{c.u.t.here} aug 24-30

Sorry, {c.u.t.here} is light this week.  Heading out of town for, ok all together now, A WEDDING! I know. shocking. c.u. on the flip side.

{Tuesday.25}

The Wine Conference Kick-off Party

This September some of Houston’s most dedicate vino lovers will be hosting the first annual Wine Conference.  Check out some of the amazing speakers (uh, freaking Gary Vee!!!!) wine labels, and local restaurant they have lined up to participate at www.thewineconference.com.  The wine conference will be held on September 26th at the Italian Cultural and Community Center.

Tonight, Join The Wine Conference, Virtuoso Selections and 29-95.com at Block 7 Wine Company, Houston’s newest retail wine & tasting venue. William Meznarich of Virtuoso will offer free tastings of 4 fine wines, as well as give a short presentation about wine basics. Block 7 will offer a free assortment of appertivo, and provide their gorgeous, art-filled venue for the event. This fun evening promises to put you in the mood for Houston’s fabulous first-ever Wine Conference with special conference discounts and door prizes.

Bob and Weave: Houston’s Creative Throwdown

5:30-9pm | Continental Club (3700 Main St.) | facebook invite

When I first saw the poster for this event I knew it was right up my alley. And FREE? Now, you’re talking.

Join H-Town’s top creative professionals as we come together to mix it up. Hosted by AD2 (AD2)
Crystal Land, President; American Advertising Federation Houston (AAFH) Natalie Gonzalez, President; The professional association for design (AIGA)
Robin Tooms, President; Art Director’s Club of Houston (ADCH) Alex Barber, President; Only in Houston (OiH) Dwight Cook, President; University of Houston Graphics Alumni Partnership (UHGAP) Daniel Bosse, President Elect.

{Thursday.27}

“Found” @ Hello Lucky

6 – 8pm | Hello Lucky (1025 Studemont) | www.hello-lucky.com

One of my very favorite Heights shops.  Still got a G.C. burning a holein my pocket from Fayza from last year’s birthday. must. spend. it.

“Found” Opening this Thursday August 27, from 6 – 8pm Artists : Tracy Melton, JoAnn Park, Christine West, David Brown, Mike Lonchambon as well as our ongoing artists.
Yeti Sunshine will be here for the opening serving up fresh organic juices and purees over shaved ice

On view now: Freebird on view through Saturday August 22, 2009
Artists : Elaine Bradford, Rene Cruz, Jay Giroux, Lisa Marie Godfrey, Frances Trotter, Christine West
and ongoing work by Sean Flournoy, Whitney Riley, Carole F Smith, David Waddell, Ryan Geiger, Tracy Melton, JoAnn Park

Artist Talk at Lawndale: Because we only turn 30 once!

6-8pm | Lawndale (4912 Main Street) | www.lawndaleartcenter.org

I had the chance to check out Lawndale’s 30th Anniversary exhibit (and amazing accompanying exhibits) last week as they hosted a quadruple opening.

In conjunction with Lawndale Art Center’s 30th Anniversary, Lawndale Art Annex founder James Surls, presents a talk on the origins of Lawndale, its unique place in Houston’s art community and its relevance today. Followed by a reception at Barbara Davis Gallery where James Surls From 2009 is on view through August 29, 2009.

p.s. as I was writing this, I got an email from Lawndale saying that Retablos are in for this year’s Retablo Silent Auction/Gala on Friday, Oct 23rd! Pick yours up today! Submission deadline is Oct 8th.

Spacetaker hosts Cultured Cocktails

5-10pm |Boheme (307 Fairview) | spacetaker.org

This week’s non-profit arts organization is the uber fly Fresh Arts. Mojitos or Sangria: they’re both FRESH!

{Friday.28}

Making Moves: Dance Party + Art Show

These are a few of my fav-o-rite things.  Dance + Art. Sucks I’m gonna miss it. You shouldn’t.

