Imagine this: A weekend dedicated to you and your squad, starting with a powerhouse women’s conference and unfolding into a perfect blend of relaxation, adventure, and sisterhood bonding. As the back-to-school rush settles, Galveston Island beckons with open arms for the ultimate girlfriend getaway starting with the 17th annual Galveston Women’s Conference at the Moody Gardens Convention Center on Friday, Sept. 13.

The conference features none other than the celebrated actress, iconic star of 80s classic Dirty Dancing, and Golden Globe nominee, Jennifer Grey, as keynote speaker. Prepare for a day brimming with inspiration, empowerment, and retail therapy at the vibrant vendor market featuring more than 150 vendors.

The vendor expo showcases health and wellness products and services, jewelry, clothing, and other merchandise. The event also features inspiring speakers, personal development opportunities, and fitness breaks.

The Galveston Women’s Conference, a one-day conference aimed to empower women and ignite entrepreneurial spirit, attracts over 1,200 participants from across the region.

The post Need an Excuse for a Girls Getaway? Head to the Galveston Women’s Conference appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Beryl makes landfall on Jul 8, 2024 –  Sandwich RGB image Via NOAA in the Public Domain

It’s the second named storm of 2024 and the earliest-forming Cat 5 hurricane on record within a calendar year!

While Hurricane Beryl hit Matagorda County, Texas as a Cat 1,  it fortunately weakened to a Tropical Storm as it headed up Texas and beyond. Even at this strength, however, damage will be considerable. Relief efforts are underway. Over 2 million folks in the Houston area alone are without power, rubble needs clearing, supplies need distributing, and structures will need repairs. Click through the links provided to learn how you can help.

THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS ARE CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN PROVIDING ASSISTANCE
PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THESE RESCUE AND RELIEF EFFORTS

Team Rubicon USA

Team Rubicon is a veteran-led, boots-on-the-ground, hands-on humanitarian operation that serves global communities before, during, and after disasters and crises. TR focuses on three areas of impact: Disaster Response, from mitigation to immediate response and recovery; Rebuild, to maintain the fabric of communities through resilient building methods; and International, providing emergent and surge medical services, WASH, and disaster risk reduction. 

Team Rubicon Updates

Cajun Navy

The Cajun Navy is a network of volunteers that provides assistance to vulnerable populations impacted by natural disaster. Their Facebook page (linked below) will be the best place to find current information regarding supplies needed (diapers, canned goods, etc.) and real-time urgent needs, for whatever is required to complete their search and rescue efforts.

Cajun Navy Updates

Gulf Coast Rescue Squad

This organization provides search and rescue services for Brazoria County boaters in distress and other water-related occurrences such as recovering drowning victims. GCRS is an all-volunteer organization on call 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, providing free service to persons in Brazoria County, Texas.

GCRS Updates

East Harris County Empowerment Council

The East Harris County Disaster Needs Assessment is now open. This organization serves as a channel, networking with direct assistance and disaster relief organizations in the Houston area.  They assist folks in crisis by evaluating the level of need, determining the most efficient path to resources, and connecting people with these assets.

EHCTX Updates

Catholic Charities of Galveston-Houston

Catholic Charities is providing limited, short-term financial assistance to Texas families who experienced loss from the storm. Disaster food boxes, cleaning supplies, and water are available while supplies last at locations listed on their website (use above link).

CCGHTX is distributing relief resources at their headquarters, Sat., July 13. Click to learn more.

Their previous efforts during recent year’s Gulf storms have effectively lit up their extensive collaborative networks across many faith communities in the region. Learn more and donate.

CCGHTX Updates

Brazoria County Off-Road Recovery

This volunteer off-road recovery concern is the official community automotive rescue group of Brazoria County. Member supported, BCOR is a Texas Nonprofit, a 501c(3) exempt organization, and does not charge the public for the services it provides. From rescuing vehicles stuck in the sand, mud, water, to helping with dead batteries or transport, BCOR is known across Brazoria County as the good guys that are there to help those in need.

BCOR Updates

Fleet of Angels

Fleet of Angels is an award-winning nonprofit that helps equines in crisis due to natural disasters and other major emergencies. They are currently offering temporary assistance for equines directly affected by Beryl. They help with funds for emergency hay, critical supplies, and vet care.

