Happy Earth Day!

 

April 22, 2007

Join us this weekend for the party at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center!

 

Biking Around

 

Alejandra Garrido

The MS-150 from Houston to Austin is Saturday, April 21st and Sunday, 22nd marking the finale of months of grueling training for bikers of the greater Houston area. This year 13,000 riders will be participating in the 180-mile ride that benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.   Monday, April 16, was packet-pickup at Memorial Park. The festivities, sponsored by the MS Society’s Lone Star Chapter, started at 11 a.m. and continued through 7 p.m. on the park’s Picnic Loop.

 

Memorial Park is widely known as a place to walk and run; however, many cyclists train at Picnic Loop.  On any given afternoon you can witness packs of cyclists zooming by on their road bikes, practicing group riding and preparing for organized rides such as the MS 150.  Picnic Loop is a figure eight and is approximately one-mile long.  

 

Last year’s Houston to Austin MS 150 ride raised $11.4 million, and this year’s goal is $12 million. As of April 19, 50% of that goal has been attained.  

Gus Correa

This year, two of our own will be participating in the Houston to Austin ride: Memorial Park Conservancy board member Regina Garcia and Alejandra Garrido, staff member at the Conservancy.  Regina is a long-time supporter of Houston biking, and has been involved in the establishment of many of the bike trails and lanes seen around town.  Alejandra, new to road cycling, will be riding the MS 150 for the first time with her father, Gus Correa, on Team Shell.  Alejandra and her father have been training since early this year, taking part in organized rides, as well as on their own at Memorial, Terry Hershey and George Bush parks.  

Cyclists are encouraged to begin training in January and to work up to 180+ miles per week.  We wish Regina, Alejandra, and all the cyclists a safe and fun ride! 

    

Bayou City Arts Festival

The Bayou City Arts Festival celebrated its tenth year in Memorial Park, on March 23 - 25th.  Three hundred artists from around the country gathered to show and sell the work under the canopy at Picnic Loop.  Works included sculpture, paintings, jewelry, and ceramics.  A party on Saturday night celebrated the dedicated work of Executive Director, Lynette Wallace.

 

The featured festival artist was Michael McKee, a impressionist watercolorist from Illinois.  His painting, "Fragrant Twilight", became the iconic symbol of the festival.  With vibrant reds and oranges, the colorful landscape posters were displayed throughout the city.  An estimated 21,000 people attended the three-day event. 

 

The Museum of Fine Arts hosted the Creative Zone, where children had the opportunity to get in touch with their inner artist.  Memorial Park Conservancy as well as The Orange Show, The Museum of Contemporary Arts and Crafts, MECA, and the Art Colony Association co-hosted the event by providing arts and crafts.  Memorial Park Conservancy and volunteers from Prairie View A&M University, AT&T Pioneers, Alief High School, Clements High School and many individual volunteers helped young future artists make feather art.  Key supporters included:  Houston Chronicle, Channel 2 KPRC, Smooth Jazz 95.7, The Wave, The City of Houston, Art Colony Association, Budweiser Select, David Powers Homes, Houston Arts Alliance, Burt’s Bees and Houston Parks and Recreation Department.

 

Besides Bayou City Art Festival Memorial Park, the Art Colony Association also produces Bayou City Art Festival Downtown and The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival annually.  To learn more about the festivals visit www.bayoucityartfestival.com.

 

Thank you!

 

We would like to thank our donors for supporting our efforts in community building and preserving Houston’s premier green space:

$25,000+

Anonymous

$10,000-24,999

Susan Vaughan Foundation

$3,000-9,999

Bank of River Oaks

The Honorable James A. Baker, III

Hobby Family Foundation

$2,500-2,999

The Alkek and Williams Foundation

Fayez Sarofim & Co.

Mr. Stephen C. Costello

WCA Waste Corporation

$1,000-2,499

Beck’s Prime

Cobb Fendley & Associates

Crestood Garden Club

Mr. Preston Moore, Jr.

Mr. Oliver Pennington

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Talbert

Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Wilson

$1-999

Mr. Bolivar C. Andrews

Dr. Norman L. Berkman

Ms. Barbara Claiborn

Mr. Curtis Connell

Debner + Company

Mr. Samuel R. Dodson, III

Ms. Nancy Douglas

County Commissioner Jerry Eversole

Mr. and Mrs. Royce G. Imhoff, II

Mr. Alan Jacobson

Mr. Robert A. Johnston

Ms. Linda Knowles

Mr. Bruce Kyckelhahn

Mr. Brent Larsen

Ms. Carter Lee

Mr. Gary Levering

Ms. Ruth Milburn

Mr. Timothy Opatrny

Mr. and Mrs. Bill Owens

Mr. George Peterkin, Jr.

Mr. Charles E. Sheedy

Mr. Frank C. Shelden

Thompson + Hanson

Ms. Caroline Vetterling

(These gifts have been received between January 16 - April 19, 2007)
 

Fore the Park!

 

Memorial Park Conservancy’s 2^nd Annual Golf Tournament is right around the corner.  This year Honoree Harold Wiesenthal and his friends are looking forward to a sunny day on one of the country’s top courses.We are looking forward to seeing returning players and to meet new ones.

 

In attendance will be city and state golf champion, Robert McKinney.  We are honored to have Robert as our guest at the tournament as he is a fan of the course, he says he "takes every opportunity to play Memorial Park and that it is one of the country’s best courses. Memorial Park Golf Course is large enough to challenge a skilled player as well as gives beginners a chance to learn."  The grounds are immaculately kept and the new shade structure over the driving range will keep guests coming back.  Robert is the designer behind this new structure.  He also credits a fine and friendly staff with his frequent return visits.

 

Hole-in-one prize packages at par 3’s include:

• Sharp LCD Flat-Screen Television
• Set of Big Bertha Irons from Callaway Golf
• Roundtrip Domestic Airline Tickets for Two

Courtesy of Tommie Vaughan Ford, we offer a new 2007 Mustang to anyone making a hole-in-one.  If your company would like to support or if you have auction items to donate or wish to play, please contact Alejandra@memorialparkconservancy.org.  Registration available online - $250 pp. Proceeds benefit the ongoing efforts to support the Master Plan for enhancements of Memorial Park. So get a team together and let’s play a round of 18 for the Park!

 

Park Points

 

It is a little known fact that what is today Memorial Park was once part of the 7,600-acre World War I military base Camp Logan.  In 1919 the camp was closed and its hospital entrusted to the Public Health Service to care for the remaining wounded soldiers.  In 1923 the hospital was closed and the training area was abandoned.  Later that year, Houston Chronicle columnist Ilona B. Benda wrote about Camp Logan, the soldiers who trained there and about "the sacrifices they had made for their country and for Houston".  Her column inspired Ms. Catharine Mary Emmott (Emmott Circle, Houston Arboretum) to write a letter to the Chronicle, suggesting that the abandoned Camp Logan be turned into a park "in memory of the boys".  In 1924, in response to her dedicated efforts to lobby the community, the Hogg family gave the land at cost to the City of Houston to remain a park in perpetuity. Total cost was $250,000, making the cost per acre approximately $166 - today the land is valued at over $1 billion. The exemplary vision and philanthropy of these few citizens is appreciated by thousands of park users daily.

Memberships are always welcome. Your gifts help Memorial Park Conservancy share the value of preserving this premiere park land with the community and encourage future enhancements. See our website for details of what those are and how you can help. www.memorialparkconservancy.org

Thank you for your support of Memorial Park!