Indie Dance Sounds, Rock n Roll, Disco (Italo-cosmic-afro), Retro Dance Floor Classics, New Wave, No Wave, Punk, Electro,House, Funk: Pretty much all the cool jams that rock. With Djs on two floors: Glasnost Dj Set, Ceeplus Bad Knives, Mr. Castillo, J. Calero, G Wizz, IP Freely

Fresh Art Show with Rad Artist: Adrian Landon Brooks, Eli Sebastian Brubaugh, J. Paul Jackson, Jessica Cabaniss, Shelby Hohl, Leosapien, Skeez 181,

Photobooth with: One October Night dot com, Drink Specials All night! Free Mix Cds from, Afghan Raiders / LA Riots / Daptone Records / Ninja Tune + More

No Cover b4 11pm $3-5 after + No Cover if you ride a bike to the event in support of Critical Mass

{Saturday.29}

A/V Swap: The Good, The Bad, and the Dirty

7:30pm-10:30pm | Rice University Theatre | www.theavswap.com

This fall The A/V Swap is back with a bigger and badder group of films, this time from both Texas and New York! 34 films by Houston artists and musicians will screen at 8 pm, Saturday, August 29nd at Rice Media Center in our The Good, the Bad and the Dirty show. For our second screening Friday, September 18th at 8 pm, The A/V Swap presents the Best Of 2009, a selection of collaborations from Houston, Austin, Buffalo, New York and New York City created this summer. Both screenings will start with artist’s receptions at 7:30 pm and the Best Of 2009 screening will conclude a Q & A with participating filmmakers and musicians. This is the 6th annual A/V Swap, and we are glad to bring you more of the emerging filmmakers, aspiring composers, established artists and soulful songwriters that have made the swap a success in the past.

A/V Swap projects are collaborations that begin with a film or song that is traded between artists to complete; we hope to provide a forum where artists can showcase their talents by manipulating audio and video they would never otherwise encounter. In this “swap” we anonymously pair composers and filmmakers, hoping to expand their creative horizons. This year’s Houston artists include Ahmad Squad, Bexar, Chin Xaou Ti Won, Jody Cochran, David Courtney, Face and Russ Kuhner, Fumblz Fingerz-Nacha, Justin Giardina, Scott Gordon, Philip Hays, Chuck Ivy, Kanude, Travis Kerschen, David Lowy, Shawna Mouser, Ron Ochoa, Sharad Patel and Andrew Edison, Phara, PR!MO, Patrick Renner, Michael Rodriguez, Stephanie Saint Sanchez, Aimey Stinchcomb, Everett Taasevigen, The Art Guys, Thousands, Eric Todd, Vanessa Voss, Ramon West, Able Windham and Ruben Ybarra. Over thirty more artists from New York and Texas participated in this year’s swap.

Dine Out For Life this Thursday

Peeps,

Please join myself and Chris Valdez this Thursday, April 30th, from 6-9pm as we excitedly host this year’s Dining Out For Life event at t’afia, benefiting AIDS Foundation Houston.

Dining Out For Life is an annual fundraising event where Houston restaurants donate a portion of proceeds to local area AIDS agencies for all lunch and dinner sales. The event takes place all across the country on this night, and Houston is a proud supporter of this cause for the 3rd year.

Each year, Chris and I participate in the event, and this year we are so very excited to have been asked to host a venue, and not just any venue, Monica Pope’s award-winning t’afia in Midtown. If you have not yet been to t’afia, what a great excuse to try out one of Houston’s best restaurants.

If you cannot make it out to t’afia, please consider dining for lunch or dinner at any of the other participating restaurants.  All participating restaurants will be donating a portion of their proceeds to AIDS Foundation Houston.

Chris and I will be at t’afia all night to welcome you, offer some awesome specials from Azur Salon, and enter you for chances to win some awesome raffle prizes. Last year we had a huge group at t’afia and it was a blast! We recommend you make a reservation by calling 713.524.6922

We sincerely hope you will consider spending your Thursday night with us at t’afia for this great cause.

