Houston's New Theme Park Twist

New AstroWorld to bring live animals with roller coasters: Agritainment hits Houston's theme park

Officials with the Grand Texas Entertainment District say that Lasso — the new Houston area theme park's cowboy horse mascot — will have some real-life animal companionship when the hotly-anticipated complex opens in 2015 . . . all thanks to a concept park designers are calling "agritainment."

Welcome to Flint Ranch, where horses, bison and longhorn cattle will graze beside the Houston area's first new roller coasters since the demise of AstroWorld. One of the New Caney park's seven Lone Star-themed zones, the 14-acre ranch area aims to tap into Texas' agricultural roots for low-key diversions ranging from horseback riding to a petting zoo.

"The unhurried pace and earthy theme of Flint Ranch provides a great change of pace in between the more thrill-oriented activities," Grand Texas manager Monty Galland tells CultureMap. "It's primarily geared towards younger guests. There is a combination of fun activities, entertainment and educational opportunities."

"Flint Ranch provides a great change of pace in between the more thrill-oriented activities."

A farm house building and barn will sit at the center of the ranch to offer pony rides, a hayloft playground and a chance for city slickers to try their hand at milking a live cow. Museum exhibits are geared to teach guests about Texas cattle and farming techniques, while Farmer Ed’s Tractor Trail allows park-goers to drive their own vintage-style tractor around a short course.

"There's even an opportunity to plant crops in select areas of the ranch," Galland says. "Guests can monitor their growth throughout the season and even help with the eventual harvest of strawberries, pumpkins, corn, berries and more."

Just west of the farm area, a large equestrian arena will house Grand Texas’ Best of the West Show, a regularly-scheduled performance similar to the over-the-top cowboy events made famous by "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Expect a blend of daredevil stunts, musical interludes and comedy. The venue also will host official amateur and professional rodeo competitions.

Located at the northern edge of the theme park, Flint Ranch can be reach not only by foot, but by boat, steam train and stage coach. Those looking to travel by horse can enjoy miles of equine-friendly trails beginning from the ranch.

After recently hitting a few municipal hurdles, officials with the Grand Texas Entertainment District say construction is moving forward. The full project — which includes the theme park as well as a shopping center, RV resort, water park, sports venues and two hotels — is projected to draw as many as two million visitors its first year and upwards of 4.5 million visitors by its fifth year.

The ranch offers opportunities to ride a horse, milk a cow and plant some crops.

Image adapted by CultureMap

The ranch offers opportunities to ride a horse, milk a cow and plant some crops.

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washed and folded

Texas-based 'DoorDash for laundry' tumbles into Houston

Photo courtesy of NoScrubs

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Laundry may seem like an endless task that piles up, but a new service offers a solution to overwhelmed Houston families.

Enter NoScrubs, an Austin-based home laundry pickup service that has just expanded to Houston. Described by the company as "DoorDash — but for laundry," they wash customer's clothes at local laundromats and return them the same day folded and ready to be put away.

The service took off like gangbusters in Austin, making an expansion to the state's largest city an obvious choice. It's not universal coverage just yet. For now, only the following zip codes have NoScrubs service available: 77002, 77004, 77005, 77006, 77007, 77008, 77009, 77010, 77018, 77019, 77024, 77025, 77027, 77046, 77056, 77057, 77081, 77098, 77401, 77030, 77003.

A single pickup starts at $40 for 20 pounds of laundry, while the basic monthly subscription is $60 for two pickups. All services use hypoallergenic detergents.

The average American family spends about 240 hours a year on laundry, making it a very time-consuming chore. For people with disabilities, difficult work schedules, and other circumstances, it can be a real help, says co-founder Matt O'Connor.

"Some of our favorite customer stories simply revolve around saving people time when they have something challenging going on," he writes in an email. "For example, one customer reviewed NoScrubs saying 'So happy I could cry! (Partially because I'm pregnant and my emotions are heightened!)...1000% recommend if you have time restrictions or physical restrictions! ' So, whether it’s saving time, the affordability, or the pleasantly surprising turnaround time, NoScrubs has a variety of benefits for any customer."

NoScrubs is also a new opportunity for Houston's gig workers. Because there are no passengers, it can be a safer alternative to driving ride share for women and other people apprehensive about having strangers in their cars. As NoScrubs partners with local laundromats, drivers are also going to centralized locations rather than all over the map, leading to less wear and tear on their cars. The laundromats benefit as well, since NoScrubs loads are ones that would otherwise be done at home.

"Our model makes driving a tiny fraction of the time, so folks who don’t want to wear down their vehicles and spend a ton on gas love working at NoScrubs," added O'Connor.

To celebrate the Houston launch, NoScrubs is offering 50 percent discount off the first two months for CultureMap readers with the code CULTUREHOUSTON at noscrubs.com.

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