Fleet of Angels Updates

Crisis Cleanup

Check out this small group of volunteers, only open for large disasters. Crisis Cleanup is a coordination website for relief agencies whose goal is to connect survivors who need help to volunteer groups who can help with basic cleanup such as small tree removal, tarping, muck-out (removing mud, drywall, and debris from a home), hauling debris to the curb, etc.

Crisis Cleanup Updates

Thanks so much for helping in the wake of this record-breaking Gulf storm. Remember, every little bit helps! Do you have a favorite governmental, faith-based, or local and independent relief organization? Please let us know, and send us a note on our Contact Form.               🌊

The post 🆘 🤲 Give ’Til It Helps: The Gulf Begins to Recover from Hurricane Beryl appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Collage of Rosenberg images by the Elegant Fowl

World Heavyweight Champ, Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson, nicknamed “The Galveston Giant,” was born in Galveston in 1878. He first learned to box in his travels as a young man. In 1898, Johnson returned to Galveston and made his professional debut. In 1908, Johnson won the titles of World Heavyweight Champion. He held the title until 1915. Johnson faced racist press throughout his career. After one fight, race riots broke out in more than 25 states and 50 cities, killing at least 20 people and injuring hundreds more.

Why Cigarette Cards?

From the 1870s to the 1940s, cigarette companies often included cardboard trading cards in their products to stiffen the packaging and advertise their brand. The cards covered a variety of subjects, such as popular actresses and models, athletes, military figures, animals, and much more. Collecting these cards became a popular hobby.

The cards in the Rosenberg collection date from 1910 and are part of the “Champion Athlete & Prize Fighter Series,” issued by two American companies, Hassan Cigarettes and Mecca Cigarettes. Both cards in the collection have a full-color illustration of Jack Johnson on the front, and a short biography with information about his most important matches through 1909.

The Library purchased these cards at auction as part of ongoing efforts to preserve and display diverse stories within Galveston’s history. The fact that the island has kickstarted so many stories of incredible success, including Jack Johnson’s undefeated talent, reflects the true meaning and influence of Juneteenth in Galveston’s culture – having the opportunity to excel and be the best human you can be.

The post Buried Treasure at the Rosenberg Library: Jack Johnson Cigarette Cards appeared first on Go Gulf States.

If you live in Texas, it can be tough to imagine a “lighthearted take” on our state’s politics. But somehow Lawrence Wright has pulled it off with his latest, ‘Mr. Texas.’ The vaunted author has penned 11 books, including ‘Going Clear: Scientology,’ ‘Hollywood,’ ‘The Plague Year,’ and the one which earned for him a Pulitzer: ‘The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.’ Check out Brittany LeJeune’s (Deep South) interview with Wright about this book, which, by the way, makes a lovely holiday gift. – Editor

An unexpected meeting between Austin lobbyist L.D. Sparks and cattle rancher Sonny Lamb is the beginning of author and New Yorker magazine writer Lawrence Wright‘s entertaining story about Texas politics. Inexperienced Texas cowboy Sonny must learn how to navigate the legislature in Texas, and the lovable character wins the hearts of everyone at the capitol.

Mr. Texas ties together issues that the citizens of the state currently face, such as drought and border control, as the officeholders fight partisan divides and jostle for position. The amusing and ironic events that take place as Sonny runs for election and wins with a narrow victory are written in a humorous context.

In addition to his success as an author, Wright is a screenwriter, playwright, and staff writer for The New Yorker magazine. Brittany LeJeune interviewed him over Zoom about the rollercoaster ride of getting Mr. Texas to book form, his hope for his home state, and the future of his novel.

The post ‘Mr. Texas’ Rides off into the Sunset: A Lawrence Wright Interview appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Five of Charles Dickens’ great-great-grandchildren and great-great-great grandchildren will celebrate the season with Galveston revelers at Rosenberg Library, It all happens just before the kick-of of the island’s annual Dickens on the Strand weekend. This is the 50th year of the Victorian holiday festival.