Hope to see you there!

Thursday, April 30 | 6-9pm
t’afia in midtown  | 3701 travis
RSVP 713.524.6922
www.tafia.com

Tags: AIDS Foundation Houston, dining out for life, food, monica pope, t'afia

Camps and Photos and Beer, oh my!

I’ve been MIA. And not the Diplo kind. But I’m back. And it feels good.

This city doesn’t stop for me, and I’ve missed some great events in the last few months. And this weekend is no exception.  Check out these great arts + events happenings in the town of H this weekend.

Recaps to come soon about Mom 2.0 Summit, and lots of plans and big changes to come!

Missed you all.

Saturday, February 28th

ArtCamp @ Caroline Collective

Artcamp is an informal, community-based event to discuss the state of the arts in Houston and develop an informed strategy on how we can collectively support our arts community. The format is open and decided upon by those in attendance but we have several goals that we will achieve through open discussion and peer-to-peer educational sessions:
- Inform participants of available resources online and offline
- Share best practices among organizations, including audience development, fundraising, board and volunteer recruitment, and online outreach
- Share best practices among artists, such as developing their careers, promoting themselves and their work, obtaining gallery representation, and building an online presence

The schedule for the day will include educational sessions and a townhall discussion section. Through this discussion we hope to determine the difficulties that local artists and members of the art community experience, the common solutions to problems, and voice concerns, comments and suggestions for improvement. The final session of the day will be a focused townhall discussion proposing sustainable solutions to educate and deliver resources to members of the community to ensure the improved success and continued communication at all levels.
The event runs from 9:30ish til 5pm. Feel free to drop in whenever.
Here’s the link to the Artcamp site: http://barcamp.org/ArtCampHouston

Spoken Honestly: fine art photography of Three Heart Photo

Two of my most favorite Houston photographers will BOTH be holding photo shows this weekend @CoffeeGroundz.  Just my luck!  Check out both the Tracys this weekend, TracyLynn (ThreeHeartPhoto) on Saturday and Tracey (Funny Girl Photography) on Sunday.Yippee!

Andrew Karnavas and Clory Martin will be playing 2 sets at Saturday’s show.  One set at 3pm and one at 8pm.  THe show runs form 1pm-10pm.  Please stop by and show these amazing photogs some love.

Sunday,  March 1st

Roadtripping Texas: photography by Tracy Manford
4-7pm | Coffee Groundz | 2503 Bagby

Drink Houston Better @ Poison Girl
Benefiting the Orange Show for Visionary Arts
Poison Girl | 5pm

Poison Girl has invited the Orange Show to take part in Drink Houston Better on Sunday March 1 from 5pm-2am. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Orange Show.
Drink Beer. Help the Orange Show.  win win.

Tags: arts + events, caroline collective, coffee groundz, friends, orange show, photography

Made From Ike @ Caroline Tonight

Well Ike took a hike, and we had his trash to clean up. Instead of crying over spilled city guts, Fresh Arts bucked up and decided to make lemonade.

Oct. 24, 2008 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Join the Houston community in a celebration of art and perseverance as we honor the winners and hold a silent auction with all the art you have submitted to the MADE FROM IKE art contest. All proceeds from the auction will go to Americans for the Arts Emergency Relief fund and William Graham Emergency Artist Fund that helps local arts service organizations rebuild the arts in their communities.

Artists will bring their MADE FROM IKE entry to the Caroline Collective Courtyard at 4820 Caroline St, Houston, TX 77004 from 5-6PM to submit to the silent auction. If you are an artist, business or community member who would like to donate other items to the silent auctions, please contact mandy@fresharts.org.

At 6PM, we open the doors of the courtyard and invite the community to celebrate the perseverance of our beloved art scene. Meet artists and organizations who have determination in the face of adversity, bid on some amazing home-grown art made from Ike´s remnants and enjoy a Saint Arnold among friends.

