages Repertory Theatre   (3201 Allen Parkway)

Thru February 21st:  A Picasso – It's 1941, the Nazis have rolled into Paris, and Pablo Picasso has been ushered into a storage vault to authenticate three works of art the Germans have recently "acquired".  The father of cubism, a virtuoso who poured his soul out onto the canvas, faces off with an enigmatic young female officer and suddenly finds himself forced to choose between art and politics, creativity and survival.

March 17th – 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.

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

Wortham Center   (Texas & Smith)

February 11th – 12th:  Wait, Wait….Don’t Tell Me – The oddly informative news quiz is coming to Houston. Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! is NPR's weekly hour-long quiz program. Each week on the radio you can test your knowledge against some of the best and brightest in the news and entertainment world while figuring out what's real news and what's made up.

February 11th – 14th:  Romeo & Juliet – This Valentine’s, bring your date and join Mercury Baroque and Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, as we remount our popular opera-ballet: Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare’s epic love story will be staged by Dominic Walsh and scored to the music of Vivaldi as arranged by Mercury’s Artistic Director Antoine Plante. With breathtaking sets, stunning dancing, and passionate music, Romeo and Juliet is the perfect outing on Valentine’s weekend.8:00 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and 2:00 p.m. Sunday.

February 27th:  The Edge: Hip Hop from Across Houston – Dance Houston presents a high energy showcase of the latest dance moves and styles. Over 150 local dancers will take the stage at the Wortham. The Edge highlights the most progressive and organically trained dancers in Houston. It’s the one chance you have all year to spend an evening enjoying live performances of the dance that defines today’s youth culture.

March 7th:  Texas Medical Center Orchestra: A Celebration of Vision – Vision is vital to create and nurture a collection of musicians devoted to high standards of performance as well as local medicinal charities Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite best symbolizes vision: the Grand Canyon is so inspiring that its vastness can only be captured through breadth of vision. With this concert TMCO celebrates the vision required to express the improbable and infinite.

March 27th:  L’estro Armonico: The Genius of Harmony – Mercury Baroque’s core strings –the heart of the ensemble- performs six of the twelve concertos from Vivaldi’s L’Estro Armonico. Vivaldi’s brilliant set of breathtaking concertos are the ultimate displays for the artistic mastery and virtuosity of Mercury Baroque’s strings. The concertos feature one, two, or four solo violins and despite the possibly unfamiliar name, most of the pieces are highly recognizable as some of Vivaldi’s finest and most popular works. 8:00 p.m.

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

Live Music Venues

House of Blues Houston   (1204 Caroline Street)

February 2nd:           Timbaland Shock Value II Tour   8:00 p.m.

February 5th:             Band of Heathens   8:00 p.m.

February 5th:            Jud Johnson Band   8:30 p.m.

February 6th:            Theory of a Deadman   7:30 p.m.

February 10th:          Flogging Molly with Frank Turner   7:00 p.m.

February 12th:          Snoop Dogg   8:00 p.m.

February 13th:          The Molly Ringwalds   9:00 p.m.

February 15th:          Take Action Tour with We The Kings   6:30 p.m.

February 16th:          Cowboy Mouth   7:00 p.m.

February 18th:          Toology and Nevermind   7:30 p.m.

February 19th:          Reckless Kelly   8:30 p.m.

February 20th:          Gov’t Mule   8:00 p.m.

February 23rd:          Henry Rollins Spoken Word   8:00 p.m.

February 24th:          Yes   8:00 p.m.

February 25th:          Rebelution   8:00 p.m.

February 25th:          Sherwood with Chelle Rae and Black Gold  9:30 p.m.

February 26th:          Keb’ Mo’   8:30 p.m.

February 27th:          One Night with Queen   8:00 p.m.

March 2nd:                Manchester Orchestra   7:00 p.m.

March 4th:                 Dark Star Orchestra   8:00 p.m.

March 5th:                 Kevin Smith   8:30 p.m.

March 5th:                 Tyrone Wells   8:00 p.m.

March 7th:                 Great Big Sea   8:00 p.m.

March 11th:               Sleeperstar   7:00 p.m.

March 11th:               George Thorogood and the Destroyers   8:00 p.m.

March 13th:               Citizen Cope   8:30 p.m.

March 16th:               Tally Hall   8:00 p.m.

March 16th:               Maldita Vecindad   8:00 p.m.

March 19th:               Chrisette Michele   9:00 p.m.

March 20th:               Black Rebel Motorcycle Club   8:00 p.m.

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

Verizon Wireless Theatre (520 Texas Avenue)

February 12th:          Jim Gaffigan   8:00 p.m.

February 16th:          Merle Haggard   8:00 p.m.

February 17th:          Mariah Carey   8:00 p.m.

March 11th:               David Gray   8:00 p.m.

March 13th:               Mariachi Invitational   6:30 p.m.

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

Warehouse Live  (813 St. Emanuel Street)

February 3rd:           Groundnation   8:00 p.m.

February 4th:            New Found Glory   7:30 p.m.

February 5th:            The Standard   9:00 p.m.

February 5th:            The Dirty Dozen Brass Band   9:00 p.m.

February 6th:            G. Love & Special Sauce   9:00 p.m.

February 10th:          Local Licks   9:00 p.m.

February 11th:          Aaron Watson   8:00 p.m.

February 12th:          The Expendables   8:00 p.m.

February 13th:          AftonLive Showcase   7:00 p.m.

February 14th:          The English Beat with Fishbone   9:00 p.m.

February 19th:          The Soundtrack of Our Lives   9:00 p.m.

February 21st:          Afton Live Showcase   7:00 p.m.

February 22nd:         The James Reese Band   9:30 p.m.

February 25th:          Killswitch Engage   7:30 p.m.

February 27th:          Tegan and Sara   8:00 p.m.

February 27th:          Jordi Balzan   8:00 p.m.

March 2nd:                Dropkick Murphys   8:30 p.m.

March 4th:                 Portugal, The Man   9:00 p.m.

March 5th:                 The Standard   9:00 p.m.

March 6th:                 Needtobreathe   8:30 p.m.

March 7th:                 Twiztid   7:30 p.m.

March 10th:               Local Licks   9:00 p.m.

March 11th:               AftonLive Showcase   7:00 p.m.

March 12th:               Xiu Xiu   9:00 p.m.

March 16th:               Rogue Wave   9:00 p.m.

March 21st:               The AP Tour featuring Never Shout Never   7:30 p.m.

March 26th:               Alkaline Trio   8:00 p.m.

