Calendar Closeup
Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events — flamenco and book sale included
On tap this week is a huge book sale, a tour of lovely floral oases, a young professional's party that safeguards Houston's main urban waterway, a fiery dance number and a film screening that reveals how animation and jazz have much in common.
Friends of the Houston Public Library's Summer Book Sale
No one in their right mind can denounce the virtues of an e-book: It's convenient and lightweight while providing hours of entertainment. But one thing such a techie toy will never be able to provide is the allure of how it feels to open a tome for the first time and flip through its pages.
Curate your summer reading list at the Friends of the Houston Public Library's Summer Book Sale, in which all paperbacks are $1 and all hardbacks are $2. Among the 22,000 items up for grabs are books in every subject imaginable.
Clean Galveston's "Backyard Garden Tour"
While Galveston visitors can readily appreciate the charming coastal architecture that dots the island's boulevards, many lush gardens remain hidden from public view. Clean Galveston's Back Garden Tour opens the doors of private residences whose owners have nurtured beautiful floral oases that are teeming with arboreal life and color.
The deets: Saturday and Sunday; various locations in Galveston; tickets are $8 in advance; $10 at the door.
Bayou HEROns young professionals hosts "Backyard Bayou Bash"
Think of these emerging good Samaritans as the casual types who enjoy hanging with a beer and a burger on hand while safeguarding the beauty of the Buffalo Bayou. Bayou HEROns, the young professionals group that supports the Buffalo Preservation Association, hosts an informal gathering on the patio of Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co., where frosty suds and washer games will set the scene for amicable conversation and networking.
Guests are asked to RSVP by emailing carrie@theprboutique.com or calling 713-599-1271.
The deets: Saturday, 5-7 p.m.; Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co.; $10 general public, free for Bayou HEROns members.
The Flamenco Room presents "Perspectives"
I already feel pity for the floor of The Barn, which will surely get a beating courtesy of a coterie of flamenco dancers whose zapateado (percussive rhythms created by the stomping of the feet) will rouse you to yell, "Ole!"
Allow yourself to succumb to the fiery spirit of the dance and music while Antonio Granjero, Antonio Hidalgo and Estefania Ramirez tear up the stage. This performance, hosted by The Flamenco Room, promises to present traditional elements alongside current trends to reveal that an intimate art form such as this one is timeless.
The deets: Saturday, 8 p.m.; The Barn; tickets start at $40.
Jazz on Film Screening: Jazz Animation from the Hubley Studio
What I've always loved about animated films is that they provide a direct window into the creativity of their producers. With the freedom to imagine a world from scratch, independent from any associations to our physical existence, husband-and-wife John and Faith Hubley developed a painterly animated aesthetic that parallels the improvisatory spirit of jazz.
As part of the Jazz on Film screening series, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents an evening that spotlights the couple's collaborations with jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Quincy Jones and Benny Carter.
The deets: Sunday, 5 p.m.; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; $9 general admission.