Heights Happenings: July 26 - August 1, 2012

I’m late with my post this week. My mom is in town and we are getting some major purging done at the house. Today I dropped off donations at five different locations, including Sand Dollar on Yale, Heights Interfaith Food Pantry, to a mom who brings items to Casa de Esperanza, and to Texas Art Asylum! I hate to generate trash and tend to hold on to things like pieces of my kids toys because I always think “someone, somewhere will be able to use this and keep it from the landfill.” Texas Art Asylum is the place that makes that happen! From used paint to toy parts to old photos to whatever, this quirky shop gives a 2nd life to many things we would otherwise throw away. 

Texas Art Asylum: Cool Stuff for Creative Reuse. 1230 Houston Ave.

Friday, July 27, 9pm: Annika Chambers & The Houston Jazz Band at the Boom Boom Room

• This locally owned and operated wine bar seems to fly under the radar. It’s a great, intimate venue for live music. 
• Wonderful wines and atmosphere. Their brownie dessert is to die for!
• 2518 Yale

Sunday, July 29, 4 pm- 6 pm: "XXY" at 14 Pews

• “For just about everybody, adolescence means having to confront a number of choices and life decisions, but rarely any as monumental as the one facing 15 year-old Alex (Inés Efron,) who was born an intersex child.* As Alex begins to explore her sexuality, her mother invites friends from Buenos Aires to come for a visit at their house on the gorgeous Uruguayan shore, along with their 16-year- old son Álvaro (Martín Piroyanski.) Alex is immediately attracted to the young man, which adds yet another level of complexity to her personal search for identity, and forces both families to face their worst fears.” 
• Theatrical trailer (this acclaimed movie is subtitled)
• Doors open at 3:45PM
• Free parking on street

Wednesday, August 1: Houston Restaurant Weeks kicks off

• Houston Restaurant Week was established in 2003. Now called Houston Restaurant Weeks, the event showcases and promotes Houston's incredible array of fine restaurants while raising money for the Houston Food Bank. Staffed entirely by volunteers, this is an amazing fund raiser for the Food Bank!
• Heights area restaurants include: Glasswall, Shade, Cavatore and Rainbow Lodge
• Restaurants and menus will continue to be added through July 31. 
• More information on their website

OUTSIDE THE HEIGHTS

Saturday, July 28, 6pm: 26^th Annual Watermelon Dance & Summer Social 

• Embrace the fun of summer with local live music and ice cold watermelon; at the same time support 90.1 KPFT listener sponsored radio.
• Hosted by Last Concert Café with music from Premium Blend, Hightailers, Potroast, D.R.U.M., Jimmy Lee Deen and belly dancing from The Tribal Lillies.
• $15-20. You decide.
• 1403 Nance

IN OTHER NEWS

A 2nd Cup Coffee Shop now open and in need of volunteers. 

This not for profit coffee shop on 11th aims to help some of the many people who are taken against their will and trafficked in our city. To maximize how much they can help, they rely on volunteer power. Can you spare some time or your service to help them out?

• Baristas
• Want to help serve the best coffee in Houston? Training required, but don't worry—it's painless. Email Erica to sign up!
• Plumber
• Do you know a Licensed Plumber who would be willing to donate their time to helping us make some changes in the kitchen? Email Erica.
• Accountant
• Do you know an Accountant who would be willing to help us organize our books as we now have a more steady flow of income? Email Erica.

Are you friends with Friends for Life on Facebook?

I’m sure by now you’ve heard about FFL’s new amazing LEED certified, no kill shelter in the Heights. I want to recommend liking their Facebook page for a couple of reasons:

• It’s a great way to find out what their greatest needs are at any one time. You can usually order supplies for the shelter right from their Amazon Wish List. By being a fan on Facebook, you’ll know if their greatest need is pureed baby foods for new kittens, stainless steel feeding bowls, or ink cartridges for their printer. It makes it so easy to support them with in-kind donations.
• You’ll also get the warm and fuzzies with all the photos of successful adoptions, plus updates on some of their most memorable past boarders.