Galveston spotlight to shine on Kinky Friedman

Kinky Friedman Kinky Friedman Photo: Kinky Friedman Photo: Kinky Friedman Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Galveston spotlight to shine on Kinky Friedman 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Kinky Friedman, the colorful Texas Country singer, songwriter, humorist, cowboy and best-selling mystery writer, will take the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at the 1894 Grand Opera House, 2020 Postoffice.

"An Evening with Kinky Friedman" will benefit Congregation Beth Jacob Galveston. He will perform signature songs from his celebrated 40-year music career, plus selections from his newly released CD, "The Loneliest Man I Ever Met" (October 2015).

"Starting from the time he played guitar and sang around the campfire at his parents' Echo Hill Ranch summer camp in the Texas Hill Country in the 1960s and '70s, to touring with such music legends as Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Ringo Starr, and headlining world tours, Kinky has been a one-of-a-kind performer - often irreverent, always quick-witted," said Barbara White, event and host committee chairwoman. "He's a talented singer, musician and raconteur combined."

The event celebrates the 85th anniversary of the historic Congregation Beth Jacob Galveston, the "Shul (Synagogue) by the Shore."

"The Loneliest Man I Ever Met," Kinky's first new studio album in 30 years, has received accolades in reviews in publications ranging from Rolling Stone and Newsweek magazines to The Wall St. Journal.

The recording features three new Kinky compositions and cover songs written by Bob Dylan, Warren Zevon, Tom Waits, and Johnny Cash. Kinky has recorded 11 albums and published 35 books, in addition to being an occasional Texas politician.

He also has an avid passion for animal welfare and is one of the co-founders of the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch.

Concert benefit tickets, priced from $45-$100, are available at http://www.thegrand.com/calendar.asp.

For more information about Congregation Beth Jacob Galveston or being a sponsor or underwriter of "An Evening with Kinky Friedman," visit www.galvestonshul.org or call David Rockoff at 409-762-4545.

Pearland

The Pearland Crawfish Festival, one of Texas' largest crawfish festivals, has a new name and location. The new Brazoria County Crawfish Festival will take place April 15-17 at MSR Houston Motor Speedway, 1 Performance Drive in Angleton.

The festival previously made its home in Pearland for three years. In the spirit of the move, the festival is expanding its brand to encompass the entire county.

"Brazoria County, including Pearland, is experiencing explosive growth, but part of that growth in Pearland means few open tracts available for the site of a major festival," said festival organizer Bob Fuldauer.

With much of the region historically used for rice farming, available open tracts have very poor drainage after rains.

"Last year we had huge problems with mud and standing water with storms after a wet spring," Fuldauer said. "We knew moving ahead we needed a site with concrete for the festival. MSR Houston offers that, as well as being a growing public race and event facility that will be available - and improving - for years to come."

The Brazoria County Crawfish Festival takes the friendly, relaxed fun and community feel of a small town fair and serves it up big. With the move comes the chance to bring out more. There will be more food, more vendors, more activities and more carnival rides.

Red Swamp Crawfish will handle the key element of boiling and serving crawfish for the hungry crowds that flock to this festival.

Specialty entertainment like the popular Splash Dogs will be back and bigger than before, with new iguana races and more added to the armadillo races, and contests.

The Houston Blues Society will fill the Blues Society Stage with top local and regional blues favorites and rising newcomers. More of the area's best Zydeco, Texas country and classic rock will raise the roof of the Bayou Stage.

Vendors will feature unique wares, arts and crafts, a world-class carnival and children's area will provide plenty of activities for adults and kids alike.

For more information, visit www.BrazoriaCountyCrawfishFestival.com or call 281-802-2776.

Kemah

For some big fun, gather up the family and friends and head out to the Kemah Crawfish Festival, April 1-3.

The festivities will kick off right on the water, underneath the Kemah Bridge at 3rd Street. In addition to crawfish, guests can enjoy other festival food, beverages and vendors.

For more information, visit www.gulfcoastfestivals.com.

Galveston

The sixth annual "A Bark in the Park" will take place from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, in the historic, tree-shaded Kempner Park at 27th Street and Avenue N. Admission is free to the family-friendly dog show that benefits the Galveston Island Humane Society.

On-site registration opens at 9:30 a.m. and the event will begin with the "Blessing of the Dogs."

Breed classifications for competition will include Terriers; Sporting/Herding; Non-Sporting; Working/Hound; Toy; Veterans; Puppies; Heinz 57; and Rescue.

Each class in this light-hearted charity event will be judged with the winners advancing to the "Best in Show" category. New categories to be judged this year include "Best Pet/Owner Look Alike" and "Best Pet Trick."

There will also be a canine kissing booth; face painting; performance by the K-9 Kommotion Flyball Team; obedience demonstrations; microchip services; spay and neuter information; and Canine Good Citizenship testing. The cost is $15 and advanced reservations are encouraged.

Dog enthusiasts can get timely pet information at the "Ask the Vet" booth, including the importance of spaying/neutering and microchips, with microchip services offered for $20. Mutts with Manners representatives will also be available following their obedience demonstration. The event will also includes pet service vendors and a "rescue village" spotlighting adoptable dogs from the Galveston Island Humane Society and other area shelters and rescue groups.

