Downtown Park Discovery Green Delights this Holiday Season
Outdoor Ice Skating, Festive Art Works and much more
Discovery Green, the downtown Houston park, presents several exciting new and returning programs this holiday season, enhancing the park’s natural features and proving Discovery Green is an attraction not to be missed.
The Ice at Discovery Green was a smash hit with Houstonians last year with more than 100,000 visitors enjoying the experience of outdoor ice skating. The Ice at Discovery Green presented by the Houston Chronicle returns Thursday, November 26, following the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. With evening, weekend and holiday hours and weekly evening programs, it is sure to be a popular holiday activity for Houston families and visitors to the city. The rink will be open daily through Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2010. Admission is just $10, including skate rental.
New attractions throughout the season include the opportunity to experience a wonderful art exhibition entitled Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet; record personal history by participating in NPR’s StoryCorps Historias; and view the holiday art in the park including David Graeve’s illuminated photo globes and Andy Mann’s Video Tree. All are part of the Downtown Holiday Spectacular comprising a multitude of downtown Houston activities.
“We were thrilled with the response of Houstonians to The Ice at Discovery Green last year,” said Discovery Green Conservancy President Guy Hagstette. “From 80 degree weather to a special December evening with snow flurries, outdoor ice skating was an enjoyable destination for Houstonians of all ages. We look forward to adding Cool Globes, StoryCorps Historias and more to enhance the holiday cheer of downtown Houston.”
Visitors to the park can bring a picnic, or dine at one of the two restaurants, The Grove and The Lake House operated by Schiller Del Grande Restaurant Group. Blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics welcome. Food, beer, and wine are also available at The Lake House.
Visit discoverygreen.com for specific dates, more information on these events, dining and other features of the park.
The Ice at Discovery Green
Holiday Skating on Kinder Lake presented by the Houston Chronicle
November 26, 2009 – January 18, 2010
DOWNLOAD HIGH RES PHOTO – Photo credit: Jeff Fitlow
With more than 100,000 park visitors the first year, The Ice at Discovery Green returns to the park on Thanksgiving Day. Make Discovery Green your tradition during the holidays with an array of activities offered for families, couples, and visitors to the city. Skate among the downtown skyline on the model boat basin frozen to a frosty 22 degrees using recycled water from Kinder Lake and powered by renewable energy. Admission $10.
The following weekly programs will be offered:
Mondays – Skating with the Stars
Tuesdays – Jazz on Ice
Thursdays – Silver Screen
Fridays – Cool Tunes Hot Ice with Hot 95.7
Saturdays – Skate with Santa with KUHF
Sundays – Holiday Green Market
Saturday, November 28 – The Invincible Czars perform “The Nutcracker Suite”
(7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) Austin’s amazing rock band The Invincible Czars perform their wacky version of the The Nutcracker Suite. Skate along or listen from the hill. When the performance ends, you can catch GlowoRama, a collection of Illuminated art cars parading down Avenida de las Americas in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center. You won’t want to miss this fabulously funky holiday evening!
Saturday, January 9 – Ice Carving Competition
(10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Houstonians of all ages were fascinated with last year’s Ice Carving Event which featured acclaimed ice artists from around the country using chainsaws and blow torches to transform ice into masterpieces. They will return to Discovery Green to battle for the grand prize. Reverend Butter of DLG Ice Factory tops off the evening with an ice carving set to music.
In addition to The Ice, park visitors will enjoy holiday art exhibits including local artist David Graeve’s illuminated globes featuring photos taken by FUUSA students and the return of Andy Mann’s TV Tree to downtown Houston. The Holiday Green Market returns on Sundays with an array of sustainable gifts and holiday food items. Houstonians of all ages were fascinated with last year’s Ice Carving Event which featured acclaimed ice artists from around the country using chainsaws and blow torches to transform ice into masterpieces. They will return to Discovery Green to battle for the grand prize on Saturday, January 9. Be sure The Ice at Discovery Green is on your holiday itinerary!
Downtown’s Holiday Spectacular will feature two Holiday Trolleys that will connect all of the festive happenings in downtown. FREE to all visitors, the trolleys make it simple for guests to park once and experience multiple downtown destinations during their visit. Twelve trolley pick-up and drop-off stops will be conveniently located close to parking areas and marked with holiday signage (3 stops will be located at Discovery Green). The trolley service will operate on Fridays (6:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. and 11 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving and New Year’s weekends) and all day Saturdays (11 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.) and Sundays (11 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.) beginning Thanksgiving weekend through the end of New Year’s Eve weekend. For a map of the route visit www.houstondowntown.com.
Cool Globes: Hot ideas for a Cooler Planet
October 8, 2009 – January 2, 2010
DOWNLOAD HIGH RES PHOTO
This fall, Discovery Green hosts the public art exhibit, "Cool Globes: Hot Ideas for a Cooler Planet.” As seen in cities from Chicago to Los Angeles, this exhibit features 50 super-sized Cool Globes each conveying a different message about what ordinary citizens can do to combat global warming. The five-foot diameter, seven-foot-tall globes will be decorated by local, national and international artists. Visit www.coolglobes.org for more information.
StoryCorps “Historias”
November 19, 2009 – December 20, 2009
StoryCorps Historias is an initiative of StoryCorps, a national oral history project, to record the diverse stories of Latinos in the United States. Sharing these stories celebrates our history, honors our heritage, and captures the true spirit of our community. With participants’ permission, we will archive copies of these recordings at the Library of Congress to ensure that the voices of Latinos will be preserved and remembered for generations to come. During StoryCorps last visit to Houston, all interview times were reserved within three minutes! StoryCorps Historias visit to Discovery Green is sponsored by KUHF Radio, Univision 45 and Hilton Americas.
Special thanks to our media sponsors KPRC Channel 2, the Houston Chronicle, Comcast, Univision 45, Hot 95.7, and KUHF Public Radio.
Discovery Green Conservancy
Discovery Green Conservancy is a private, non-profit organization that operates the park. At the behest of Houston’s Mayor Bill White, the Conservancy was formed in December 2004 and was charged with designing, building and operating Houston’s new urban park which opened in April 2008.
LOCATION
Discovery Green is located at 1500 McKinney in downtown Houston, in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center and the Hilton Americas. The park is just blocks away from Main Street, Minute Maid Park and Toyota Center.
HOURS
Discovery Green is open every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Hours for events may vary. Areas of the park may be closed occasionally for maintenance or private events.
CONTACT INFORMATION
www.discoverygreen.com or call 713.400.7336.
Visitors to the park are invited to stay connected to Discovery Green online through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube.
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