BugFest is back and better then ever! We will have bug-themed activities, crafts and games throughout the museum from May 18th – the 31st. This is open to the public and all ages are invited.

From the author of the book comes a wonderful tour and a riveting journey through the forgotten parts of downtown Galveston that were once bustling with wild parties and generous offerings of hourly love.

Join renowned author and speaker Kimber Fountain as she brings to life the tales – both tragic and triumphant – of Galveston’s Red Light District: A History of The Line.

Known today as a colorful resort destination featuring family-friendly entertainment and a thriving arts district, Galveston was once notorious for its flourishing vice economy of illegal liquor and gambling and an infamous red light district called simply, “The Line.”

This unassuming five blocks of Postoffice Street came to life every night and remained a stubborn mainstay of the island cityscape for nearly seventy years. In the late 1950s, the era was known as the “Free State of Galveston” finally came to an end, and today, almost all that remains of its history has been sensationalized and marginalized.

Galveston was more than just a city of “gangsters” and lewd women,  and Kimber Fountain pursues the authentic, sequestered story of women who wanted to make their own rules and the city that wanted to let them.

Tours are every Wednesday-Saturday starting at 7pm. Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased online at redlightdistricttoursofgalveston.com in advance or at the start of the tour (cash only).

Reservations are required for cash/onsite tickets, and both online ticket purchases and cash reservations must be made by 5pm the day of the tour.

The tour meets on the north steps of the old Galveston Post Office at 601 25th Street (corner of 25th and Church St.). Meet at the north steps located on Church Street side.

Tours begin promptly at 7pm. Please arrive at least 5-10 minutes early to ensure ample time to park and/or purchase onsite tickets. Due to mature content, this tour is strongly recommended for adults and older teens only. Tour content will not be censored for younger audiences, and teens and children must be accompanied by an adult.

Signed copies of Kimber’s books  Galveston’s Red Light District: A History of The Line and Galveston Seawall Chronicles  will be available for purchase (cash or credit) at the conclusion of the tour.

For more info go to redlightdistricttoursofgalveston.com, email GalvestonRedLightTours@gmail.com, call or text (409)526-6883. Reservations required.

Attention budding builders – sandcastle builders, that is. Starting June 1st, 8am-4pm, Galveston will host a free family-friendly event to help beachgoers create spectacular sandcastles with tips from the pros.

Visitors to Stewart Beach can participate in “Sandcastle Days” events to receive free sandcastle building lessons from a professional sandcastle builder. The events will take place each Saturday this summer from June 1st thru August 17th.

Each event will begin with an instructor building a sandcastle from 8-11am followed by lessons at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. Equipment will be provided on a limited basis and participants are encouraged to bring their own sand buckets and shovels.

Registration is not required. The lessons will take place on the sand near the Stewart Beach Pavilion.

Stewart Beach is located at 201 Seawall Blvd. It is home to helicopter tours, a pavilion, volleyball courts, a children’s playground, restrooms, showers, chair and umbrella rentals and concessions. Parking at Stewart Beach costs $15 per car during Sandcastle Days events.

For more information, visit galvestonbeachinfo.com.

Hunt for coastal treasures with state park naturalists.

Beach Exploration hikes start at the park’s Day Use Beach boardwalk (adjacent to the restrooms and parking lot.)

Get a close-up look at the many critters and birds that inhabit the sand, surf and seaweed. This Saturday tour includes hands-on seining, searching for ghost crabs and beachcombing under the guidance of Friends of Galveston Island State Park (FoGISP) volunteers.

Hurricane season is quickly approaching and the City of Galveston wants residents to be prepared! The City of Galveston is hosting a Hurricane Preparedness Town Hall meeting to provide residents and visitors the opportunity to review preparedness practices.

The town meeting will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 1 at the McGuire-Dent Recreation Center, 2222 28th Street Galveston, Texas.

The preparedness fair will be staffed with representatives from the National Weather Service, CenterPoint Energy, Galveston County’s Office of Emergency Management, the Galveston Fire Department, the City of Galveston Office of Emergency Management and many other preparedness and recovery experts. The fair will also have numerous vendors that specialize in helping families, pets, and senior citizens prepare their homes for hurricane season.

Favorite reads shared aloud in the Children’s Department on the first Saturday of every month.

This goes to 10:20am.

Looking for something fun to do? Join Dianne Duggan’s “Alcohol and Ink Workshop,” 11am-1pm, Saturday, June 1st at G. Lee Gallery.

Alcohol inks are a liquid alcohol-based ink that comes in a delightful array of extremely vivid colors. It is painted on non-porous surfaces. This exciting new medium offers artists at all levels – including beginners – the opportunity to create art like no other.

This is a two-hour workshop, where all your supplies are included. You don’t have to bring a thing! Take home a beautiful 8′ x 10′ completed painting and one tile coaster. The fee is $60/person.

Dianne Dianne has over 20 years of experience in the art world and photography industry as an airbrush artist, photo restorer, and advertising agency artist and illustrator.

G.Lee Gallery is located at 2217 Strand, Suite 107-B in Downtown Galveston. For more info call (409)370-7350 or go to gleegallery.net.

Every Saturday, weather permitting, Galveston Railroad Museum, located at 2602 Santa Fe Place, Downtown Galveston, offers train rides for all ages on The Harborside Express.

The “Harborside Express” is an open-air caboose that travels 1 mile up Harborside Dr., then returns to the Galveston Railroad Museum. The train rides are approximately 15 minutes long. The train is a standing ride without seats. Due to the caboose being open air, the rides will sometimes be closed during inclement weather.

Boarding for the Harborside Express begins at 11am, with the last train ride departing the depot at 1:45pm.

Tickets are $5 in addition to admission to the Galveston Railroad Museum and must be purchased at the museum or at galvestonrrmuseum.org.

The Galveston Art League’s featured artist for June is Kimvak Jen. Her artwork, along with dozens of pieces by other Galveston Art League members, will be exhibited 12 noon-6pm Thursdays-Sundays May 30th to June 23rd at the Galveston Art League Gallery, 2117A Postoffice St. in Galveston.

Jen, a Rosharon resident, had an import-export business before retirement allowed her to indulge her love for painting. She likes to instill feelings into her paintings, making them spring with life. “Good paintings have life and soul,” she says. Jen describes herself as “a positive and happy person, aggressive and full of hope for everything, which I demonstrate through my paintings. They are sometimes brilliant with colors and sometimes are black and white, darkness, and light.”

As an 8-year old, Jen had dreamed of becoming an artist. She was awed by the beauty of nature – the colors of flowers, the majesty of trees, and the miracle of God’s work – when she studied the veins of leaves, the components of flowers, and the gnarled trunks of trees. Jen studied the art of Chinese brush painting with Master Liu Shi, a famous art master in Taiwan.

Her works have been exhibited at various locations, including the Galveston Art League Gallery; visit GalvestonArtLeague.com to learn more about this nonprofit organization and how to join.

For more info visit GalvestonArtLeague.com or email gallery2117@gmail.com.