Results tagged “recreationdepartment”

We've been wondering why the Mecom Fountain hasn't been lighted at night lately, and this weekend, the Chronicle had the answer: It's because someone stole the fountain's lighting system, though no one's quite sure when or how they did it. Or, for that matter, when the lights might come on again. The theft was actually pretty amazing: Someone cut through the cables to the lighting system and carted off the fountain's 264 light bulbs and...

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor j-a-x who snaps this great shot during a recent performance at Miller Outdoor Theater. Opened in 1968 with over 1500 covered seats, Miller Outdoor Theater provides free entertainment through the sponsorship of the Houston Parks and Recreation Department, The Miller Theater Advisory Board and various grants. The theater hosts many events including classical theater, ballet, opera and much more. For a complete list of current events check here. See ya on the lawn.

Some good news for local park lovers today: City Council has unanimously agreed to designate Sam Houston Park a protected city landmark. The designation means that Sam Houston Park is protected — or at least as protected as anything gets in Houston — from obliteration by future development; any future action that would alter or threaten the park would have to be approved by the city. The city bought the first part of the park...

Houston is having one hell of an Arbor Day and you too can be a part of it (you just have to get your hands a little on the dirty side). Arbor Day was established in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska. It seems that the Nebraska Territory was not readily settled, due to the lack of trees on the tallgrass prairie (the better to build and heat cabins - log cabins, not grass ones). Hey, if free land won't bring in the settlers, something is seriously amiss! Purportedly, over a million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day, then only a one-state event. Word of how cool planting trees really is spread pretty quickly - considering there were no cell phones "back in the day". The tree-planting holiday was celebrated in every state by 1894.

Men's Fitness maagzine, which ranked Houston No. 5 on its list of America's fattest cities, will visit Houston this weekend as part of a 10-stop tour of the country's fittest and fattest cities. MF fitness experts will be on hand from 6 a.m. to noon Saturday at City Hall to offer diet and exercise tips and subject us to entice us with activities like a jumping jack contest. There'll also be chances to win gyn memberships and athletic gear — which, according to Men's Fitness, none of us will ever use.