November 10th (2-4pm): Hand Lettering Workshop – With plenty of time to send your holiday greeting cards, Bekah Guedry of My Creative Buzz will lead this one-day workshop in hand-lettering so you can use a stylistic brush calligraphy font with confidence. Work from live demos, worksheets with sample letters and words, and try a variety of brush pens, felt-tip markers, and papers. Once you get comfortable, you’ll have time to make a holiday-themed quote on cardstock, which you can decorate, copy, and/or cut to shape to place on gift tags, greeting cards, dinner party place cards, treat bag decorations, or anything else you dream up! All materials and supplies are provided during the workshop. Feel free to bring a beverage and some of your own items to write on if you already have them. This is suggested for adults and kids ages 10 and up. Class cost is $15.
The galleries are open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm, and Sunday 12 noon-5pm. Admission is free at all times.
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.
In honor of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride at the Galveston Railroad Museum, the hotel is creating a special “Polar Express” themed gingerbread house. You’ll have to see it to believe it. The gingerbread house is on public display in the lobby of the hotel. This display makes a perfect pre- or post-train ride stop for families.
https://www.facebook.com/events/2370808969639100/?event_time_id=2370808976305766
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.
Galveston Arts Center presents “Undercover,” a solo exhibition by Venezuelan-born and Houston-based artist Gerardo Rosales opening Saturday, October 12th, 6-9pm, with artist talk beginning at 6:30pm. Rosales explores issues of class, race, gender, and immigration to expose social inequalities experienced by immigrants coming from Latin America to the United States. Rosales appropriates ornamental aspects of folk art and geometric abstraction, infiltrated with elements that evoke adversity faced by these individuals looking for a better life, only to find themselves facing similar conditions of social and economic exclusion. His paintings include rich colors and patterns that juxtapose the harshness of the wilderness of the tropics with domestic imagery. His works mix conflict with playfulness as a means to exaggerate reality with irony. The exhibition will be on view through January 5th, 2020.
Alcohol Ink Holiday Workshop with Dianne Duggan (2-4pm): Dianne Duggan’s popular alcohol ink workshop is back! Offering artists at all levels – including beginners – the opportunity to create art like no other. Alcohol inks are a liquid alcohol based ink that comes in a delightful array of extremely vivid colors. And because it is the holidays, this class will include a glass of wine for all over 21 years of age. Supplies included. Class cost is $60, please RSVP in advance. Take home a beautiful 8′ x 10′ completed painting and one painted tile coaster.
Your Instructor – Dianne Dianne has over 20 years of experience in art world and photography industry as an airbrush artist, photo restorer and advertising agency artist and illustrator.
Galveston Bookshop will host a book signing for author Whitney Vandiver with her historical novel of Galveston. The setting is Galveston in 1900. A year of training in the Signal Corps did nothing to prepare Alfred Ridgeway for his new post with the U.S. Weather Bureau on the edge of the Texas Gulf. Alfred finds himself thrust into the strained relationship of renowned climatologist Isaac Cline and his assisting brother, Joseph. With rising tensions in the office, Alfred begins to expand life beyond his duties at the bureau and soon meets the extraordinary Florence Keller. As the summer heats up, the bureau cuts ties with a valuable source of information, leaving the Galveston Weather Office blind during the peak of hurricane season. When a telegram warns of a storm in the gulf, Alfred will have to choose between following protocol or trusting his instincts. Whitney Vandiver is an avid reader who wrote her first story when she was eight years old. She is now a bibliophile, with more books than shelves, who writes historical fiction and mysteries. She resides in Pearland, Texas with her spouse and cat.
Galveston Bookshop is located Downtown Galveston at 317 23rd Street, Galveston. For more info call (409)750-8200 or go to galvestonbookshop.com.
The Polar Express™ Train Ride is a theatrical re-creation of the classic children’s story on board a real train. Set to the soundtrack of the motion picture, passengers will relive the magic of the classic story as they are whisked away on the Polar Express for a magical one-hour trip to meet Santa.
Passengers are served hot chocolate and a treat by dancing chefs, enjoy a reading of the book by Chris Van Allsburg, and receive the first gift of Christmas (a silver sleigh bell) after Santa boards the train to greet families. Attendants lead passengers in caroling and fun holiday activities on the return trip to Galveston’s historic depot.
The Polar Express™ Train Ride in Galveston consists of six separate cars pulled by vintage locomotives from the Galveston Railroad Museum’s collection. On board, you will be seated in either Coach or First Class according to your ticket purchase. Every guest will experience the same excitement and wonder of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride.
November 15th-17th, 22nd-24th, 27th, & 29th-30th and & December 1st, 6th-8th, 13th-15th, 20th-22nd, 23rd, and 26th-29th.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday rides will be at 5pm, 6:45pm, and 8:30pm. Sunday matinee are 3:15pm Tickets prices are $27-$75. The Polar Express™ is almost completely sold out.
Tickets are available by calling (320)244-0213 or (409)765-5700 or at galvestonrrmuseum.org/polar-express.
Join a fun and totally cool tour with Galveston Ghost Tours! Several different tours are available:
Walking Historic Galveston Ghost Tour
This walking tour has been conducted since 2009, and no gravestone has been left unturned to bring Haunted Galveston’s history to you. Meet on the corner of Sealy Ave. and 23rd St.
Ghost Bus Tour – Seawall Departure
This is a 10-mile, approximately 60-minute tour of Galveston! You’ll hear from ghost eyewitnesses in their own words. Galveston is well known for its haunted history, and as you visit the Island, you’ll hear stories of hauntings and paranormal activity at locations nearly everywhere you go. For times, costs and such contact: info@GalvestonExperience.com, call (409)741-340, or go to galvestonexperience.com.
More in-depth stories can be heard on the Galveston Ghost Podcast at GalvestonGhostPodcast.com. The Galveston Ghost podcast brings you firsthand interviews in the words of the ghost eyewitnesses. Be sure to subscribe so you are notified when each new episode is released.
Schedules are available at galvestonexperience.com/calendar/.
