Although various businesses across the state are reopening at reduced capacity, large-scale events and entertainment are still happening virtually. Some weekend activities for Houstonians include a virtual fundraiser, celebrating Bay Day and seeing the first-ever color film of Galveston.
Friday: Join Preacher Moss at a virtual fundraiser
To honor the final days of Ramadan, which ends May 23, the MultiCultural Center is hosting a Zoom fundraiser with several keynote speakers aimed at providing “a night of spiritual empowerment,” according to a news release. American Muslim imam Suhaib Webb, Houston-based imam Wazir Ali and comedian Preacher Moss will be the speakers.
The MCC is dedicated to inspiring community members to work together while celebrating shared humanity and addressing common challenges and aims to enhance interaction among southeast Houston's diverse cultural and religious groups through social, educational, recreational and service-based activities.
Where to tune in: Click this link for access to the Zoom meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. May 15.
Saturday: Celebrate Bay Day from home
Although Galveston Bay Foundation’s annual Bay Day Festival is typically held at the Kemah Boardwalk, the event is going virtual this year to align with its mission of preserving and enhancing Galveston Bay, according to a news release.
The foundation will provide free activities and educational programming for all ages, focusing on the Galveston Bay ecosystem and ecology. Virtual attendees can view a mix of prerecorded and live videos, which will include local Girl Scouts talking about plastic pollution, conservation tips from students at Oppe Elementary, Sustainable Sasha's guide to recycling and composting and a time-lapse video of Gulf oysters filtering water, per the release. Demonstrations will include birds of prey, insects, snakes and other organisms local to the Galveston Bay area.
Where to tune in: Visit the organization’s website or Facebook page from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. May 16.
Sunday: Check out Texas history on film
The earliest color film of Galveston’s 1931 Pageant of Pulchritude, one of the oldest surviving color films of Texas, is now viewable online. The film became available thanks to a partnership between the Texas Archive of the Moving Image and the Rosenberg Library. The organizations received a National Film Preservation Foundation grant to restore the film, originally shot on an early, rare, short-lived color film format called Kodacolor, according to a TAMI media release.
The film’s public debut aligns with the 100th anniversary of the International Pageant of Pulchritude, originally known as the Bathing Girl Revue. The pageant, held annually from 1920-31, marked the beginning of the summer tourist season in Galveston, attracting so many spectators that it tripled the island’s population, per the release. In the film, Miss New Orleans is 16-year-old soon-to-be Hollywood star Dorothy Lamour. This is the earliest known color film footage of Lamour, per a TAMI news release.
Where to tune in: The 17-minute film is viewable here.