The fee to enter a pet in the competition is $10 per dog/ per class, and all entries must have proof of current vaccinations. All pets must be on a leash and retractable leashes are not allowed. No female dogs in season will be allowed to enter.

For more information, visit www.galvestonhumane.org .To download vendor applications, registration information or entry forms, visit the website or contact event chair Kate Marx at 409-539-5135, or call the GIHS office at 409-740-1919.

The Galveston Island Humane Society is located at 6814 Broadway and is beginning its 36th year of serving the Galveston Island community.

Seabrook

It's full steam ahead at Space City Paddlefest, which takes place on April 9 at Clear Lake Park, 5001 E. NASA Parkway.

The first Paddlefest is hosted by Team Hokulele. Since Hokulele members paddle multiple craft and participate in multiple paddling disciplines, the race highlights the soul and mission of the club.

The club is staging four races for different paddle craft and skill levels. All of the events will be staged from the accommodating and user-friendly grounds of Clear Lake Park on the shores of Mud Lake.

For novice and recreational paddlers, there will be a 5K course (two laps of 2.5K) held on Mud Lake. This event will be for all types of craft - SUP, OC-1, SurfSki, C1, C2 and sea kayak.

For the marathon canoe paddlers, there will be a 13-mile race that starts and finishes on Mud Lake and winds its way out and back through the beautiful and remote Armand Bayou watershed.

For the SUP paddlers, there will be a 10K course that starts and finishes on Mud Lake with 75 percent of the race taking place on the ever-changing waters of Clear Lake.

For the ocean canoe and kayak paddlers, there will be an 8-mile race starting and finishing on Mud Lake.

For more information visit www.spacecitypaddlefest.com.

Galveston

The 21st annual Grand Kids Festival will be April 2 in historic downtown Galveston.

The event will take place on Postoffice Street from 20th to 23rd streets in Galveston's Cultural Arts District and fill three city blocks from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday with three outdoor stages, an indoor stage (at The Grand), a storytelling tent, more than a dozen activity areas, more than 40 activity booths and an array of food and beverage booths.

"We want children to leave the festival feeling the success of performing on stage, the thrill of creating a hands-on masterpiece and the experience of seeing performances that inspire them," said an event press release.

Entertainment includes Cajun author and song siren Johnette Downing and Cirque Mechanics artists who will transport the audience to the world of Pedal Punk, a Steampunk inspired place where cycling is the way to escape the technology-obsessed society.

In addition, there will be stunt bikes, bungee trampolines, a balloon artist, a giant inflatable zipline, a stop motion photography artist, an origami artist, a glass-blowing artist, interaction with live animals at the petting zoo and pony rides.

As one of the festival highlights, Missoula Children's Theatre will conduct a weeklong residency for a production of "Little Red Riding Hood." The residency will begin with an open audition for students in grades K-12 at 4:30 p.m. on March 28 at The Grand. The Missoula team will select a cast of 50 area children who will participate in a week of rehearsals to prepare for their two performances onstage as part of The Grand Kids Festival.

The festival grounds will be free to the public as well as the inflatables, petting zoo and Zippy Pets. A fee will be charged for some activities and booths, such as food and face painting.

For festival information, visit www.grandkidsfestival.com or call 800-821-1894 or 409-765-1894.

League City

It's time to dust off those fancy duds!

The 10th annual Clear Creek Education Foundation Fashion Show, "I Love CCISD" will be held at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 17 at Mercedes-Benz of Clear Lake at 500 Gulf Freeway S. in League City.

The fashion show will spotlight 80 CCISD students. This year's show will feature runway seating, hors d'oeuvre stations from 10 local restaurants and talent vignettes straight from the halls of CCISD schools.

The event show is open to the community, but does require advance ticket purchases. For sponsorship information or to purchase tickets, visit http://www.clearcreekeducationfoundation.org/fashion-show/.

Established in 1992, the Clear Creek Education Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization that enlists the help of volunteers with a passion for excellence. The foundation raises funds to enrich academic achievement within CCISD.

Galveston

The Rotary Club of Galveston will hold its sixth annual Crawfish Boil from noon 4 p.m. April 7 at Moody Gardens, under the big white tent behind the Discovery Pyramid.

For 103 years, the Rotary Club of Galveston has subscribed to the motto, "Service Above Self," and this year's event will benefit Galveston humanitarian and educational projects and programs.

The Lighthouse Charity Cooking Team will be back under the direction of Dick and Horacene Daugird. Their crew is preparing a plate of Cajun-seasoned crawfish, potatoes, onions and fresh corn on the cob.

Also back by popular demand is the "Super Spud" - a loaded baked potato topped with beef brisket.

Other menu favorites include the Lighthouse Dogs and red beans and rice. Beverages will include a variety of ice-cold beer, soft drinks and bottled water.

Crawfish plate tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. There is no admission charge.

Live Zydeco will be served up by one of the Gulf Coast's most popular bands, Zydeco Dots. There will also be a dance contest that will culminate with the crowning of the festival's Zydeco Dance King or Dance Queen.

Other activities include the "Children's Crawfish Eating Contest," raffles and the "Mud Bug Bounce" (aka MoonWalk).

In celebration of the upcoming Lemonade Day Galveston County event, the Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce's Lemonade Day float will be on display, with volunteers to answer questions and to distribute information about the competition.

For more information, call the chamber office at 409-763-5326 or visit www.galvestonchamber.com.