Enjoy a panel discussion with Polly Boyd, Mark Dickens, and Deborah Dickens. Hear about their role in keeping Dickens’ stories alive. After the discussion, the library’s Galveston & Texas History Center will provide a short talk and viewing of the first edition copies of Charles Dickens’ works in their collection. There will also be a Dickens-themed Treasure of the Month on the 2nd floor of the library.

Later that afternoon, children, kindergarten age and up may enjoy a practically perfect teatime with members of the Dickens family. Dress up  – costumes encouraged, but not required.

These events are an early celebration before Dickens on the Strand officially starts a few blocks down later that evening.

The post The Dickens Are Coming! Galveston Prepares for a Seasonal British Invasion appeared first on Go Gulf States.

We at Go! Gulf States choose to cover NASA in this decade and do the other things not just because they are cool, but because so much of what they do happens in Gulf states. Because that goal will show how much work toward our race for space occurs right here along the Gulf Coast. And because that challenge is one that we’re willing to accept. – Editor

Four astronauts are busy training for Artemis II, the first mission to carry humans on NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft. They’ve been testing systems to support life in deep space on future Moon missions and expanding the space frontier beyond Earth orbit.

In August, the crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen – finished the first part of their training known as fundamentals, establishing a foundational knowledge of all SLS and Orion systems.

Home Sweet Space

The quartet began the process of learning every inch of their Orion crew module’s interior, which will serve as their home for the approximately 10-day flight test. They reviewed the building blocks for navigating the spacecraft’s displays and executing the procedures they will use to fly and monitor Orion. While some training activities included all four crew members together, other activities involved one-on-one sessions with trainers.

“The crew is making incredible progress. They’re getting ready for their flight as the first people to fly inside NASA’s newest spacecraft built for deep space,” said Jacki Mahaffey, chief training officer for Artemis II, based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “Their training is preparing them to do everything from planned mission tasks and daily operations, to how to recognize and deal with unexpected situations.”

The post Artemis Crew Trains for Moon Mission Across 3 Gulf States… and Beyond appeared first on Go Gulf States.

We boned up on our French just enough to say that we are très jaloux that founding team member and intrepid correspondent Patti Lou is headed to Lafayette to take in Festivals Acadiens et Créoles 2023. The festival happens during the city’s bicentennial and just one year shy of the festival’s 50th. Here’s a lovely pre-trip preamble we’re posting just as Patti & crew head out for the festival opening: the cutting of the boudin. Look for Part 2 coming soon.  – Editor

While road trips to Louisiana became a semi-regular feature of my 20s, it was not about cultural awareness so much as it was about going to party in “flagrant vice capital of the civilized world,” as Ignatius P. Reilly would refer to his hometown. We were there to drink. And eat.

And I’m not gonna lie: I was unprepared for the food.

To be clear, I don’t have a true family connection to Cajun culture, unless you count that time in the 80s when my roots-music-loving father went through a serious Cajun phase that none of us really ever got over. It featured repeated listens of Harry Choates, Jolie Blonde, and big pots of gumbo simmering on the stove. Maybe we should count it, after all, having experienced this immersion in such tender formative childhood years – despite, or maybe as a complement to my deep Texas roots.

The gumbos of Louisiana were richer and had more seafood funkiness than what Dad made back home in Austin. My first fried oyster poboy at Acme Oyster House in New Orleans was a revelation – the funkiness of the Gulf with the crunch of homemade coleslaw, the zip of the horseradish only somewhat contained in a bread roll that resembled a small baguette. It was paired perfectly with a delicious Bloody Mary that I still think of often, and not just because it was garnished with a pickled green bean instead of celery.

(Side note: Years later, when I was a lunch cook at a small-town cafe in New Mexico, I attempted to recreate this sandwich as a lunch special. I had discovered a small tub of fresh oysters in the walk-in, and I sent someone to the store for horseradish. I wrote it up on the specials board, but apparently no one in NM knew what a poboy was, so I didn’t sell a one. Which was fine, because when the Italian-trained, Mexican national chef/owner arrived, she wanted to know just what the hell I was doing with her oysters!)

This common bond of Dad’s deep Cajun phase is what later inspired my brother to establish a tradition of taking his Central Texas-based family to New Orleans each spring for New Orleans Jazz Fest. Then in 2015, he began raving about this other, free music festival and insisted we book a vacation rental in Lafayette for a lovely fall weekend. The trek from Central Texas to Lafayette is a good bit shorter, but still has plenty to do and see along the way.

