November 24th-December 31st (6-10pm): Downtown Lasers & Lights – Galveston’s historic downtown district will host Downtown Lasers & Lights featuring new laser shows, a magical display of lights and other holiday-themed attractions in Saengerfest Park and beyond. Highlights at Saengerfest Park include a 30-feet-tall Christmas tree and a giant snow globe for visitors to enjoy on weekends. In addition, lights will be hung on The Strand from 20th to 25th streets as well as along 23rd and Postoffice Streets. The 36-block district will sparkle with lasers and lights while visitors enjoy boutique shopping, dining, antiques, art galleries and more. New this year, four-hour holiday laser shows synchronized to music will be projected on the American National Insurance Company Building on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through December 22nd. While in the area, visitors can tackle some of their holiday shopping at the district’s many gift shops, boutiques, art galleries, and antique shops set among beautiful Victorian architecture. This is free to attend.
June 12th-13th, July 10th-11th, August 7th-8th, September 11th-12th, November 13th-14th, December 11th-12th (6pm): Ghost Tour Dinner: Dine with the Ghosts at Hotel Galvez – Do you believe in ghosts? Hotel Galvez & Spa, 2024 Seawall Blvd., invites guests to learn more about the paranormal during its “Dinner with the Ghosts” tour. During the tour, the hotel’s concierge guides participants through the ghostly past of the hotel, which is considered one of the most haunted places in Galveston. The tour begins at 6pm and is followed by dinner at Galvez Bar & Grill. Priced at $56 per person (inclusive of tax and server gratuity), the one-hour public ghost tour is only available as part of the ghost dinner package. Advance reservations are required. For reservations call (409)765-7721. Hotel Galvez and its ghosts have been featured on “Ghost Lab” on the Discovery Channel and “Ghost Stories” on The Travel Channel.
Do you believe in ghosts? Hotel Galvez & Spa offers a monthly “Dinner with the Ghosts.” During the tour, the hotel’s concierge guides participants through the ghostly past of the hotel followed by a three-course dinner in the Galvez Bar & Grill. Priced at $65 per person (inclusive of tax and gratuity), the one-hour public ghost tour followed by dinner is only available as part of the ghost dinner package. The tour begins at 6 p.m. and guests should check-in at the concierge desk beginning at 5:30 p.m. Advance reservations are required. For reservations, please call (409) 765-7721. Hotel Galvez and its ghosts are featured on “Ghost Lab” on the Discovery Channel and “Ghost Stories” on The Travel Channel.
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
Moody Gardens is located at 1 Hope Blvd. in Galveston. For more info or tickets go to moodygardens.com.
Starting November 16th-January 12th, Holiday in the Gardens will take place. As the largest holiday destination in the Southwest, Moody Gardens offers more holiday attractions, activities, festive fun, dining and hotel packages than you can imagine.
The eight Holiday Attractions at Moody Gardens are Ice Land: Christmas Around the World, Festival of Lights, Cirque Joyeux, Holiday 3D Films, Rudolph 4D, Ice Skating, Arctic Slide, Train Rides, and Photos with Santa plus live entertainment, great food, group rates, hotel packages and more!
There will also be ice skating, an arctic slide, photos with Santa, train rides and more.
Tickets are available in all kinds of combo packages as well as individual packages. Moody Gardens has SUPER Value Days for Bigger Discounts at Holiday in the Gardens! Admission starts at just $8.95 for Festival of Lights and $19.95 for ICE LAND with an additional $5 off for seniors and children at ICE LAND on these special days. For more information, including a calendar of Super Value Days, go to moodygardens.com/holiday_season/plan_your_visit.
Hours are 10am-10pm for Iceland daily. Festival of Lights is 6-10pm daily. Christmas day Iceland will open at 12 noon.
There is a live IceLand webcam set up at moodygardens.com/iceland_tent/ so that you can see Ice Land: Christmas Around the World come to life.