Tags: arts + events, caroline collective, hurricane ike

Peace Out, Momma

Ran across this pic of me and tha moms celebrating Amber’s Bday a few weeks ago. I <3 my Momma Danna.

The night was a blast.  We even ran into Cousin A and Matty.

Now Amber’s in China for the Olympics! You can see some of her coverage of the events here.  Miss you, Amber!

Happy Friday Everyone!

Tags: family, friends, max's wine dive, wine

Diverseworks hosts Drink Houston Better @ PG

Drink Houston Better is Poison Girl’s continued effort to make Houston not only tipsy, but a better place to live.  Every first Sunday of the month you can do your part by doing what you love, drinking! Poison Girl generously donates the profits from an evenings bar tab to local non profits.  We heart Poison Girl!

Tags: arts, arts + events, bars, diverseworks, happy hour, poison girl

Green Eggs + Ham @ Beaver's this Sunday

Tags: beaver's, brunch, charity, charity water, drinks, food

Saint Arnold Scavenger Hunt

Do you like mystery? Are you convinced that the DaVinci Code was true? Do you wish you were Indiana Jones? Would a kegerator look perfect in your home? If so, read on!

SAINT ARNOLD BREWING’S FIRST EVER SCAVENGER HUNT

The good folks over at S.A. have put together a scavenger hunt with hidden clues embedded in a video. All of the items that you are seeking are in downtown Houston.

Watch the video below. The video will show specific objects with which you need to take a picture of yourself (i.e. have both you and the object in the same photo). All of the objects are in establishments where you can find good beer, and enjoying a Saint Arnold while on your quest may bring you enlightenment.

Once you have found all of the objects and taken the required photos, either upload the photos to a photosharing site (i recommend Flickr) and send Lennie with Saint Arnold the link to lennie@saintarnold.com –or– print the photos and get them to the brewery.

The deadline for us to receive the photos is Sunday, August 3 at 11:59 PM. (If you are trying to drop off photos at the brewery over the weekend, there is a little mail slot in our front door.) Make sure you include your name, email address and phone number. Only one person per photo so if a group of you are doing it, you each need to take individual pictures of yourselves with the objects.

At that party, we will draw one of these names and award that person a home kegerator. Um, sa-weet!

So, in summary:

The Prep: Watch the video posted below

The Proof: Take photos of yourself with each item shown in the video.

Tags: beer, saint arnold

The Wine Trials | Book Launch at Caroline

Wanted to make sure you all heard about this. Such an awesome event.

The Fearless Critic, Robin Goldstein (and former Houston resident) will be launching his new book, The Wine Trials, tomorrow at Caroline Collective.This is a really neat story… over the last year he’s done blind wine tastings with all kinds of people: friends, family, wine experts, etc, he compared wine under $15 with wine from $50-$500 dollars, and the cheaper wine scored better in taste trials!

He wrote a book about the results, and is launching it in 4 cities, NYC, New Haven, Austin and HOUSTON (tomorrow) — 3 of the trials were actually conducted in Houston.

Tomorrow’s party will feature wine (of course!) and food from Houston chef, Justin Yu (the lake House cafe at discovery green). Robin will give a short presentation and books will be signed and available at discount.Anyway, thought this was a super cool story you all would be interested in.

Sorry for the late notice! Please feel free to forward on. And let me know if you need more info, or would like to set up an interview with Robin.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1397598&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26]

Tags: caroline collective, events, fearless critic, robin goldstein, wine

Where Magazine Party at Alden Hotel Tonight

Join me and friends tonight at the gorgeous Alden Hotel as Where Magazine hosts:

“Sleek, Sexy & Sophisticated”

When: Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 6-9pm
What: Yummy bites and cocktail from A+ Lounge
Where: Alden Hotel | 1117 Prairie
RSVP: misty.rockwell@wheremagazine.com

Tags: Alden Hotel, parties, Where Magazine