Anyway there’s a lot to be excited about, so let’s start with the road trip! Turns out, you don’t even have to wait until you get all the way to Louisiana for some good food. I really want to stop at  Big John’s Grill in Beaumont for some down-home Mom-&-Pop soul food, but if I do, I better not fill up, because down the road in Lake Charles, there’s Cajun seafood at Steamboat Bill’s!  When we get just outside Lafayette, there’s Best Stop Supermarket in Scott, Louisiana, a grocery store specializing in all manner of Cajunized meats, including award-winning boudin. Definitely a great place to stock up on Cajun goodness when we’re heading back to Texas, but hey, let’s stop by real quick  and get some provisions for the weekend rental.

Can’t wait to revisit the Old Tyme Grocery for one of their delicious meatball poboys. Or should I get a muffaletta? Oh yeah, also gotta check out the Blue Moon Saloon, cool homegrown honky-tonk that’s a short walk away from the rental, for some post-festival refreshment and local music.

I know, I’m not even at the festival yet!

Just what is it about Festivals Acadiens et Créoles that makes this Texas heart go all-aflutter? It could be the four or five stages burning up with should-be-more-famous talent all day Saturday and Sunday, or that when the music starts, the dance floor fills up with twirling, two-stepping couples that never seem to tire.

Could it be the food?  My husband has been talking about the crawfish etouffee in a bread bowl for the past eight years, and I totally get it. Some of Louisiana’s finest culinary offerings are available at this fête, from boudin to poboys, to seafood gumbos. Oh, and the festival features cooking demonstrations as well, so maybe you can take a little of that magic home!

Maybe it’s that Lafayette itself is another world, where French is spoken under ancient oak trees, and the past is kept alive not just in museums, but in the way people live everyday.

Check back for Part 2!

The post Allons a la Louisiane: Road Runners en Route to Festivals Acadiens et Créoles appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Folks considering a late-summer/early fall visit to Galveston should put the Galveston Railroad Museum on the itinerary. The indoor-outdoor attraction is half housed in the magnificent old 1932 Depot, and the other half covers five acres of rolling train stock, including locomotives, passenger cars, freight cars, and cabooses. The site is said to be haunted, so boo sure to keep it on the list for potential Spooky Season plans.  – Editor

During this segment of Experience Galveston, Christine chats with local artists Elizabeth Punches and Catherine Stroud about completing the newly restored mural at the Galveston Railroad Museum.

Punches and Stroud finished restoring the mural last year, just in time for the museum’s Railfest, which happens each spring.

Artist Jan Spencer originally painted the mural in October 1989. The newly restored mural took about four days to paint and several months to plan. The mural is part of ongoing efforts to refresh the Galveston Railroad Museum.

The post This Colorfully Restored Mural at Galveston Railroad Museum Is Just the Ticket appeared first on Go Gulf States.

Head to the Galveston Naval Museum, home of the World War II fighting vessels USS Stewart and USS Cavalla, this Memorial Weekend. The holiday features a ceremony on Memorial Day proper and a raffle to stoke funds for the restoration of the USS Stewart. Nearby, the Battleship Texas is in drydock and open for tours on Sundays. But the part of the festivities closest to our hearts is the newly christened permanent exhibit dedicated to the Women of World War II which was launched in March, this year.  – Editor

The Women of World War II exhibit debuted at the Galveston Naval Museum in March in honor of International Women’s Month. The exhibit is a moving and inspirational tribute that examines the history of World War II through the eyes of the fearless women who broke through societal barriers and in turn, wielded an enormous contribution to Allied victory. “My grandmother was a Rosie, and both of my grandfathers served overseas during World War II, so the museum and particularly this aspect of history have always resonated with me,” says Kimber Fountain, board member and curator of the exhibit.

Featured stories and photographs span the globe and highlight nearly every capacity in which women served, both civilian and military, from “The Rosies” who worked in munitions and industrial factories across the United States to the women who served as covert agents, war correspondents, and informants in war-torn Europe.

The post 🇺🇸 Honor History and the Daring Women of World War II This Memorial Day appeared first on Go Gulf States.

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