March 29th:               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 February 6th:  Josephine Meckseper – Josephine Meckseper premiers her first major solo exhibition in a Texas museum at Blaffer Gallery. Meckseper’s exhibition focuses on her recent works that examine the conflicting interests of the mass media, politicians, and the oil and auto industries as played out in the Iraq War. Meckseper’s work engages leftist theories and politics in a consumerist reality. Specifically, she examines the semantics of media propaganda as well as capitalist sales and advertising strategies. The exhibition at Blaffer Gallery, curated by Cynthia Woods Mitchell Curatorial Fellow Rachel Hooper, will contain Meckseper’s documentary photographs of antiwar protests; her signature mannequin and product display installations; a video; and a new installation created on site—a replication of the stage sets used during U.S. presidential television debates. Describing her own work, Meckseper states, “Instead of aestheticizing political issues and problems, what I try to do is to challenge ingrained perspectives, for instance, habits of seeing while leafing through a newspaper in which horror stories from Iraq appear side by side with underwear advertisements. These works exaggerate this mode of disseminating information and consumerism in order to expose it. The individual elements of the works symbolize or simulate commercial objects.”

Thru February 6th:  Jon Pylypchuk – Jon Pylypchuk’s work lays bare the frailty of human existence and the fragility of social relationships. A contemporary fabulist, Pylypchuk creates heart-wrenching stories of attraction and repulsion, love and loss, pleasure and pain, triumph and failure. Endowed with human attributes, yet endearing in their pet-like cuteness, Pylypchuk’s hybrid creatures inspire empathy. Their experiences and struggles speak to the pathetic banality, stubborn determination, and relentless optimism that define many of our paths through life, that unfolding tragicomedy of epic proportion. Curated by Director and Chief Curator Claudia Schmuckli, this exhibition presents a ten year survey of Pylypchuk’s career, including 75 works created since 1999.

February 27th – March 13th: 2010 School of Art Annual Student Exhibition

March 27th – April 24th: 2010 School of Art Master’s Thesis Exhibition

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.

Thru February 3rd: Rhythms of the Heart Wonderweek – The museum is honoring the great storyteller Ashley Bryan, whose collection of illustrations, Rhythms of the Heart, will be on display through March 28th. Join us for hands-on activities and performances. 

African Folk Mask – Make an African mask like the ones that inspired Ashley Bryan when illustrating African folk stories.

Get Published – Write and illustrate your own story, written in the form of an old folk tale.

Puzzling Titles – Search out the names of the titles of Ashley Bryan’s books in this puzzle.

Easel Painting – Express your inner artist and create a still life, portrait or abstract design in the Alexander Art Academy.

February 4th – 10th: Building BrainStorm Wonderweek – Bring out your inner architect and figure out what really goes into designing, making and placing of the world’s greatest buildings.

Houston Skyline – Place skyscrapers in the right place in the Houston skyline.

Design a Room – Use furniture pieces to design your dream bedroom.

US Building Find – Place famous buildings in the right city on the U.S. Map.

Animal Architects – Explore the amazing habitats animals build to live in at EcoStation.

Building Bonanza – Celebrate the art of architecture and construction by building structures with different types of materials at Science Station.

Constructing with Recyclables Workshop – Design building and home design models using cardboard and other recyclable materials in the Investor’s Workshop. February 4th –6th.

Jazz Duo Andre and Taka – Enjoy an exciting performance of this melodic duo of trumpet and guitar. 6:30 p.m. February 4th an 2:00 p.m. February 6th.

February 6th: Dan Phillips Visit – Make houses out of trash! Dan Phillips has been doing just that for about 12 years. He uses recycled and salvaged materials to build low income houses and he’s going to show us just how he does it. Phillips will be demonstrating how to make flooring using the technique of papier mache. This process involves plywood, hardy board, cement board, heavy duty paper and Elmer’s glue. It is unbelievable. Phillips was recently featured in the New York Time. He is the owner of Phoenix Commotion, a construction company which uses reclaimed materials to build low-income homes. He has built 14 houses in his hometown of Hunstville, of which 80 percent of the materials used were salvaged from construction projects, hauled out of the trash heaps or picked up from the side of the road. Phillips’ visit will be from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

February 7th: Lunar New Year Celebration – Get a head start on the Lunar New Year celebration. Join us as we leap into the Year of the Tiger with hands on activities and exciting performances.

Lion Dance – Watch the lions boogie to the beat of the drums. Enjoy this performance of this traditional Chinese dance. 1:30 p.m.

Ka Pa Hula U’MouMou – Hang loose as you try to follow the steps as Hula dancers make their moves and teach you the basics of this Polynesian dance. 2:00 p.m.

Martial Arts Troupe – Feel the power and tenacity of the human body in an intense martial arts performance. 3:00 p.m.

Filipino Dance Group – Don’t miss an exciting opportunity to enjoy a traditional Filipino dance performance. 4:00 p.m.

Lei Making – Make leis to welcome the Lunar New Year and wear them during the celebration.

Lantern Making – Light the way to a prosperous New Year with this decoration. 

Origami – Take part in this Japanese tradition of paper folding.

Mehndi Henna Hand Painting – Paint your hands with intricate patterns in this Indian tradition.

Goodies and Food Sampling – Have a taste of exotic foods and candy and take home free goodies and cool stuff.

February 11th – 17th: Lunar New Year Wonderweek – Growl like a fierce tiger and celebrate the Year of the Tiger. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign which protects family. Learn more about this Lunar New Year with interactive activities and performances.

Chinese Red and Yellow Bracelet – Fold paper in the traditional Chinese colors to make a fabulous bracelet.

Dancing Dragon Toy – Make your own paper version of the dancing dragon like the ones usually worn in parades during the Lunar New Year.

Tiger Craft – Make a paper bag puppet to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.

Leap into the Sky – Join us at Science Station as we explore the characteristics which make fireworks brilliant: noise, color, smoke and projection. Find out how fireworks are made to create these dynamic effects.

Lion Dance – Enjoy an authentic Lion Dance in celebration of Lunar New Year. 6:30 p.m. February 11th and 2:00 p.m. February 13th.

Electromechanical Folk Art Workshop – Let your mind run wild with future possibilities. Take apart broken appliances like VCRs, radios, computers and more and explore their inner workings. See something you like? Take it and use it as you build your own invention and/or art piece. All day January 2nd and 3rd.

February 20th: National Engineering Week – In light of National Engineering Week, the Children’s Museum of Houston is bringing professional engineers to the museum. Work alongside these pros or be an engineer yourself. Visit the Science Station or the Investor’s Workshop and take part in some popular engineering activities.

Engineers Workshop – Join us for the National Engineer’s Week special event where you become an engineer and work side-by-side with real engineers.

Cardboard Automata Workshop – Explore simple machine elements to create automata using everyday materials at the Inventor’s Workshop.

Paper Tower – Build the tallest tower using two sheets of newspaper.

Job Match – Get the job done by sorting out projects to the right engineer.