On view November 23rd- February 23rd at Galveston Arts Center will be “Amber Eagle: Nap Dreams.”
There will be an Opening Reception Saturday, November 30th, 6-9pm with an Artist Talk at 6:30pm.
Amber Eagle is an artist based in Houston, TX and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. Eagle received an MFA from the California College of the Arts and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. She was a Core Fellow with the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and has been an artist in residence at The Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA, The McColl Center, Charlotte, NC, The Portland College of Arts and Crafts in Oregon, and Lawndale Art Center, Houston. Eagle has spent extensive time in Mexico following an initial award from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County to research fiestas and sugar sculpting traditions. Her work has been featured in exhibitions throughout North America and is included in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and Five Points Museum of Contemporary Art, Victoria, as well as public art installations in Houston’s East End and Cherryhurst House, Houston. Eagle is an accomplished art car artist whose cars Our Lady of Transportation and Rosebud have received awards at the Houston Art Car Parade. For more info on the artist, go to ambereagle.studio. For more information on this exhibition, please visit galvestonartscenter.org/exhibitions/ambereagle.
Galveston Arts Center continues on exhibit “Undercover,” a solo exhibition by Venezuelan-born and Houston-based artist Gerardo Rosales. 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.
Also on view through November 17th is Erin Curtis’ “Night and Day” in the main gallery on the first floor. 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. For more info go to erinelizabethcurtis.com.
These exhibitions are supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
The galleries are open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-5pm, and Sunday 12 noon-5pm. Admission is free at all times.
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.
Every Thursday 3-6pm and Sunday 9am-12 noon (note new summer hours), Galveston’s Own Farmers Market is held at The Bryan Museum Gardens, located at 1315 21st St. Come to the beautiful Conservatory and botanical gardens to relax and enjoy time and conversation with friends, family, and museum staff while shopping for locally grown produce, prepared foods, and edible farm products, plus live music, yoga, massage, crafting and Kids Corner!
The Thursday market features all of the perks that you’ve come to expect at the market plus the added charms of the Bryan Museum’s “Wine at the Bryan” weekly event.
Thirsty Thursdays is every 3rd Thursday wherein Galveston Island Brewing donates beers first-come, first-serve to our market customers. They shop, sip and stroll the market while exploring the museum grounds & buying local foods.
The Sunday market also features wonderful goods and the charm of Bryan’s courtyard. It is always free to browse and most events are FREE to participate.
At every market, there will be:
- Live music
- A chance to learn more about The Bryan Museum
- FREE recycling with Keepin’ It Green: Every week, they accept your clean, rinsed recyclable plastics, glass, aluminum and paper/cardboard. KIG comes to pick it up every week aftermarket.
- Family-friendly activities sponsored by partners like Rosenberg Library, Galveston Island State Park, Galveston Island Humane Society, etc.
GOFM is always “BYOC” – bring your own cup. They have eliminated single-use cups for the free Sunday morning coffee station and Thursday water station. Support the initiative by cleaning out your cupboards and donating unwanted mugs to market for others to use.
Second Thursday each Month (4-7 pm): Free Family Fun Night – The monthly Free Family Night will be a night of fun for the whole family! Visitors will gain FREE admission 4-7pm. A variety of free activities will be available.
The Galveston Children’s Museum is an Island resource that attracts families and serves the community with fun for children in all areas of education, and offers self-directed activities promoting science, literacy, math, and the arts. It showcases dynamic exhibits targeting a primary focus group of children ages 2-10 and conducts special programming for children of all ages.
Exhibits are “Our Town,” “Kid’s Clinic,” “Building Zone,” “A Stroke of Genius,” “Tinker Workshop,” “Explore & Discover,” “Now Starring You,” and “A Room to Grow.”
The Galveston Children’s Museum is located at 2618 Broadway St., Galveston. Summer hours are Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm, and Sunday 12 noon-5pm through August 19th. For more info go to galvestoncm.org or call (409)572-2544.
