Free Family Fun at Saengerfest Park:
30i in Concert & “Goosebumps” in Downtown Galveston
Saengerfest Park, located in the heart of Downtown Galveston, is a great place to find free family-friendly fun as the days (slowly) begin to cool off.
Saengerfest Park is a small, square park located on the corner of 23rd St. and The Strand in Galveston’s Historic Strand District. Saengerfest Park is known for having a large, playable chess set, a large compass that can be used as a seat, a colorful iconic Galveston wall mural, a huge beach chair offering photo opportunities, wooden benches, an old-fashioned London-style phone booth, and a stage used for festivals, movies, and concerts.
Visitors and residents are invited to enjoy free movies the first Saturday of each month beginning just after dusk. Moviegoers are encouraged to set up a blanket or chair. One free movie remains for the season:
- October 5th: “Goosebumps” (2015)
Music Nite on The Strand takes place on the second Saturday of each month, 6-9pm. These free concerts are a great family-fun event. Dancing is highly encouraged. One free concert remains for the season:
- October 12th: 30i (Rock)
Events are presented by Mitchell Historic Properties and The Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more info go to galveston.com/saengerfestpark.
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.
For more info go to redlightdistricttoursofgalveston.com, email GalvestonRedLightTours@gmail.com, call or text (409)526-6883. Reservations required.
You are invited to celebrate the souls of your loved ones at our Alter Pop Up Gallery by creating your own altar or enjoying the altars by visiting the gallery. Alter space is FREE. Altars can commemorate family, friends, pets etc. There also will be one community altar where anyone is invited to add a photo of their loved one.
Altar Set Up – Oct 9-11 10am-6pm.
Altars space – (7) Spaces 4’w x 8’h x 2’d & (3) 4′ w x 4′ h x 2′
All altars must be self contained, must provide own table, lighting, extension cords etc. No open flames. (We are not responsible for any items on altars.)
RESERVE YOUR FREE SPACE by 10/7/19: email pbwmarketplace@gmail.com with the theme and basic set up and pics of your alter to be approved by 10/8/19
Gallery opens to the public Saturday October 12th, correlating with shop and bar hours each day until Thursday October 31st. ENTRY IS FREE to view and vote.
Each altar will be assigned a number for community voting
Award categories will be: Most elaborate, Most unique, All around favorite etc.
Celebration of life and Wrap party will be Oct 31st 7pm – 10pm. Music provided by Del Toro Trio, Awards will be announced at the party.
Altars will be roped off and remain on display through Lone Star Rally. Tear down date will be Wednesday 11/6/19 10am-6pm.
October 12th (11am-3:30pm): Bark-tober – Come on down to Haunted Mayfield Manor to help support the Galveston Island Humane Society. You’ll be able to meet some of the loving dogs and cats looking for their forever home and 10% of every purchase will be donated to The Galveston Island Humane Society! This is hosted by Haunted Mayfield Manor, 2313 Harborside Dr., Downtown Galveston.
On the second Saturday of every month, 10am-3pm, the Ocean Star celebrates Family Day. Each Family Day focuses on a different theme that relates to the offshore industry. The information is presented at a student’s level using activities or experiments. Children 18 years of age and younger are admitted free with a paying chaperone. The Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum is located at Pier 19 in Downtown Galveston. For more info call (409)766-7827 or go to oceanstaroec.com.
October 12th: Sources of Energy – In addition to petroleum, learn about nine other energy sources and how each one is important to you at any moment of every day. See if you can put together an energy puzzle, and discover how renewable and nonrenewable energy affects your life.
The Island goes Greek for the 37th Annual Galveston Greek Festival, October 12 and 13, when the Greek Community hosts their annual party at 1824 Ball St.
What sets this event apart is that the food made on-site by parishioners, mostly who are professional chefs, or incredible cooks in their own right. Fresh ingredients are used in the centuries-old recipes much to the delight of all visitors. The Greek plate consists of pastitsio, meatballs, dolmades, olives, salad, cheese, and bread for $16. All other items sold ala carte include souvlaki, gyros, dolmades, meat and vegetarian, salad, olives and cheese, tyropita and spanakopita. Prices range from $4 to $8. A meal is not complete without a pastry or two and selections include baklava, kourambiedes, paximadia, koulourakia, and a few new pastries that will debut at the event. All foods and pastries are available to go.
A featured beverage is FIX beer, the Bud of Greece for generations, as well as Mythos Beer, that has won numerous awards for its flavor and remains a favorite of the European market. Served ice cold, both are sure to win the favor of those attending the Greek Festival. Greek wines have been paired to compliment the dishes being served.
Returning by popular demand is King of Bouzouki, Alex Kalos who will perform with his band throughout festival hours, and the Greek Dancers who will perform every two hours. Church tours will be led by Father Stelios Sitaras. Imported merchandise and food products from Greece will be available for purchase at the community gift shop and at vendor booths. An inside-outside event, the festival is rain or shine.