Engineer Word Search – Find the names of all different types of engineers.

Inventions Inspired by Nature – Inventors have been inspired by the natural world for centuries. Learn about these inspirations in EcoStation.

Design Squad Engineering – Join us at the Science Station for all sorts of activities including building straw rockets, newspaper coffee tables, straw watercrafts, self paddling boats and a ping pong zip line.

Kinetic Sculptures – Explore where art and physics meet with the construction of making sculptures at the Alexander Art Academy.

Baba Ifalade and the Musical Storytime – Watch this delightful performance of magic, music and African tales. 2:00 p.m.

February 25th – 27th: Count Me In Wonderweek – Tally who’s coming to the museum as you grab a clip board and take a census of who’s visiting. Appreciate everyone around you for who they are, not just someone in your city. Everyone counts!

Everyone Counts – Draw a picture of all the people in your house and take your own census of your household.

Census Word Search – Give your brain a workout solving this census puzzle.

Census Taker – Be the census taker as you grab a clipboard and take a census of one of the exhibits in the museum to see who is visiting.

Critter Count – It’s not only important to count humans, but scientists continuously count critters too. Find out the techniques they use at EcoStation.

Mime Aaron Calles – Watch this high energy and interactive performance. 6:30 p.m. February 25th.

Thru May 23rd: Building Brainstorm –The new Building Brainstorm exhibition is a design studio where you can explore what it’s 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 February 7th 2010:  Perspectives 168: Anna Krachey, Jessica Mallios and Adam Schrieber – Austin-based photographers Anna Krachey, Jessica Mallios, and Adam Schreiber are fascinated by the transformations that occur when the visible world passes through the camera’s lens. Capturing an image on film, they believe, is always an uncanny process because the photograph inevitably differs from what the artist perceived at the moment of its making. Using highly manipulatable, large-format box cameras and a wide range of architectural, technological, and household subjects, they create images that acknowledge the mysterious slippages, distortions, and blendings of real and unreal inherent in photography. The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is pleased to present Perspectives 168: Anna Krachey, Jessica Mallios, and Adam Schreiber, the first museum exhibition for these artists. Krachey, Mallios, and Schreiber—friends and colleagues who work independently but share interests and approaches—are aware that, because of the instantaneous nature of exposures and the architecture of cameras with origins in Renaissance camera obscuras, all photographs distort appearances as they record light reflected from three-dimensional objects on a flat surface. By employing unusual framing, extreme close-ups, and idiosyncratic points of view, the artists seek to remind us of the artificial, enigmatic nature of photographic images. “We’re more interested in how the medium of photography invents something than how it records something,” says Schreiber. Subtle disturbances of perception and cognition pervade the artists’ work. Likening their images to mirages, Krachey, Mallios, and Schreiber make photographs that evoke heightened or estranged versions of the visible world. Anna Krachey concentrates on her domestic sphere, making images of oddball objects she purchases on eBay or finds in ignored corners of her house and neighborhood. Creating a homespun Surrealism, Krachey’s work is filled with arresting juxtapositions of places and things that suggest a personal hall of mirrors in which questions about intentionality and accident, play and seriousness, abound. Jessica Mallios studies collisions of the natural and artificial. She records architectural junctures where simulations of natural forms meet mundane industrial surfaces, and where faux finishes designed to evoke emotional responses collide with cold functionalism. Mallios also stages tabletop experiments that poetically replicate many of the dynamics of the process of making photographic images. Adam Schreiber draws much of his imagery and inspiration from the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin, a library and museum dedicated to the humanities. There, he has photographed cultural artifacts ranging from the first known photograph taken in 1826 to a variety of other industrial and historical oddities.

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.

February January 30th – May 23rd: Perspectives 169: Odill 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.

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

The Heritage Society (1100 Bagby)

February 18th:  Spindletop: Hill/Finger Lecture – Judy Linsley will be the guest speaker for this presentation. Admission is $5 and the event will take place at noon in the Heritage Society Tea Room.

March 18th:  The Uncompromising Diary of Sallie McNeill: Hill/Finger Lecture – Raska and Mary Lynne Hill will lead this program. Admission is $5 and the event will take place at noon in the Heritage Society Tea Room.

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.

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 March 21st:  A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People – In the course of his papacy, John Paul II shattered the chain of 2,000 years of painful history between Catholics and Jews.  The exhibit draws its name from the Pope’s 1993 appeal marking the 50^th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising: “As Christians and Jews, following the example of the faith of Abraham, we are called to be a blessing the world.  This is the common task awaiting us.  It is therefore necessary for us, Christians and Jews to first be a blessing to one another”.  The exhibit, created by Xavier University in Cincinnati, includes photographs, video footage, documents and artifacts recording the extraordinary contributions of Pope John Paul II to relations between the Catholic and Jewish faiths.

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.

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)

Thru February 28th:  Spirits and Headhunters: Vanishing Worlds of the Amazon – today the Amazon is one of the world’s most diversified regions, encompassing the rainforests of northeastern South America and the vibrant cultures of approximately 200 Indian tribes.  Invisible to modern society, some of these are the last people of the new world who retain their pre-conquest culture.  As they become more well-known, their recognition as great artisans of feather ornaments grows.  This exhibition celebrates ceremonies and rituals of passage unique to these indigenous people.  Inspired by ancient cosmology, mythology, and ecological knowledge, the ceremonies represented in this exhibition include initiation and funerary rites, shamanic practices and social visiting.  The ceremonial regalia and objects in this exhibition illustrate the unique artistic expressions of each tribe, utilizing materials available from their immediate environments – wood, cloth, fiber and feathers.  Marvel at the vibrant headdresses, full-body costumes, body decorations, furniture and ceramic objects.

Thru April 4th:  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.

February 26th – 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:

Star of Bethlehem – A famous story with a new ending? The Burke Baker Planetarium offers new insight in the search for the legendary holiday star.  Who were the wise men? Were there just three? Did they come from Persia, Babylon or Ethiopia? Did they follow a visible star to Jerusalem? Was Jesus born 2005 years ago? Is December 25th his real birthday? Star of Bethlehem is a new planetarium show produced by the Houston Museum of Natural Science that answers these questions and more, as audiences search for a celestial object that could have led the wise men to the Christ child. A planet was called a “wandering star.” A meteor was a “shooting star.” And a comet was a “hairy star” because its tail looked like a beard. These are all candidates in our search. The Burke Baker Planetarium has been telling the story of the Christmas Star for forty years. However, new evidence indicates that we may have been looking in the wrong part of the sky. Recently Dr. Michael Molnar, an astronomer and coin collector, found an ancient Roman coin minted in the first century AD in Antioch, Syria. The coin shows the zodiac pattern of Aries, the Ram, looking at a star over its shoulder. According to Marcus Manilius, a Roman astrologer, Aries was the constellation representing Syria. A very special celestial event in Aries could have been interpreted as a sign of the birth of a king in the regions dominated by Aries, the Ram—especially if the event occurred as Aries was rising in the East. Discover what this event might have been and how it could have guided the wise men to Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem. Using the planetarium’s digital star-field simulator, we will recreate the night sky at the date and time of Christ’s birth to see what the wise men could have seen and to discover If the Star of Bethlehem was a celestial event or a miracle.

