Waterway Arts Festival Ranked in Top 100

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival has earned a spot on the "Top 100 for 2010" festival listing by Art Fair Source Book, the definitive guide to the best juried art and craft fairs in the United States.

The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival ranked number 68 out of 564 festivals nationwide in the Fine Art and Fine Craft category based on net average sales per artist.

To be held the weekend of April 10-11, 2010 in The Woodlands Town Center along the banks of The Woodlands Waterway, this year‚s festival will feature approximately 200 fine arts and crafts artists selected to exhibit in this juried show. Over 674 artists applied this year.

„We are extremely proud to be named among the Top 100 list of festivals in the nation,‰ said Brenda Gottlieb, festival executive director for The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. „In just five years, we‚ve achieved a great reputation within the short amount of time we‚ve been in business. That success is attributed to the great setting that the Waterway offers, as well as the contributions from our generous sponsors and dedicated volunteers. We look forward to another record turnout in April and encourage the community and visitors alike to come out and discover great art.‰

The festival will feature national and regional artists in 14 mediums selling their original creations, including clay, drawing, fiber, furniture, glass, jewelry, leather, metal, mixed media 2D and 3D, painting, pastel, photography, sculpture, textile, watercolor, and wood.

Festival hours are 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults. Children 12 and under are admitted free of charge. Two-day tickets are $15. Proceeds from the festival benefit local charity partners including The Pavilion Partners, The Woodlands Art League and The Woodlands Children's Museum.

The festival stretches along the beautiful Woodlands Waterway from The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center alongside The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and culminates at Town Green Park.

Guests will enjoy ample free parking, close parking for $5 in The Pavilion Garage, water taxi and trolley service, concessions within the festival site and an array of eateries and shops within walking distance of the event. Features of the festival include interactive art activities for children in Town Green Park such as „Artopoly‰ provided by The Woodlands Art League and The Woodlands Children‚s Museum which gives young artists a chance to create and take home art projects, student art exhibitions by public and private schools in Montgomery County, entertainment on two stages, and dining selections at "Palette Caf?" featuring cuisine from P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Jasper's Gourmet Backyard Cuisine.

New to the 2010 festival are free activities as well as unique art and live entertainment at Waterway Square on Saturday until 8:30 p.m. and Sunday until 6 p.m. One of the highlights of this new venue is sidewalk art featuring eight highly-skilled artists from the Houston area who will create masterpieces on the sidewalks at Waterway Square using pastels. Beverages, music and food by Hubbell & Hudson will add to the festival ambiance.

The featured artists for the fifth annual The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival is Canada‚s Tanya Doskova, a printmaker from Vancouver, British Columbia, who has been featured in solo shows around the world and has won many prestigious awards including the John Purcell Prize for best lithograph, the Cannon Canada Gold Award, the Readers Digest Merit Award for Editorial Illustration and the Adobe Systems Gold Award to name a few. This is the first year that a digital artist will be featured.

Administaff is the major sponsor of this year‚s Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival. Other sponsors include The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau, The Woodlands Development Company along with The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, Bud Light, Waste Management, Hubble & Hudson Market & Bistro, St. Luke‚s The Woodlands Hospital, Woodforest National Bank, BMW of Houston North ˆ FM 1960, Keller Williams Realty, Allergy & Asthma Associates, Winstead Attorneys, Jaspers, P.F. Chang‚s China Bistro, Brother‚s Pizza, Dosey Doe Coffee, Cold Stone, Edible Arrangements, Sweet Leaf Tea, Freeb!rds World Burrito, and CB&I.

The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival is produced by The Woodlands Waterway Arts Council, a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization providing financial support to local organizations. For more information, or to inquire about volunteer opportunities, call 281 507-0343 or visit their Web site at the link below.

“The Art of Jane Seymour” October 16-17, 2009 • Woodlands, Texas

DATES/HOURS: Friday and Saturday, October 16 & 17 from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Visit www.janeseymour.com
EVENT OVERVIEW: During an exclusive two-day art event, the public is invited to browse or buy delicate watercolors, vibrant oil paintings and bronze sculptures created by Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress Jane Seymour. Jane’s artistic catalog encompasses a diverse range of human emotion and has been exhibited at many fine art galleries across the U.S. Original artwork, prints and books from the notable Open Hearts by Jane Seymour™ collection will be prominently featured alongside Jane’s creative assortment of florals, landscapes and portraits. A limited supply of sculptures, handbags, silk scarves, note cards and painting kits designed by Jane will round out the exhibit.

DETAILS: Jane Seymour will personally present her artwork during an appearance on Friday from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Following an introduction from The Pearl Museum of Fine Arts, Jane will paint with children from ArtBridge Houston. Jane will also pose for photos and host a brief autograph session featuring her Open Hearts book.

LOCATION:The Woodlands Mall, Center Court
1201 Lake Woodlands Drive in Woodlands, Texas
www.kay.com

“OPEN HEART” PHILOSOPHY
Jane’s “open heart” philosophy toward life began with her mother. Jane created a series of paintings that featured two open hearts linked together. The open-heart paintings became a tangible and dramatic expression of her mother’s advice: "If your heart is open, love will always find its way in." The concept has meaning on many levels, including the idea that if one’s heart is open, it will never stay broken. It also embodies the connection of giving and receiving all of life’s experiences. The result is Open Hearts by Jane Seymour™, a universal symbol for love and hope.

ABOUT JANE THE ARTIST: Jane Seymour began painting nearly a decade ago in response to a period of personal challenge. Art became the expression of a very private healing process and Jane emerged from the experience as an accomplished, passionate painter.

In 2004, Jane mounted her first one-woman museum exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art. Additionally, Jane was selected as one of the official painters of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and most recently, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

By redeveloping her technique, style and subject matter, Jane continues to reach new artistic levels. Jane created set designs and costumes for the Houston Ballet in 2001, and received a commission for the Ft. Worth-Dallas Ballet in 2003. In 2008, Jane teamed with Kay Jewelers on a jewelry collection inspired by her original open heart paintings.

ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS: As long as she can remember, Jane Seymour had a love for the Impressionists’ themes, style and palette. The artist continues to admire the paintings of Monet, Degas, Chagall and Matisse, and the portraiture of John Singer Sargent.

ABOUT KAY: Kay Jewelers, the number one specialty jewelry brand in the U.S., is conveniently located in malls and off-mall shopping centers across the country. Kay Jewelers’ parent company, Akron, Ohio-based Sterling Jewelers Inc., operates 1,401 stores in all 50 states and employs more than 21,000 team members. As a subsidiary of the Bermuda-domiciled Signet Jewelers Limited, Sterling Jewelers Inc. is part of the largest specialty jewelry retailer in the world. For a Kay Jewelers location nearest you, call 1-800-681-8796 or visit kay.com.

Pictures With Santa at Kroger

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful support this year. Because of our efforts, lots of happy children were able to visit with Santa and Kroger #376 store Manager Mike Medved was able to donate hundreds of dollars to The Kroger Co. Foundation. Each year, The Kroger Co. Foundation provides charitable assistance in the hundreds of communities across the country that their customers and associates call home. Please check back here in November 2009 for scheduling info for the 2009 Christmas season.

For more information about The Kroger Co. Foundation click here.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is here. Lots of festivities will be available to us this weekend I hope all of you enjoy them. Please remember the drinking and driving thing as too many people die or are seriously injured each year as a result and also remember to reason behind Memorial Day and take a Moment to remember the fallen heroes of OIF and wars past. I found a very thorough description of the holiday on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_day follow that link if you would like to know more...