There is no admission to attend the festival, however, a small donation is appreciated and proceeds benefit the Assumption of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church. Food and drink tickets sold in $2 increments. cash and credit cards are accepted, and an ATM is available.
Come for a visit and stay awhile. Greek Festival hours are Saturday, 11 am – 8 pm and Sunday, 12 noon – 6 pm. There’s no party like a Greek party. Rain or Shine. Don’t miss it. www.galvestongreekfestival.com.
On view through November 17th is Erin Curtis’ “Night and Day.”
Curtis’ exhibition includes recent large-scale paintings that are dense with color and pattern. Her layered, cut-canvas works contain disrupted surfaces and reflect an interest in geometric abstraction and its historical roots in weaving, architecture, nature, and ritual. The paintings in “Night and Day” are nearly overwhelmed by an unreadable chaos that is pulled back to the edge of order by familiar patterns and forms. The exhibition will be on view through November 17th, 2019.
Erin Curtis is an artist living and working in Austin, Texas. Curtis’s work combines utopian ideals of beauty and structure, with process and chance. Primarily working as a painter, she also creates large-scale, site-specific installations and public art projects.
She has received grants from the Dallas Museum of Art, the Andy Warhol Foundation, the City of Austin and the District of Columbia. Curtis has had solo shows at Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX (2017), CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, California (2016), Big Medium Gallery, Austin, Texas (2015) and Flashpoint Gallery, Washington, DC (2015). She has created commissioned works for the Chicago Transit Authority, the City of Washington D.C., Facebook, Art in Embassies and the City of Austin. In the summer of 2019, a 20- foot tall cut brick mural commissioned by Intelligentsia Coffee will be installed in downtown Austin. Curtis attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2010 and was awarded residencies at Anderson Ranch (2012) and Vermont Studio Center (2014). In 2008-2009, Curtis was a Fulbright Scholar in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Curtis graduated from Williams College with a BA in Liberal Arts in 1999 and received her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007.
For more info go to erinelizabethcurtis.com.
In GAC’s second-floor galleries, the exhibition Exchange Rate is on view through October 6th, 2019. The exhibition features artists who incorporate currency in their work as material and subject matter. “Exchange Rate” features work by Corey Ackelmire, Mike Beradino, Rene Cruz, Kevin Curry, Kathy Hall, Mary Jeys, Virginia Lee Montgomery, Ken Little, Deborah Mersky, Phillip Pyle II, Dan Tague, The Art Guys, and Anthony Thompson Shumate.
These exhibitions are supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
GAC is the organizer of ArtWalk, which takes place every six weeks in downtown Galveston. The ArtWalk brochure, which lists participating venues, hours, information, and map can be downloaded at galvestonartscenter.org. The galleries are open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm, and Sunday 12 noon-5pm. Admission is free at all times.
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 Gallery is located at 2117A Postoffice St. in Galveston. For more info go to GalvestonArtLeague.com.
Houston photographer Troy Knight is the Featured Artist for October at the Galveston Art League Gallery. About a dozen of his photos, some taken locally and others from as far away as Asia, will be for sale this month and during the night of ArtWalk on October 12th.
Knight has snapped photos since age 18, when he was stationed in Korea with the Army. “I use my camera every day to capture the essence of a culture, the spirit of a landscape, and the heart of a story. It is a joy to know that some of my pictures have emotionally touched others and are now in their homes, that I get to share the story of these photos with others and that I get to continue to grow as a photographer.” His website is TroyKnightPhotography.com.
He is a professional member of the Galveston Art League, an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that has promoted visual arts since its inception in 1904.
The Art League offers memberships to artists and non-artists and is selling tickets for its October 26th fundraiser gala at GalvestonArtLeague.com and by calling (409)938-1671.
OPENING RECEPTION FOR GALVESTON PORTRAITS:
Saturday, October 12th-5:30 to 9:30
Born in Houston, Arthur Deatly received his BFA from Kansas City Art Institute and his All-Level Art Certification from the University of Houston in 2003. After working in sales for 10 or so years, yet being encouraged by artist friends to get back into painting, he decided to leave sales and started substitute teaching for Houston’s Independent School District. After receiving his All-Level certification, he began teaching High School Art and is currently an art teacher at Klein ISD. He began Plein Air painting in the early 2000’s and has been painting this way ever since. What started as mainly urban landscapes has grown into a more regional survey of the part of the world he lives in and loves.
Arthur says, ‘From Katy silohs to Galveston cemeteries, there is something about the sublime, understated, often truncated assemblage of stuff, where industrial, commercial and
residential all compete with nature in this never-ending dance for dominance that make what
I call the beautiful, ugly. You just got to look.’
COME ON OUT-TAKE A LOOK.
BUY ART; IT’S GOOD FOR THE SOUL!
Third Coast Gallery
2413 Mechanic St
Galveston