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.

IMAX Theatre Showings:

Under the Sea 3D – This film will transport moviegoers to some of the most exotic and isolated undersea locations on Earth, including Southern Australia, New Guinea and others in the Indo-Pacific region, allowing them to experience face-to-face encounters with some of the most mysterious and stunning creatures of the sea.  It will offer a uniquely inspirational and entertaining way to explore the impact that global climate change has had on ocean wilderness. Under the Sea 3D will transport moviegoers to some of the most exotic and isolated undersea locations on Earth, including Southern Australia, New Guinea and others in the Indo-Pacific region, allowing them to experience face-to-face encounters with some of the most mysterious and stunning creatures of the sea. It will offer a uniquely inspirational and entertaining way to explore the impact that global climate change has had on ocean wilderness.  The filmmaking team has captured some of the most extraordinary marine life ever shot on film, including the Stonefish - the world's most venomous fish - and a new species of shark yet to be described by science.  Audiences will also be treated to an up-close look at South Australia's exquisite Leafy Sea Dragon and the endangered puppy-like Sea Lion - animals that can be found nowhere else on Earth.
Filmed with the IMAX 3D camera, the highest resolution motion picture camera ever created, Under the Sea 3D will immerse audiences in this amazing underwater world as never before.

Disney’s A Christmas Carol – Experience Charles Dickens' timeless tale as never before – on the 3D IMAX screen! Ebenezer Scrooge, played by Jim Carrey, begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk, played by Gary Oldman, and his cheery nephew, played by Colin Firth. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come – all played by Carrey – take him on an eye-opening journey, they reveal truths that old Scrooge is reluctant to face, and he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it's too late.

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)

Thru February 14th:  Cy Twombly: Treatise n the Veil – This exhibition showcases American artist Cy Twombly's monumental work, Treatise on the Veil (Second Version), painted in Rome in 1970. The second of two paintings (the first a 1968 painting in the collection of the Ludwig Museum in Cologne), it entered The Menil Collection in 1998 following the museum's 1995 completion of a building dedicated to Twombly's work.

Thru February 28th:  Body in Fragments – Body in Fragments brings together diverse works from the collection to explore the ways in which different cultures conceptualize the spiritual, physical, and intellectual aspects of personhood.  The fifteenth century finger reliquary, for example, evokes the miraculous power of the physical body, the oversized finger acting as a testament to its spiritual or supernatural significance.  A wooden Dan comb, with a handle that depicts strong, well-sculpted female legs, brings together the idealization of the female form with the act of beautification itself when the comb is used.  The disintegration of the human body witnessed in Cubist and Surrealist works speaks to modern art’s challenge to Cartesian dualism and perceptions of the human mind and consciousness in the wake of world war, reflecting the development of psychology and its embrace of what was once known as “primitive” art.

February 12th – 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.

March 19th – August 8th:  Leaps into the Void: Documents of Noveau 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 February 14:  Your Bright Future: 12 Korean Artists – The Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston are jointly organizing the first major museum exhibition in the United States to focus on contemporary art from South Korea. The exhibition features work by a generation of artists who have emerged since the mid-1980s—some well-known and others on the brink of such recognition—working on the cutting-edge of international art trends and within a distinctly Korean context.

February 19th:  Houston Grand Opera Studio Recital – Rienzi continues its collaboration with the Houston Grand Opera Studio to present evening recitals in Rienzi’s intimate garden. The opportunity to tour Rienzi and its gardens precedes each recital. A wine and sweets reception follows each performance. Admission is $30 and reservations are required. Event takes place from 7:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.   

February 21st:  Early Music Southwest Recital – Please join us for “The New Amsterdam Trio: The Old World and the New.” The recital is part of the Early Music Southwest Series. Early Music Southwest specializes in the performance of chamber music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on original instruments, perfectly complimenting the unique historical environment of the Rienzi collection. Admission is $20 per person and the recital is followed by a wine reception and light hors d’oeuvres.

Thru February 21st:  Recent Accessions in Design – The MFAH presents important additions to the museum’s design collection, created by some of the most renowned designers of the 20^th and 21^st centuries.  This exhibition features objects that demonstrate aesthetic significance and technical innovation in all media.  Among the works on view are examples by international figures such as Gae Aulenti, Mathias Bengtsson, Shiro Kuramata, Gerrit Rietveld, Wieki Somers and Ettore Sottsass.

February 14th – 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.

February 14th – 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 Sargents, 30 works drawn from local private collections and the museum’s own art will offer a look at Sargent’s entire career.

February 28th:  Les Plaisirs de Versailles – Ars Lyrica will be performing the chamber opera, Les Plaisirs de Versailles by Marc-Antoine Charpentier at Rienzi. Written in 1682 for performance in the private apartments of Louis XIV at Versailles, this delightful short opera celebrates the various pleasures enjoyed at the French baroque court via characters who represent music, conversation, gambling, feasting and pleasure. Our performance features a full cast of soloists plus a small chorus and instrumental ensemble, with costumes and set pieces. Admission is $20. 4:00 p.m.

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.

Daily:  Science Theatre - Offering films on a variety of interesting topics.  See museum calendar for monthly selection.  Approximately 26 minutes.

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 truly 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 in Florida. 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)

Season is complete.

for more information, see www.houstondynamo.com

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

February 1st:             Houston Aeros vs. Abbotsford Heat  4:05 p.m.

February 3rd:            Houston Aeros vs. Peoria Rivermen  7:05 p.m.

February 5th:            Houston Aeros vs. Milwaukee @ Admirals  7:00 p.m.

February 6th:            Houston Aeros vs. Grand Rapids @ Griffins  7:00 p.m.

February 12th:          Houston Aeros vs. Grand Rapids Griffins  7:35 p.m.

February 13th:          Houston Aeros vs. Grand Rapids Griffins  7:35 p.m.

February 14th:          Houston Aeros vs. Chicago Wolves  7:00 p.m.

February 19th:          Houston Aeros vs. Milwaukee @ Admirals  7:00 p.m.

February 20th:          Houston Aeros vs. Chicago @ Wolves  7:00 p.m.

February 21st:          Houston Aeros vs. Peoria @ Rivermen  3:00 p.m.

