Cy-Fair Lifestyles and Homes magazine Dec 2009: The Woodlands Calendar of Events1

Start the holiday with
a taffeta christmas, dec. 3-13

The Taffeta sisters are back by popular demand with a musical hometown Christmas celebration Dec. 3-13 at Lone Star College-CyFair.

This all-girl, all-singing, all-dancing good time for the whole family is set in Muncie, Ind., in the 1950s, when the four Taffeta sisters debut a weekly variety series, Hometown Hoedown, on the Dupont Television Network with classics such as I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, Sincerely and Secret Love.

A $5 preview performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3, with 8 p.m. performances on Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. matinees on Sundays. All performances will be in the Main Stage Theatre of the Center for Arts on the Barker Cypress campus. For information or to purchase tickets, call 281-290-5201 or go to www.lonestar.edu/boxoffice.

job search seminars, dec. 3, 17

Workforce Solutions will present two free workshops at the Barbara Bush Branch in December. The library is located at 6817 Cypresswood Drive in Spring.

Internet Resources will be presented on Dec. 3 from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. in the Earl Elliott Meeting Room. Use the Internet effectively in your job search and research labor market information to identify occupations that are growing and have openings. Learn how to write an effective cover letter on Dec. 17 from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. in the Robin Bush Activity Room. Call 281-376-4610 for more information. No registration is required.

houston family arts center
presents a Christmas carol,
Dec. 4-19

This family-friendly musical version of Charles Dickens’ timeless holiday classic, A Christmas Carol, will touch your soul and brighten your holiday season with its message of kindness and redemption. A Christmas Carol is the classic tale about miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who pays his clerk Bob Cratchit only15 shillings a week, is rude to his nephew and refuses to take part in the Christmas spirit. Soon, the ghosts of his former business partner Jacob Marley and of Christmas Past, Present and Future all pay visits to Scrooge. causing him to change his life and become a generous, kind-hearted soul.

All performances will be held at the Berry Center, 8877 Barker-Cypress Road. For tickets, call 281-685-6374 or go to www.houstonfac.com to select your seats.

kleb woods nature
center senior activities, beginning dec. 4

A Senior Bus Trip is planned for birding at the Attwater National Wildlife Refuge and the Katy Prairie on Dec. 4 and to Williamson County to search for Mountain Plover, Burrowing Owl and Longspurs on Jan. 22.

An old fashioned Christmas tree decorating party at Cypress Top Juergen Hall will be held on Dec. 10. Check out the many activities at the Nature Center and Cypress Top Historical Park. For more information and a schedule of activities, go to www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/cypresstophistoric.
aspx?calendar.

Community Open House
at Barbara Bush Branch Library, Dec. 5

The Barbara Bush Branch Library Friends will sponsor the 7th Annual Community Open House at the Barbara Bush Branch Library on Dec. 5 from 2 p.m.-4 p.m. in the Earl Elliott Meeting Room. Local schools will provide musical entertainment during the open house.

Children will enjoy “Winter Celebrations” at 2 p.m. with Lisa Jastram and Mick Corley. This program highlights winter holiday traditions from around the world. Also stop in for Make and Take Crafts from 3 p.m.-4 p.m. in the Robin Bush Activity
room. Call 281-376-4610 for more information.

symphony north of
houston concert, dec. 6

Symphony North of Houston will celebrate the sounds of the holiday season with a free concert on Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. at Northwood ’s Presbyterian Church. Admission is free, but donations are welcome.

Under the direction of conductor Dr. Reynaldo Ochoa, Symphony North of Houston is in its 35th season, presenting quality performances of orchestral music to the residents of North Houston. Visit www.symphonynorth.org for more
information or for sponsorship
opportunities.

BEGINNING DEC 04

Downtown’s Second Annual Holiday Spectacular

Downtown Houston will deck the halls this holiday season with the second annual Downtown Holiday Spectacular, a seasonal celebration filled with family traditions and community events.

From the Heritage Society’s Annual Candlelight Tour and Nutcracker ballet, to ice skating at Discovery Green and holiday trolleys, traditions both old and new are perfectly packaged to draw Houstonians and visitors to downtown throughout the season.

The Holiday Green Market returns on Sundays, skating with Santa on Saturdays and the Silver Screen holiday movies series on Thursdays.

This is also a year of special anniversaries, as the City of Houston will celebrate the 90th Annual Holiday Show and Mayor ’s Tree Lighting on Friday, Dec. 4.

For more information, go to www.houstondowntown.com.

NOW SHOWING

Disney’s A Christmas Carol now showing at Wortham IMAX® Theatre

’Tis the season for “The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come.” A thrilling new vision of one of the most beloved holiday classics of all time, Disney ’s A Christmas Carol is now showing at the Houston Museum of Natural Science Wortham IMAX Theatre. Digitally re-mastered into the unparalleled image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience through proprietary IMAX DMR technology, Disney ’s A Christmas Carol, an IMAX 3D experience, debuted concurrently with the nationwide theatrical release.

Through the all-encompassing power of IMAX 3D, movie-goers will reach for the falling snowflakes, feel the rumble of the horse-drawn carriages over the cobblestone streets and soar with Scrooge high above the London night sky. With crystal clear images, laser-aligned digital sound and maximized field of view, IMAX puts you in the movie.

Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey) begins the Christmas holiday with his usual miserly contempt, barking at his faithful clerk (Gary Oldman) and his cheery nephew (Colin Firth). Scrooge later encounters the ghost of his dead business partner Joseph Marley, who ’s paying the price in the afterlife for his own callousness. Marley hopes to help Scrooge avoid a similar fate and tells him he will be visited by three spirits. But when the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come take Old Scrooge on an eye-opening journey revealing he ’s reluctant to face, he must open his heart to undo years of ill will before it’s too late.

For tickets or more information, visit www.hmns.org or call 713-639-4629.

BEGINNING DEC 04

heights holiday home tour

The 2009 Houston Heights Association Holiday Home Tour will be held on Dec. 4-5. The Houston Heights Association event, is a great opportunity to peek inside remarkable homes that represent the architectural integrity and diversity of this eclectic neighborhood. This year ’s collection includes a Queen Anne-style home built in 1898, two 1920 Craftsman bungalows, a 1919 Victorian and Craftsman-style abode, and three recently constructed homes.

Decked out in their finest for the holidays, the tour homes will have docents on duty to point out the rich history, architecture, distinctive features and decorations of each home.

Home tours will take place on Friday, Dec. 4, from 6 p.m.-9 p.m.; and Saturday, Dec. 5, from 3 p.m.-9 p.m.

Explore this charming neighborhood with its nationally renowned antiques and vintage clothing shops, art galleries, eclectic boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. Eat, drink, shop and be merry with Mistletoe Madness in full swing on Saturday. Visitors are encouraged to come early, browse, shop and enjoy the local restaurants that feature some of Houston ’s finest chefs.

Advance tickets are $17 and are available online at www.houstonheights.org and at several Houston Heights locations including Another Place in Time, Buchanan ’s Native Plants, Eclectic Home, The Artful Corner and Waldo’s Coffee House.

Tickets purchased the days of the tour are $20 for all seven homes or $5 for each individual home and will be available at the Heights Fire Station at 107 W. 12th and Yale Streets, and at each of the homes. Tickets purchased online may be picked up at the will-call booth at the Fire Station during the tour.