Weekend Treats: Spring and Spelling

Lights, Camera, Spelling!

Tune in this Saturday, March 26 at 2 p.m. for the 2011 HoustonPBS Spelling Bee on HoustonPBS/Channel 8, which is the only public television station in the country to locally sponsor the Scripps National Spelling Bee!

Fort Bend County Spelling Bee Champion, Cara Coffman, a Reading Junior High 6th grader, will compete Saturday in the Houston PBS Spelling Bee. Cara, or Speller No. 44, will compete with 55 other students from 42 Texas counties. The bee will be broadcast live. One speller will advance to the National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.

FREE Fort Bend Museum Children’s Day Festival

Celebrate the arrival of spring at the Fort Bend Museum’s annual Children’s Day Festival! The family event will take place on Saturday, March 26 from noon until 5 p.m.

New for 2011: Houston’s InterActive Theater Company will present “The Story of the Lone Star State” at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Each 45-minute performance will take family audiences through more than 600 years of Texas history, from Native Americans to NASA astronauts.

Families will enjoy free admission to the Fort Bend Museum’s gallery and the 1883 John M. Moore home. Other scheduled activities include face-painting, making paper pots and planting beans with the Fort Bend Junior Master Gardeners, learning about wildlife with Brazos Bend State Park and decorating (and eating!) cookies with the Fort Bend Museum Docents. The Fort Bend County Farm Bureau will bring their cotton gin and rice miller, the Brazoria County Woodcarvers Club will be on site to teach festival-goers the art of woodcarving and the Fort Bend Archeological Society will host a real archeological dig in the Moore home yard.

Families will also get to practice chores of the past with clothes washing, ginning and cotton carding activities. Spinning demonstrations will take place throughout the day at the Long-Smith Cottage. It will also be the last day to view the poster art contest in the Museum gallery, which features artwork by students of Missouri City Middle School and is presented by the Fort Bend County chapter of the Links, Incorporated.

For more information about Children’s Day, or to volunteer for the event, contact Claire Rogers at (281) 342-6478 or send her an E-mail at educator@fortbendmuseum.org. For more information, visit us online at www.fortbendmuseum.org. The Fort Bend Museum is located at 500 Houston Street in Richmond.

Living Life After Cancer

Cancer patients and survivors are invited to a free workshop sponsored by Memorial Hermann Cancer Centers and CanCare. Attendees will gain the knowledge and tools they need to ease their post-treatment transition back to everyday life and regain their identity after cancer.

The event takes place Saturday, March 26, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Hilton Garden Inn Sugar Land, 722 Bonaventure Way, Sugar Land. Space is limited and registration is required. Call 713-222-CARE (2273) to register.

Spring Artisan Market

Pack the family and the pooch for this fun outdoor artisan market hosted by Neighborhood Centers Inc. Get dibs on fine art, jewelry, natural beauty products, home décor, clothing, unique gifts and yummy food while you have fun in the sun. You can shop while the kids enjoy the playground and splash park so pack the towels and bathing suits for the tots!

The Spring Artisan Market empowers local entrepreneurs by providing a space where they can sell their homemade goods and keep 100 percent of the profit. Neighborhood Centers keeps Houston a place of opportunity for all who are working for a better life by providing resources such as the Spring Artisan Market which supports local business and economic growth in the community.

Check it out Saturday, March 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Baker-Ripley Neighborhood Center ,6500 Rookin Street, 77074 (Southwest Houston). Free Zumba lessons from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

2011 First Annual Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Half Marathon

On Sunday, March 27, from 6:45 am – 11:45 am, check out the 2011 First Annual Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Half Marathon, with start/finish at beautiful Sugar Land Town Square.

Runners will enjoy a certified, double-loop Sweetwater Country Club course. Must be 8 years old or older to participate, great prizes and lots of fun. Seven local charities benefit from this event. Sign up today! For more information, visit SLFinishLineSports.com.