February 25th:          Houston Aeros vs. Manitoba Moose  7:05 p.m.

February 26th:          Houston Aeros vs. Texas Stars @ Austin  7:30 p.m.

February 27th:          Houston Aeros vs. Texas Stars  7:35 p.m.

March 3rd:                 Houston Aeros vs. San Antonio @ Rampage  7:00 p.m.

March 5th:                 Houston Aeros vs. San Antonio Rampage  7:35 p.m.

March 6th:                 Houston Aeros vs. Texas Stars @ Austin  7:00 p.m.

March 12th:               Houston Aeros vs. Peoria Rivermen  7:35 p.m.

March 13th:               Houston Aeros vs. Chicago @ Wolves  7:00 p.m.

March 14th:               Houston Aeros vs. Rockford @ Ice Hogs  5:00 p.m.

March 20th:               Houston Aeros vs. Milwaukee Admirals  7:35 p.m.

March 21st:               Houston Aeros vs. Milwaukee Admirals  4:05 p.m.

March 26th:               Houston Aeros vs. Lake Erie Monsters  7:35 p.m.

March 27th:               Houston Aeros vs. Peoria @ Rivermen 7:00 p.m.

March 28th:               Houston Aeros vs. Peoria @ Rivermen  2:00 p.m.

March 31st:               Houston Aeros vs. Chicago Wolves  7:05 p.m.

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

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

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

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

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

April 11th:                  Houston Aeros vs. San Antonio @ Rampage  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)

February 2nd:           Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors  7:30 p.m.

February 5th:            Houston Rockets vs. Memphis @ Grizzles  7:00 p.m.

February 6th:            Houston Rockets vs. Philadelphia 76ers  7:30 p.m.

February 9th:            Houston Rockets vs. Miami Heat @ Miami 6:30 p.m.

February 16th:          Houston Rockets vs. Utah Jazz  7:30 p.m.

February 17th:          Houston Rockets vs. Milwaukee @ Bucks  7:00 p.m.

February 20th:          Houston Rockets vs. Indiana Pacers  7:30 p.m.

February 21st:          Houston Rockets vs. New Orleans @ Hornets  6:00 p.m.

February 24th:          Houston Rockets vs. Orlando Magic  7:30 p.m.

February 26th:          Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs  7:30 p.m.

February 27th:          Houston Rockets vs. Utah @ Jazz  8:00 p.m.

March 1st:                 Houston Rockets vs. Toronto Raptors  7:30 p.m.

March 3rd:                 Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings  7:30 p.m.

March 6th:                 Houston Rockets vs. Minnesota @ Timberwolves  7:00 p.m.

March 7th:                 Houston Rockets vs. Detroit @ Pistons  5:00 p.m.

March 9th:                 Houston Rockets vs. Washington @ Wizards  6:00 p.m.

March 13th:               Houston Rockets vs. New Jersey Nets  7:30 p.m.

March 15th:               Houston Rockets vs. Denver Nuggets  7:30 p.m.

March 17th:               Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies  7:30 p.m.

March 19th:               Houston Rockets vs. Boston Celtics  7:30 p.m.

March 21st:               Houston Rockets vs. New York @ Knicks  12:00 p.m.

March 22nd:              Houston Rockets vs. Chicago @ Bulls  7:00 p.m.

March 24th:               Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City @ Thunder  7:00 p.m.

March 25th:               Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers  7:30 p.m.

March 27th:               Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers 7:30 p.m.

March 30th:               Houston Rockets vs. Washington Wizards  7:30 p.m.

March 31st:               Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio @ Spurs  7:30 p.m.

April 2nd:                   Houston Rockets vs. Boston @ Celtics  6:30 p.m.

April 4th:                    Houston Rockets vs. Indiana @ Pacers  5:00 p.m.

April 6th:                    Houston Rockets vs. Memphis @ Grizzlies 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  8:00 p.m.

April 12th:                  Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento @ Kings  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  3:15 p.m.

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

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

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

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

April 18th:                  Houston Astros vs. Chicago @ Cubs  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  TBD

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

College Sports

Rice University – Basketball

February 3rd:            Rice vs. Tulane   7:00 p.m.

February 6th:            Rice vs. UAB 2:00 p.m.

February 13th:          Rice vs. Southern Miss @ Hattiesburg   4:00 p.m.

February 17th:          Rice vs. SMU @ Dallas   7:00 p.m.

February 20th:          Rice vs. East Carolina   2:00 p.m.

February 24th:          Rice vs. Marshall   7:00 p.m.

February 27th:          Rice vs. UTEP @ El Paso   7:05 p.m.

March 3rd:                 Rice vs. UH @ Houston   7:00 p.m.

March 6th:                 Rice vs. UCF   2:00 p.m.

Rice University – Baseball

February 6th:            Rice vs. Alumni   11:00 a.m.

February 19th:          Rice vs. Stanford @ California 7:30 p.m.

February 20th:          Rice vs. Stanford @ California 3:00 p.m.

February 21st:          Rice vs. Stanford @ California 3:00 p.m.

February 23rd:          Rice vs. Texas State   4:00 p.m.

February 24th:          Rice vs. Lamar   4:00 p.m.

February 26th:          Rice vs. Elon   4:30 p.m.

February 27th:          Rice vs. Nebraska   4:30 p.m.

February 28th:          Rice vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi   3:30 p.m.

March 2nd:                Rice vs. UH   4:00 p.m.

March 3rd:                 Rice vs. Texas State @ San Marcos   6:30 p.m.

March 5th:                 Rice vs. Texas @ Minute Maid Park   7:00 p.m.

March 6th:                 Rice vs. Texas Tech @ Minute Maid Park   7:00 p.m.

March 7th:                 Rice vs. TCU @ Minute Maid Park   6:00 p.m.

March 9th:                 Rice vs. Sam Houston State   6:30 p.m.

March 11th:               Rice vs. California   6:30 p.m.

March 12th:               Rice vs. California   6:30 p.m.

March 13th:               Rice vs. California   2:00 p.m.

March 14th:               Rice vs. California   1:00 p.m.

March 16th:               Rice vs. Texas   6:30 p.m.

March 19th:               Rice vs. San Diego @ San Diego   4:00 p.m.

March 20th:               Rice vs. San Diego @ San Diego   3:00 p.m.

March 21st:               Rice vs. San Diego @ San Diego   2:00 p.m.

March 23rd:               Rice vs. Texas @ Austin   6:05 p.m.

March 26th:               Rice vs. Memphis @ Memphis   6:30 p.m.

March 27th:               Rice vs. Memphis @ Memphis   2:00 p.m.

March 28th:               Rice vs. Memphis @ Memphis   12:00 p.m.

March 30th:               Rice vs. Lamar @ Beaumont   6:30 p.m.

