Obama, Peanuts, Mushrooms and Airplanes

This weekend is shaping up to be quite a weekend full of events.

Starting on Friday, Obama is in town. (which for me and my family means we’re staying home…we don’t like traffic in town)

The Presidential Forum on Service will be broadcast live on KAMU-TV on channel 12.1, Suddenlink cable channel 700 and channel 4, and on campus cable channel 82. It will also be streamed live on the web at http://kamu.tamu.edu “Watch Now” and at www.georgebushfoundation.org.

More info here

Also Friday and through Saturday – Madisonville Mushroom Festival

Wine tasting, dancing, arts, crafts, food, kids zone, 5k run/walk, auto showcase, auction…fun.

[more info here]

Saturday – Grapeland Peanut Festival

The festival is held every year on the second Saturday in October.  The festivities include a parade held on Main Street in historic downtown Grapeland as well as food, arts & crafts booths, live entertainment and more at the Grapeland City Park. The festivities are topped off with the Peanut Queen’s Coronation Saturday evening.

Grapeland is NorthEast on 21 to Crockett, then North on 19 to Grapeland.

Saturday – Coulter Field Air Show

Featuring performances by an acrobatic pilot and formation flights from modern and World War II aircraft.

The event will be held Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, but parking is $5.
There will be food vendors and activities for children.
For more information, call Carl Preston at 412-1611.

Aggie First Practice

If you are a student or an alumni, or even faculty at A&M, you can show your student ID, your Faculty ID, or even your aggie ring, and get in to watch the first practice of the season tonight at 6:30pm at the Coolidge practice fields. If you are a high school coach, you can get in too by showing your coaching card.

Sounds like fun. Remember, no cameras.

What to do In Bryan/College Station on July 4th, 2009

So, July 4th is upon us again. It’s hot, no sign of the heat lessening, and everything seems to be outside of the 4th, so be careful, wear sunscreen, drink lots of water, you know, all that safety stuff.

As far as fireworks, there’s a burn ban in effect, so you’ll have to ask the fireworks merchants what the restrictions are.

So, we haven’t decided what we’re going to do, but there are plenty of things to do this year. I’ve done a bit of research and found some great, fun sounding activities for Independence day. Some of you might actually be in the same place as me this weekend.

I’ll start with the Tried and True events that happen every year:

George Bush Library

For the tenth year, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum will host the College Station Lions Club’s annual Fourth of July Celebration, “I Love America.” This is the 49th year for this community event. The Museum will open at 9:30 a.m. and extend their hours until 8:30 p.m. Admission to the Museum on the Fourth of July is free for everyone all day. Historical characters will be mingling with the crowd to pose for photographs and answer questions about their distinguished careers. Live entertainment, concessions, and games for the children will all begin at 5:30 p.m. The evening will culminate with a spectacular fireworks display and concert by the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. People are encouraged to come early and bring their lawn chairs, picnic baskets and blankets. Please no glass containers!

Parking is available to the public at the West Campus Parking Garage on the Texas A&M University campus. Shuttles will begin running at 4:30 p.m. from the garage to the Museum. Handicapped parking is available in Lot 41 in front of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum entrance.

For more information, please call (979) 691-4068.

Washington on the Brazos

Celebrate America’s independence on the site where Texas declared her independence!  Enjoy a full day of festivities on Tuesday, July 4th at the “Birthplace of Texas,” Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site.  Admission to the Park is free, and activities will be held from 10:00a.m. until 10:00p.m.

Children can participate in period games from the late 1800’s beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Free Blue Bell ice cream and free Coca-Cola drinks will be served at 7:00p.m. At 8:00p.m. relax with a picnic and listen to the Houston Symphonic Band perform patriotic favorites. The highlight of the celebration begins at approximately 9:15p.m. when HEB presents Fireworks-on-the-Brazos – an enormous fireworks extravaganza that can be viewed from all locations within the 293 acre park.

Visitors can tour historic sites within the park during the day, including Barrington Living History Farm, Independence Hall, and the Star of the Republic Museum.  Regular admission/tour fees apply. Call 936-878-2214 for tour hours and fees.

Food vendors will offer a variety of food choices on-site.  Visitors may wish to bring picnics, blankets or lawn chairs, and flashlights.  State park rules apply; alcohol prohibited.

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site is located halfway between Brenham and Navasota on State Hwy. 105, approximately one hour northwest of Houston.  Directions and more information are available by calling 936-878-2214.

Family Movie Opening this week: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs…Opening Wednesday the 1st of July…here are more movie times. Looks like it’s in 3D. We watched Bolt in 3D And it was pretty cool. Toy Story 3 is gonna be 3D. Up is still playing…if you haven’t watched Up, go watch that. I cried within the first 30 minutes…great movie. We didn’t watch it in 3D, but I heard it was really fantastic in 3D.

Here are some other things that might interest you:

Soggy Bottom ATV Ranch

Independence Day, Picnic at the Lake [more]
* Come hang out, listen to music and enjoy all the activities, celebrating the birth of our proud nation.
* 4 on 4 Water Volleyball Tournament, Prizes to be given.
* Washers Tournament
* Free hot dogs and sodas while supplies last.
* Bring your fireworks and let’s have a blast!
* Regular park hours, gates will open at 8 AM on Thursday and close Sunday at dark.
* Normal Park Rates Apply
* Mud Races

Live Music:

Stafford Downtown Bryan: Reverend J Goodin and Bulletproof Brown – 9pm

Other Events:

Aquablast at the Bryan Aquatic Center. Celebrating their 25th Birthday from 1-7pm $3 admission.  For more information call 979-209-5222

Triumph Homeschool Community: 4th of July Picnic! Cornerstone Acres, 5105 Wallis Road beginning 6:30 p.m. [more]

Traditions Club House: Food and Fun. Live music by Elmo Weedon (Traditions memebers only)

JJ’s Snow Cones: Don’t forget to stop by to get an ice cold yummy snow cone.

5th of July

Texas World Speedway: Fireworks, Miata Ride Along, Vintage Indy Car races, Burn out contest, 5K Fun Run. Check it out.

Have fun!

Buy One Get One Free McCafe Coffee

Many of you may know this, but I thought I’d post it anyway. Between 2pm and 4pm on weekdays, you can get 2 coffee drinks for the price of one. If you haven’t already, try the iced mocha. It’s pretty good.

Also, ask for the punch cards. If you buy I think 4 you get a fifth one free, and there’s a coupon for a free one too. You can even try asking for more…tell them you are giving them to friends.

Enjoy.

Free “Bring Your Own Lunch” Rock Concert

There will be a free outdoor concert featuring the music of Elmo Weedon on Friday. A great way to enjoy the weather and listen to some live music, FOR FREE! Be sure to bring a lunch.

Location: The Matthews Group – Studio A loading dock (On the corner of Lake and Maloney in Bryan…across the street from Tops Printing)

Date: Friday, April 24th from 12:00pm to 1:30pm

Featuring: Elmo Weedon

You can find out more about Elmo Weedon at: www.elmoweedonmusic.com

Get directions at google maps

Leave work, skip class, stop studying, wake up, whatever you are doing, it’s not as important as coming out and watching a free Elmo Weedon Concert.

See you there.

Jorge

(actually, “Jorge”, you know, the author of this blog, is one of the electric guitarists in the band, so if you ever wanted to meet Jorge, here’s your chance. Come up and say hi, throw a french fry at him or something. He’s the guy with the black guitar.)