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Wednesday Highlights: Dance Hall Music and Engineering!

If you combine Ann's talk about her research process in writing The Promise and the special preview of Houston Grand Opera's The Root of the Wind Is Water at Rosenberg Library, with a Texas Dance Hall performance at Cy-Fair College Library and a talk about The Promise and Engineering at Houston Community College - Felix Fraga Campus , you couldn't ask for a better illustration of the way a single book can open up a world of possibilities for its readers.

Join us for Sweet Evalina and Other Texas Dance Hall Music at Cy-Fair College Library. Pianist and fiddler, Emme Jennings (who just happens to be all of 12 years old) will play selections from The Promise followed by a short demonstration of Texas Dance Hall dances by Kelly Norton and Gary Faulkenberry. The event will be held in the college's ARTS Building Recital Hall 102 on Wednesday, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. (Click here for parking information and detailed directions to the venue).

Wednesday @ Rosenberg Library Ann Weisgarber with a Preview of HGO's The Root of the Wind is Water

On Wednesday, Rosenberg Library will be hosting a special visit from Ann Weisgarber. She will talk about the extensive research on Galveston and the 1900 Storm that she did for her novel--much of which was conducted in that very library, so it will be a homecoming of sorts. What is more, the program will open with a special preview of Houston Grand Opera's The Root of the Wind is Water which tells the story of a woman who refuses to leave her home as a hurricane surges toward Galveston. It draws on the legacy of the 1900 storm as well as Hurricane Ike.

Afternoon Tea, Popular Dances of 1900 & More

 

Many of our programs have focused, for obvious reasons, on the 1900 Galveston Storm and its historical significance as well as the role it plays in The Promise. Friday, we will be offering a little taste of what life might have been like for Catherine Wainwright as the rising young pianist in the rising, young city of Dayton, Ohio.

Volunteer instructors from the T. E. Harman Senior Center in Sugar Land will demonstrate dances that were popular at the turn of the 20th century. Put on your dancing shoes, grab you partner and join us at Ft Bend County – Sugar Land Branch Library, 550 Eldridge, Friday, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Take a Tour Through Gulf Coast Reads

museum of fine arts houstonYou might not be aware that on any Thursday in the month of October you can explore art AND literature at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston!  Free book and art tours, connecting The Promise to art in the Museum's galleries, are still available at the dates and times listed below.  RSVP to bookclub@mfah.org and convene in the lobby of the Audrey Jones Beck Building at 5601 Main Street.  Please bring your copy of the book.

  • Thursday, October 15, 2015 at 1:30 PM
  • Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 6:30 PM
  • Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 10:30 AM

Crafts for Kids (and Grownups, Too)!

If you haven't yet made it to a Gulf Coast Reads program, what are you waiting for? Here are some of Wednesday’s Gulf Coast Reads programs: kids can make mermaid crowns or picture frames from seashells at Harris County – North Channel Branch Library, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. Grownups can mosey on over to Harris County – Kingwood Branch to make their own music and beach-themed trinket box at 6:30 p.m. We're not sure how, but Ann is still going strong and will be visiting Clear Lake City – County Freeman Branch Library to talk about The Promise with you and friends, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m., so please make plans to join us. Her visit is sponsored by Clear Creek ISD and the Freeman Branch Library.

It's All About the Book - The Promise

little free libraryWe're almost at the halfway point for this year's Gulf Coast Reads month and we hope you've had the chance to attend at least one event.  If you haven't, tomorrow - Tuesday, October 13th - you will have the chance to attend a musical evening at Brazoria County's Sweeny Library or meet author Ann Weisgarber at the George Memorial Library in Fort Bend County or hear Linda Mcdonald share stories of the Great 1900 Storm at Harris County Public Library's Evelyn Meador Branch.  We're learning about the storm, the history, the music and dance, the food - and so much more!

All of the activities for the month are based around The Promise, and we're taking this opportunity to remind you to read or finish reading the book and get involved in a local book discussion group.  We've got plenty listed on the Gulf Coast Reads Events Calendar, but you can also share the book with your neighborhood book club, family or friends.  Let's all get #gulfcoastreading!

The Galveston Storm from Many Different Perspectives

Clear Lake City – County Freeman Branch Library’s TGIF program this week is The 1900 Hurricane in Words & Pictures presented by Andrew Coleman, Historian, Digital Projects and Interpretations for the Galveston Historical Foundation. The event will be held in the Community Room of Freeman Branch Library located at 16616 Diana Lane. Friday, October 9. 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

On Saturday, Lisa May, Director of Archives & Records for the Archdiocese of Galveston – Houston will give a talk on the 1900 Storm’s impact on area churches and the storm’s destruction of St. Mary’s Orphanage where ninety children and ten of their Sisters of Charity caregivers perished.  La Porte Community Library, 600 South Broadway. Saturday, October 10. 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Wednesday Highlight Programs

Galveston, Oh, Galveston: Wednesday morning at Lone Star College – CyFair Branch Library, Ann will talk about the extensive research she did to give The Promise both its factual accuracy and period detail, as well as about how the 1900 Storm forever changed Galveston and Houston. The event will be held in the Library’s meeting room 101, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. 

Historically Speaking: Hurricanes of Houston

Houston History MagazineJoin us on Tuesday, October 6th, from 5:30 - 7:00 PM at the University of Houston's Student Center Ballroom to hear a panel of experts on Houston's hurricanes, including Houston’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Former Mayor Bill White; Dr. David Persse, Medical Director for Houston EMS; Dr. Neil Frank, former Director of the National Hurricane Center and Chief Meteorologist at KHOU; and Diana Rodriguez, Administrative Coordinator for Houston EMS, will take part along with the magazine’s editor-in-chief and Houston historian Joe Pratt. 

This panel is presented by University of Houston - Houston History in conjunction with the annual Gulf Coast Reads program. Author Ann Weisgarber will be on hand to introduce The Promise and her research as part of the panel.

 

Author Talk in Pasadena & Through a Night of Horrors: the 1900 Galveston Storm at Spring Branch Memorial

Look up ‘peripatetic’ in the dictionary and you may find a picture of Ann Weisgarber. Then again, you may not, because, if it’s anything like the flesh and blood Ann, it will probably be visiting another page of the dictionary—perhaps over in the W’s at ‘wayfaring’ or maybe the M’s for ‘mundivagant.’

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