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

University of Houston – Basketball

February 3rd:            UH vs. UTEP @ El Paso   9:00 p.m.

February 6th:            UH vs. Southern Miss   5:00 p.m.

February 9th:            UH vs. Western Kentucky @ Bowling Green   7:00 p.m.

February 13th:          UH vs. SMU   4:00 p.m.

February 16th:          UH vs. UCF @ Orlando   6:00 p.m.

February 20th:          UH vs. UAB @ Birmingham   7:00 p.m.

February 24th:          UH vs. Memphis   7:00 p.m.

February 27th:          UH vs. SMU @ Dallas   7:00 p.m.

March 3rd:                 UH vs. Rice   7:00 p.m.

March 6th:                 UH vs. Tulane @ New Orleans   7:00 p.m.

University of Houston – Baseball

February 19th:          UH vs. Texas State 6:30 p.m.

February 20th:          UH vs. Texas State 6:30 p.m.

February 21st:          UH vs. Texas State 1:00 p.m.

February 26th:          UH vs. Santa Clara   6:30 p.m.

February 27th:          UH vs. Santa Clara   6:30 p.m.

February 28th:          UH vs. Santa Clara   1:00 p.m.

March 2nd:                UH vs. Rice   4:00 p.m.

March 5th:                 UH vs. Missouri @ Minute Maid Park   3:30 p.m.

March 6th:                 UH vs. Texas @ Minute Maid Park   3:30 p.m.

March 7th:                 UH vs. Texas Tech @ Minute Maid Park   2:30 p.m.

March 12th:               UH vs. Cal Poly @ San Luis Obispo   8:00 p.m.

March 13th:               UH vs. Cal Poly @ San Luis Obispo   8:00 p.m.

March 14th:               UH vs. Cal Poly @ San Luis Obispo   3:00 p.m.

March 16th:               UH vs. San Francisco @ San Francisco   12:00 p.m.

March 17th:               UH vs. California @ Berkley   4:30 p.m.

March 19th:               UH vs. Arizona State @ Tempe   8:30 p.m.

March 20th:               UH vs. Arizona State @ Tempe   8:30 p.m.

March 21st:               UH vs. Arizona State @ Tempe   3:00 p.m.

March 23rd:               UH vs. Stephen F. Austin @ Nacogdoches   3:00 p.m.

March 24th:               UH vs. Stephen F. Austin   6:30 p.m.

March 26th:               UH vs. UCF   6:30 p.m.

March 27th:               UH vs. UCF   6:30 p.m.

March 28th:               UH vs. UCF   1:00 p.m.

March 30th:               UH vs. UTSA   6:30 p.m.

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

Parks

Houston Arboretum  (4501 Woodway)

Wednesdays - February 3rd, 10th, 17th  & 24th:  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, February 4th, 11th, 18th & 25th:  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.

February 1st:  Nature Trekkers Summer Camp – Registration opens for Arboretum Founders Level Members.

February 5th:  Nature Trekkers Summer Camp – Registration opens for Arboretum Pecan Level Members.

February 6th:  Tadpole Troopers: Weird Insects (ages 3-5 with an adult) – This spring classes will explore the weird and wild side of nature. In February, children will examine up close some unusual insects and bugs. Cost is $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.

February 6th:  Naturalist Explorers: The Stink on Pollution (ages 5-8) – This spring, Naturalist Explorer students will learn to be an Eco Kid. In February’s class, kids will get the down and dirty facts on pollution through hands-on activities in class and discover what simple things they can do to help the environment. 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. or 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

February 6th:  EcoTrackers: It’s Easy Being Green (ages 9-12) – EcoTracker classes inspire young naturalists with hands-on, engaging activities about a nature topic each month. February’s class will include how to determine air quality by studying lichen growth on the trees and seeing how scientists clean polluted water. 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.

February 7th:  Backyard Habitat Builder Series: Spring Nesting Sites for Wildlife – Backyard Habitat Builder Series includes monthly half-day classes taught by Arboretum Conservation Director Joe Blanton, where participants will learn about and create habitat components for birds, butterflies and other wildlife. The majority of each class will be spent outside as students gain practical experience through a hands-on project completed on the Arboretum grounds. Most classes include take-home items assembled in class. In February’s class, students will learn the importance of providing nesting sites for wildlife and make bird nest boxes and solitary bee houses. Each class is $40 for members or $50 for non-members. 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

February 8th:  Nature Trekkers Summer Camp – Registration opens for Arboretum Loblolly Level Members.

February 10th:  The Art of Cooking Mexican Food with Hugo Ortega – Renowned Houston chef Hugo Ortega will demonstrate how to prepare his most popular Valentine’s dishes from Backstreet Café and Hugo’s: small vegetable quesadillas, quail with rose petal sauce, and flourless chocolate cake. Cost is $60 for members; $75 for non-members. Limited space available. Registration required. 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

February 12th:  Tadpole Troopers: Weird Insects (ages 3-5 with an adult) – This spring classes will explore the weird and wild side of nature. In February, children will examine up close some unusual insects and bugs. Cost is $13 for members; $26 for non-members. 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Pre-registration required.

February 13th:  Spring Volunteer Orientation – Get out and get back to nature by volunteering at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Learn about the Arboretum's history, mission and programs, take a tour of the building and grounds and find out about the opportunities available to get involved at this 155-acre non-profit nature sanctuary. Sign up to attend job specific trainings later in February. Free, but registration is required. 9:00 a.m. – Noon.

February 13th:  Tapas on the Trails – Looking for something different to do with your special someone this Valentine’s Day? Make reservations for an evening of gourmet food and wine on the trails of the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. Enjoy a stroll along a forest path encountering food stations, each with a tapas menu prepared by Chef Adam Paul. A selection of wines will be served to compliment each food selection. The trail will finish at the Arboretum’s Meadow Deck, where guests will enjoy champagne and a romantic dessert. Cost is $60 per person for Arboretum members; $75 per person for non-members. Childcare for ages 5 and up at a fee of $10 per child. Reservations are required; limited spaces are available. Arrive between 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Event closes at 9:00 p.m.

February 18th:  Buffalo Bayou History Presentation with optional Canoe Trip – Learn the history of Buffalo Bayou through an evening presentation by Janet Wagner, current President of the Houston Historical Society. Up to12 participants can register for a half-day canoe trip, Saturday, Feb. 20, down Buffalo Bayou to see important sites firsthand. Be part of an exciting floating classroom of natural, fluvial, historical and geological information in our cities most important natural asset. Fee for History Presentation only: $40 for members; $50 for non-members. Fee for History Presentation and Canoe Trip (limited to 12, includes all equipment): $135 for members; $145 for non-members. Class is 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. with the canoe trip 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. February 20th.

