Events, travel, ktru, world music, more
September 15, 2000

Welcome Back,

I hope everyone finished their reports. Here's mine.

What I did on my summer vacation: I spent a week in June wading in the Gum Root Swamp near Gainsville, Florida during a lightning storm looking at 4,000 year old canoes with archaeologists from University of Florida; toured some Indian mounds in Oklahoma and Arkansas; and, wrapped up a long road trip in August watching the Northern Lights, attending the Sturgis Rally and photographing Yellowstone's geyser basins.

Look for upcoming slide shows and for new articles to appear on the Houston Institute for Culture website as a result of these educational adventures. And, please consider some ways you might contribute your valuable knowledge and interests to our effort to promote regional culture and travel.

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Traditional Events

Diez y Seis de Septiembre
http://www.houstonculture.org/tour/texas4a.html

Fiestas Patrias Parade
10:00am, Saturday, September 16
Main Street, Downtown Houston

Kolache Fest
Saturday, September 30
Organizers promise, "Polka music all day and all night."
Our recommendation: Don't miss the Shiner Hobos.
The Kolache Fest Parade is at 10:00am in downtown Hallettsville.
The music events and food booths will be in the KC Hall [ http://www.kchall.com/ ], Hallettsville, Texas
http://www.houstonculture.org/cr/polka.html

September, October and November are great months for cultural event-goers. There's the Czhilispiel in Flatonia, and the Asian American Festival in Hermann Park, among others. Watch the HIFC Calendar for these great events:
http://www.houstonculture.org/resources/cal.html

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Travel Presentations

The Houston Alumni Organization will offer travel presentations on the first Tuesday of each month in the Alumni Center. Start times will be 7:00pm, but come a little early to meet some fellow travelers. I will present regional topics and guests will take us on far away adventures, such as trekking in Nepal and exploring in Machu Pichu.

For the October presentation, I will cover Yellowstone and Steve Cruser, from REI, will take you to the Grand Tetons, while Michael Williams canoes the Boundary Waters. We booked the October 3 date while the presidential candidates were still arguing, so they'll just have to reschedule their little sandbox squabble, or be seen on videotape.

The Topics:
Tuesday, October 3 -- Yellowstone/Black Hills/Badlands
Tuesday, November 7 -- Colonial Cities of Mexico
Tuesday, December 5 -- Santa Fe and the Southwest
Tuesday, January 9 -- New Orleans and the Deltaland
Tuesday, February 6 -- Copper Canyon/Chiricahua Mountains
Tuesday, March 6 -- Canyonlands of the Colorado Plateau
Tuesday, April 3 -- Pacific Coast/Yosemite/Crater Lake

For more information and updates:
http://www.houstonculture.org/travel/pres.html

REI presentations continue on Monday nights at 7:00:
http://www.rei.com/storelocator/houston/

Here are a few upcoming REI events:
Monday, September 25 -- Sea Kayaking the Virgin Islands
Monday, October 2 -- Climbing Kilamanjaro
Monday, October 16 -- Intro to Mountaineering

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World Music on KTRU

Tune in the World Music Show, Mondays from 7 - 9pm on KTRU, 91.7fm.
http://www.houstonculture.org/world/music.html

We will keep you informed about world music and cultural events in the region, including:

Festivals Acadiens
Lafayette, Louisiana
(Going on this weekend)
http://www.cajunhot.com/cfm/happenings/festivals/fest_aca.cfm

Talking Drums
8:30pm, Saturday, September 23
Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park

Houston Grand Taiko Festival
featuring Taiko Dojo, from San Francisco, and Kaminari Taiko, from Houston.
7:30pm, Friday and Saturday, October 6 and 7
Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park

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New KTRU Show

Americana will air Mondays, 9 - 10pm. Richard Johnson will host this new program. Many who remember the Regional and Historical Music Show will want to tune in this program about American cultural roots.

Other KTRU [ http://www.ktru.org ] programs:
http://www.houstonculture.org/world/shows.html

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Volunteers

We are creating several new sections, including Around H-town (eclectic arts and culture in Houston) and Virtual Folk Art (an on line gallery of trinkets and collectibles). As always, we are looking for volunteers, contributing writers, artists, patrons and journalists:
http://www.houstonculture.org/resources/goalstodo.html

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This Day in History

September 16, 1893 -- The Cherokee Strip was opened to thousands of fortune-seekers and pioneers, who raced to claim lands in Northwestern Oklahoma, searching for a better life. Oklahoma's wheat belt was created almost overnight. A new website will explore the history of people and land in the frontier regions: http://www.i45south.com/

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Upcoming Events

We plan to sponsor several great events over the next few months, including a return visit from Namita Bodaji. We received so much positive response to her June performance that we hope to bring her back in the Spring. See photos of her June performance:
http://www.houstonculture.org/world/namitaevent.html

In addiition to the dancer from India, Rathna Kumar, the director of the Anjali Center, Maria Fonseca, host of WB Aqui, and our own Scott Eastman, deserve much thanks for making the event exciting for the audience.

We also plan to bring Nashville photographer Bill Steber to Houston to present his documentary work on Mississippi Blues with Houston blues singer Gloria Edwards, and to sponsor a performance by the eclectic Austin band Los Despienados at Rice.

We could certainly use your help making these things happen. If interested, send an email to hifc@yahoo.com.

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To Ditch Us

If you received this e-culture newsletter and would like to avoid it in the future, please reply and simply say, "No More."

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Next Delivery

We will send out some event listings in October and some holiday traditions in November. Please submit information you have for the newsletter, and for the website, as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Mark



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M A R K   L A C Y / mark@cultural-crossroads.com

The Houston Institute for Culture
http://www.houstonculture.org

Regional and historical perspectives
http://www.houstonculture.org/cr/roads.html

Travel planning and information
http://www.houstonculture.org/terra/terra.html

Upcoming travel presentations
http://www.houstonculture.org/travel/index.html