Daily -ist List: Friday

Spend the Night on Blue Bayou

Join the Buffalo Bayou Partnership tonight as they kick-off a year long series of stargazing, boat rides, storytelling and more along the Sabine-to-Bagby Promenade. The newest addition (and possibly our favorite) to the Buffalo Bayou hike and bike and trails, gives Houstonians multiple access points to bayou canoeing.

The awarding-winning, and might we add, spectacular-looking, unique blue lighting creates a much needed outdoor friendly environment for nearby downtown, midtown, 4th and 6th ward residents. The lights, designed by artist Stephen Korns and international lighting firm L’Observatoire, brighten the bridges, trails and water of the park with a blue-to-white color scheme changing in tandem with the phases of the moon. Outdoor art projects sprinkle the area between Allen Parkway and Memorial, near the Sabine Bridge.

Activities tonight include The Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Discovery Dome, as well as bayou boat rides for anyone over 4 years old. Bring a picnic or purchase food and drinks on site. Blankets and lawnchairs, canoes or kayaks are encouraged for optimal stargazing.

About The Buffalo Bayou Partnership
In 1984 Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire appointed a task force to study Buffalo Bayou and to develop a realistic strategy for its development. The result of the task force’s two-year effort was the Buffalo Bayou Master Plan, published in 1986. In addition to outlining conceptual redevelopment designs for Buffalo Bayou, the task force proposed the establishment of a non-profit authority to implement its recommendations. Created in 1986, the Buffalo Bayou Partnership is a coalition of civic, environmental, governmental and business representatives whose director nominees are confirmed by the Mayor of Houston and Harris County Judge. The 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation is responsible for developing and facilitating improvements to the Buffalo Bayou greenway system.

In the past seven years, the Partnership has raised and leveraged over $45 million for improvements along a 10-mile stretch of Buffalo Bayou from Shepherd Dr. to the Turning Basin. These improvements have included a 20-year master plan, Buffalo Bayou and Beyond, three miles of trails east of downtown, Sesquicentennial Park, the North Side Trail, and the purchase of over 35 acres of land in the East End for park lands.