February 20th:  Tadpole Troopers: Weird Insects (ages 3-5 with an adult) – This spring classes will explore the weird and wild side of nature. In February, children will examine up close some unusual insects and bugs. Cost is $13 for members; $26 for non-members. 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. – Noon. Pre-registration required.

February 20th:  Edible Wild Plants – Learn where to find, how to identify, and how to properly prepare the fruits, shoots, roots and salad greens growing all around you. Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes and bring water and a snack. Instructor Mark Vorderbruggen, is a research chemist and also one of the Houston area's most intrepid explorers. Cost: $40 for members; $60 for non-members. 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

February 20th:  Environmentally Friendly Pest Management – Learn environmentally friendly ways to manage pest problems and control weeds in the garden and landscape through proper plant selection, weed identification, knowledge of phenology, and the use of safe herbicide alternatives as well as “soft” pesticides such as soaps and oils. Class will include a trip to Wabash Antique & Feed Store. Cost: $30 for members; $40 for non-members.1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

February 22nd:  Nature Trekkers Summer Camp – Registration opens for Arboretum Magnolia and Family Level Members.

February 26th:  Appalachian Basket Making – Master basket weaver Kathy Chang will lead this hands-on workshop that will guide students through the process of making a hyacinth basket, with a solid wood base and wooden lid. Fee includes all materials: $65 for members; $75 for non-members. 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m

February 26th:  Home School Class: Turtle Time – Designed especially for home schoolers, the spring classes will focus on herpetology. In February, students will examine the physical characteristics of turtles and learn how these prehistoric organisms have adapted over time to survive. Class will include a walk outside to look for turtles on the Arboretum grounds. Cost is $15 for members; $25 for non-members. 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

February 27th:  The 411 on Ecosystems: An Introduction to the Arboretum – Join Arboretum naturalists Pat Marks and Jenny Herrera to learn about the forest, meadow and wetland ecosystems of our area in a morning at the Arboretum that includes hands-on investigations in the field. Class qualifies for SBEC credit for educators and Advanced Training for Master Naturalists. Cost is $20 for members; $35 for non-members. 9:00 a.m. – Noon. Pre-registration required.

February 28th:  Path to a Healthy, Sustainable Green Home – Jeff Kaplan, owner of New Living, will demonstrate how to make minor changes to your home that can help save money, and have a positive impact on the environment. Learn about natural building materials and new products for building or remodeling homes on the Texas Gulf coast. Cost is $35 for members; $50 for non-members. 3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Pre-registration required. Please note this class will take place at New Living, 6111 Kirby Drive.

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.  

February 12th:  Family Wild Winks – Wild Winks offers those ages 7 and over a unique opportunity to spend the night at the Houston Zoo. Fees include interactive activities, touchable animals, dinner, a continental breakfast and admission to the zoo after the program is over on the second day. Space is limited. Admission is $70 per person for members and $80 per person for non-members. Wild Winks take place from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 a.m. the following day.

February 13th:  Valentine’s Dinner and Wild for Love Lecture – Join Houston Zoo Director Rick Barongi and special guests for a lighthearted look at courtship in the animal kingdom. Explore the natural wild world of animal mating and dating with your special someone. Tickets are $60 for members and $70 for non-members. The event begins at 7:00 p.m. and is restricted to those age 21 and over.

February 13th:  Princess Day: A Benefit for Frog Conservation – What would a princess be without a frog? What would a frog be without a princess? Princesses will come together for frog conservation at the zoo’s first Princess Day. Come meet some real frogs (endangered Houston toads) and the keepers who care for them. Princesses can enjoy finger sandwiches, cookies and punch and have their picture taken with the zoo’s frog mascot. This event is BYOT (Bring your own tiara) and costumes are encouraged. The event takes place from 10:30 a.m. – Noon. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for children who are zoo members. Non-members adult tickets are $35 and non-members children are $30.

February 14th:  Valentine’s Day Brunch – Mix and mingle with animals and keepers during the zoo’s Valentine’s Day Brunch from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in the Brown Education Center Exhibit Hall. Tickets are $38 for members and $45 for non-members. This event is restricted to adults ages 21 and over only.

March 25th:  Christina Mittermeir Wildlife Photographer – From the popular to the scientific, her work has appeared in major magazines around the world including Nature's Best, Latina, Elan, National Geographic, National Geographic Explorer, Organic Connections and American Photo in the United States, Rumbos, Escala and Sale la Foto, in Mexico, Explorador and Terra in Brazil, Man and Biosphere in China, among others. As a photographer and writer since 1996, Cristina has co-edited 9 books, including a series published with Conservation International and Cemex. Megadiversity: Earth's Wealthiest Countries for Biodiversity (1996), Hotspots: Earth's biologically richest and most endangered eco-regions (1998), Wilderness Areas: Earth's Last Wild Places (2002), Wildlife Spectacles (2003), Hotspots Revisited (2005), and Transboundary Conservation: A New Vision for Protected Areas (2005), and Pantanal: South America’s Wetland Jewel (2005). Her latest book project, The Human Footprint was produced with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York in conjunction with her own organization, the ILCP. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for this event with the lecture beginning at 7:00 p.m. Admission is $10 for zoo members and $15 for non-members.

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

Food & Wine Related Events

Churrascos Westchase Wine Dinner – Churrascos  (9705 Westheimer)

February 1st:  Five-course dinner featuring Sophenia wines from California.  $59 per person plus tax and gratuity.  Open seating. 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 952-1988

Terra Burdigala Wine Dinner – Bistro Don Camillo (6510 Del Monte)

February 1st:  Bistro Don Camillo, one of Houston’s first restaurants to feature the unique foods of Nice, will host a wine dinner highlighting a variety of fine wines from Terra Burdigala, and introducing them will be winery owner, Francois Thienpont. The dinner, created by the bistro’s owners Jean Philippe and Genevieve Guy, will begin at 7 p.m. and include four courses paired with four Terra Burdigala wines.  The cost per person is $55 plus tax and gratuity. Terra Burdigala, whose name stems from the Roman term for Bordeaux, represents a portfolio of outstanding, yet accessible wines. The wines have received recognition worldwide for not just their quality, but for their reasonable pricing.

for more information, call (713) 728-3011

Surf and Turf Tuesday – Cova Hand Selected Wines  (5555 Washington Avenue)

February 2nd:  If you have attended any of our Big Red Wines and Steak classes then you know that Chef Eric Lawhon is King of the Grill. Due to the popularity of those classes we have decided to make every Tuesday Steak and Shrimp Night! Come in and enjoy a beautifully grilled 10 oz New York Strip, grilled shrimp and herbed potatoes every Tuesday for only $14.99. You can Upgrade your steak to a Prime Cut for $24.99. 5:00 – 10:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 868-3366

Complimentary Wine Tasting – III Forks  (1201 Fannin Street)

February 8th:  Join us for a complimentary wine tasting. The wines being featured include Rombauer Chardonney, Adelsheim Pinot Noir and Groth Cabernet. 5:30 –6:30 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 658-9457

Wine Prices with Antoine Dupont – Bistro des Amis, (2347 University Blvd.)

February 8th:  This course will teach you how to distinguish classy from inexpensive wines. Each course will be taught in two-hour period in a fun yet professional environment. All wines will be tasted blind. The first course will be $40. 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.   

for more information, call (713) 349-8441

Churrascos River Oaks Wine Dinner – Churrascos  (2055 Westheimer)

February 8th:  Five-course dinner featuring wines from Spain.  $59 per person plus tax and gratuity.  Open seating. 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 527-8300

Lambert Bridge Wine Dinner at Brix Wine Cellars – Brix Wine Cellars (110 Vintage Park Blvd.)

February 10th:  Come meet Andy Wilcox of Lambert Bridge winery as we pair four of Lambert Bridge's wines with four exquisite courses from Chef Jeff. Lambert Bridge Winery is located in the center of Dry Creek Valley, near an old trestle bridge, its namesake. We will have special pricing on the wines showcased this evening: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon. $85 per person plus tax and gratuity. 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

for more information, call (281) 374-6100

Rio Ranch Wine Dinner –  Rio Ranch Steakhouse (9999 Westheimer Road)

February 10th:  This dinner features the wines of St. Francis Winery. Enjoy a four-course meal paired expertly paired with terrific wines. $55 per person plus tax and gratuity. 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 952-5000

Valentine’s Day Dinner in the Cellar –  Haak Vineyards & Winery (6310 Avenue T, Santa Fe)

February 12th – 13th:  This is a special event that is a treat for your Valentine.  We create a romantic atmosphere in our one-of-a kind cellar. The dinner consists of three courses paired with Haak wines. The dinner is $135 plus tax and gratuity per couple. 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

for more information, call (409) 925-1401

Valentine’s Day Dinner Package – Circle S Vineyards  (9920 Highway 90A, Sugar Land)

February 13th:  A buffet style serving of appetizers, salad, pasta and dessert. Two packages are available, including dinner for two and a bottle of Magia di Amore for $70 per couple or dinner for two and a pre-release bottle of 2010 Houston Rodeo Reserve Champion 2008 Corvina Amarone for $100 per couple. 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.

for more information, call (281) 265-9463

Prix Fixe Valentine’s Celebration –  Smith & Wollensky (4007 Westheimer)

February 13th – 14th:  Join us for our 2010 Valentine's Day Celebration, featuring our delicious three course couple's dinner.  Enjoy some of our classics including Maine Lobster Bisque, Chateaubriand for Two, and Chocolate Ganache Cake, and other delectable options to choose from. Price is $75 per person plus tax and gratuity. 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 621-7555

Lobster for Lovers Valentine’s Day Dinner –  Cova Hand Selected Wines (5600 Kirby Drive)

February 14th:  We are excited to announce our 4th Annual Lobsters for Lovers Valentine’s Day Dinner! Come and experience a special evening featuring a 4-course lobster dinner, including live Maine lobsters and Australian lobster tails. Perfect wine pairings and roses for the ladies will complete this memorable night! Spaces are limited. Price is $75 per person plus tax and gratuity. 5:00 – 10:00 p.m.

for more information, call (713) 838-0700

Wine Faults with Antoine Dupont – Bistro des Amis, (2347 University Blvd.)

February 15th:  This course will teach you how to sniff a wine. A wine fault or defect is an unpleasant characteristic of a wine often resulting from poor winemaking practices or storage conditions and leading to wine spoilage. The cost of the course is $40. 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.   

for more information, call (713) 349-8441

Guy Davis Wine Dinner – Sullivan’s Steakhouse, (4608 Westheimer Road)

February 17th:  Davis Family Wine Dinner with Special Guest Guy Davis (Owner and Winemaker). Dinner includes four courses plus passed appetizers paired with 7 Davis Family Wines. Cost is $150 per person plus tax and gratuity. 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.   

for more information, call (713) 961-0333

Cova Boot Camp VIII –  Cova Hand Selected Wines (5600 Kirby Drive)

February 20th:  We are excited to announce that our 8th Cova Boot Camp will be held the on the weekends of February 20th March 6th. What is Cova Boot Camp? It is a rare opportunity to receive a thorough overview of the entire world of wine by one of the world's few Certified Wine Educators, Monsterville Horton, IV. This intensive 32- hour course is designed to expertly equip you with the knowledge and savvy to handle any wine situation; from business dinners, to entertaining at home, to starting a wine collection. The material learned from this course is designed to put graduates in the top 1% of all knowledgeable wine lovers worldwide! Boot Camp classes are held on Saturdays 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. and on Sundays 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. A 3- course lunch with wine pairings is included each day of Boot Camp. Price per person is $275 plus materials & taxes.

for more information, call (713) 838-0700

Culture Shapers Wine Auction – (10225 Woodedge)

February 22nd:  This wine auction benefits high school visual and performing art students in the Houston metro area. This event features free food, wine, entertainment, and auction of over 75 bottles of wine. There will be both a silent and public auction. Help support our kids and buy some great wines as well. 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.   

for more information, call (281) 664-1420

Wine Dessert with Antoine Dupont – Bistro des Amis, (2347 University Blvd.)

February 15th:  Fortified; late harvest; botrytis wines. Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert, such as Sauternes and Tokaji Aszú. Despite the name, they are often best appreciated alone, or with fruit or bakery sweets. The cost of the course is $40. 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.   

for more information, call (713) 349-8441

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

Central Market Cooking School   (Westheimer @ Weslayan)

February 1st:  660 Curries – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Raghavan Iyer, ACP Award Winning Culinary Instructor, Author & Culinary Tour Leader

February 2nd:  Voice at Central Market – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Michael Kramer, Executive Chef, Voice

February 3rd:  Sushi – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Chris Nemoto, Executive Sushi Chef, Zushi Japanese Cuisine

February 4th:  Coffee Call – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Central Market Coffee Roaster and Central Market Cooking School Staff

February 5th:  French Bistro Favorites – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Anne Legg, Chef, Instructor, Culinary Consultant, Dallas

February 6th:  Seafood Main Courses for Cool Weather – 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. – Anne Legg, Chef, Instructor, Culinary Consultant, Dallas

February 6th:  Couples Cook: A Romantic Dinner – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Central Market Cooking School Staff

February 8th:   The Chocolate Academy – 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. – Amanda Snouffer, Barry Callebaut, Chocolate Academy

February 9th: