CALENDAR MAY 2004

Daily (Mon.–Fri.)
HIV Testing. HCHD Thomas Street Clinic is offering HIV testing free to the public, 9 am–1 pm. There is no need to establish eligibility ("gold-card"), no donation will be asked of the person seeking testing, and the test is free. Thomas Street Clinic, 2015 Thomas, 713/873-4157 or 713/873-4026.

Daily (Mon.–Sat.)
HIV Testing. The Montrose Clinic offers free confidential HIV testing at these locations. Monday: Bricks, 617 Fairview, 4–8 pm; O, 710 Pacific, 9 pm–1 am. Tuesday: The 611, 611 Hyde Park, 4–8 pm; Club Houston, 2205 Fannin, 8 pm–midnite. Wednesday: Mary's, 1100 Westheimer, 4–8 pm; Ripcord, 715 Fairview, 9 pm–1 am; EJ’s, 2517 Ralph, 10 pm–1 am; Midtowne Spa, 3100 Fannin, 10 pm–1 am. Thursday: All-Star News, 3415 Katy Frwy, 4–8 pm; BRB, 2400 Brazos, 8 pm–midnite; Cousins, 817 Fairview, 8 pm–midnite. Friday: EJ’s, 2517 Ralph, 10 pm–1 am; Midtowne Spa, 3100 Fannin, 10 pm–1 am; The Meatrack, 2915 San Jacinto, 10 pm–2 am; Rich’s, 2401 San Jacinto, 10 pm–1 am. The clinic offers classes for those newly diagnosed with HIV or Hepatitis C. For more info: 713/830-3000.

4–9 (Tue.–Sun.)
STOMP. They’re at it again. Those noisy kids with their clangitty-clang and their swish-boom-click return to Houston to create engaging music and unforgettable rhythms with anything but conventional musical insruments. Brooms, trashcan lids, Zippo lighters, and, of course, their famous stompin’ boots provide all the percussive tunesmithing you could want in an evening. $27–$57. 8 pm, Tuesday–Saturday; 7 pm, Sunday; 2 pm matinees Saturday and Sunday at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. Tickets: 713/227-4SPA or www.spahouston.org.

8 (Sat.)
Strip Symphony. Houston’s youthful, frisky symphony, OrchestraX is at it again. This time, they’re stripping down, the music that is, to solos and strings. Composers include Mozart, Haydn, and Schnittke. $30 ($10 seniors/students). 7:30 pm at The Hobby Center’s Zilkha Hall, 800 Bagby @ Rusk. Tickets/info: 713/225-6729 or www.orchestrax.org.

8 (Sat.)
This is Not a Love Song. Several Dancers Core presents—thanks to a grant from the Heartland Arts Fund—Berlin’s Tanzcompagnie RUBATO’s “This is Not a Love Song.” Set to Wolfgang Bley-Borkowski’s radical arrangement of Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue in B-minor, this intimate duet choreography examines the relationship between a man and a woman as individuals and as two people together. Free. 8 pm at Miller Outdoor Theater. For info: 713/862-5530 or www.severaldancerscore.org.

8 (Sat.)
The St. Lawrence String Quartet and Sarah Rothenberg perform Da Camera’s season finale, featuring three mighty pieces of chamber music by Haydn, Shostakovich, and Beethoven. The St. Lawrence String Quartet is recognized as a world-class chamber orchestra of this generation. $20-$35. 8 pm at The Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater, 500 Texas St. For tickets: 713/524-5050 or www.dacamera.com.

13 (Thu.)
Cruise to the Cure, the third annual fundraiser for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, offers a night of musical entertainment from the El Orbits and fantastic food from Brennan’s, St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin, Kraftsmen Baking, and others. $50/individual, tables begin at $1,000. 7 pm at Rice Hotel’s Crystal Ballroom, 909 Texas. For info: 713/334-4400.

18 (Sun.)
Pasta-n-Pride. EJ’s and the Houston Pride Band (HPB) are hosting a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for lovers of music and tasty food. The menu includes spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread, every bachelor’s favorite easy-prep meal. After filling your tum-tum with carbs-a-plenty, fill your ears with HPB’s new pep band, the Pride Pipers. The group was formed at the beginning of the year to perform at events throughout the community. $5. 4–7 pm at EJ’s, 2517 Ralph. Info: 713/862-9491 or www.houstonprideband.org.

20 & 21 (Thu. & Fri.)
Pick a Job, Any Job. Alley Theatre hosts Middle School Career Day, when pre-teens and early teens get an introduction to the theater community and the jobs therein. (Incidentally, this also provides many a suburban pre-adolescent with a first-time encounter with the gay community.) Actors, directors, designers, techies, and admins are on hand to share their expertise and field any questions. Free, reservations required. 9:30 am–12:30 pm at Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Ave. Info: 713/228-9341, ext. 425.

21 (Fri.)
12 Minutes of Member Madness. The 12 Minutes Max! events at DiverseWorks bring various forms of performance artistry to the stage with one restriction: whatever you do, you only have 12 minutes to do it. This particular installment presents artists and performers who are also members of the D-Werx posse. $12. 8 pm at DiverseWorks, 1117 East Fwy (off N. Main at Naylor). For info: 713/223-8346 or www.diverseworks.org.

21 (Fri.)
Sheepskin and Rubber Chicken. To honor the graduating academes of the class of 2004, ComedySportz presents its Salute to Graduates, a competitive improvisational comedy (read Whose Line Is It Anyway?) show pitting two teams against each in a suma cum Oh Lawdy! game of hilarity. This troupe style is PG-clean, so the graduates’ doting parents and grandparents can enjoy the show unscathed. $12. 8 pm at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. at 17th St. For reservations: 713/868-1444.

21 & 22 (Fri. & Sat.)
Not in Your Freezer Section. Spring Opera Pops do not come with a fruity frozen outside and a creamy ice cream center, no sir. It’s an outdoor evening of fantastic opera music performed by the masterful young voices of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. Pack a blanket, a bottle of wine, and let the music pacify your soul. Free. 8:30 pm at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 100 Concert Dr. in Hermann Park.

22 & 23 (Sat. & Sun.)
Gotta Get It, a series of films from the MadCat Women’s International Festival, takes a look at the passions and obsessions of everyday life. Keep an eye open for those poor, frustrated souls who give out samples at the grocery store, all the while trying to maintain a cheerful demeanor under fluorescent lighting and relentless grocery Muzak in Jennifer Drummond’s The F.E.D.S. (Food Education Demo Specialists). $5. 8 pm Saturday, 3 pm Sunday at Aurora Picture Show, 800 Aurora in the Heights. More info: 713/868-2101 or www.aurorapictureshow.org.

23 (Sun.)
Petapalooza 2 is Hollywood Frame Gallery’s tribute to National Pet Month. Meet Hollywood Frame Gallery’s exclusive artists Caresse Eguileor and Jim Tweedy. Enjoy music, food, art, and cross your paws in hopes of winning a raffle-giveaway. Prizes include works by Tweedy, Eguileor, and an original film poster of a Disney animal movies. $5 per raffle ticket (6 for $25). 1–5 pm at Hollywood Frame Gallery, 2427 Bissonnet, 713/942-8885 or www.hollywoodframegallery.com.

28–30 (Fri.-Sun.)
Lindy-Hopping Mad. Idy and Bob Thomas, known as The Kamikaze Jitterbugs, team up with the Texas Tap Ensemble for Shall We Dance? The show revives the music and dance of a peppier era, like tap, ballroom, jitterbug, and hand-jive. Slip into your zoot suit and get swingin,’ Daddio. 8 pm Friday & Saturday, 7:30 pm Sunday at Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana. For info: 713/224-7575 or www.houstonsymphony.org.

PLANNING AHEAD FOR JUNE

June 5 (Sat.)
Fairie Godfather Day. Hear ye, hear ye! Faerie Empress Sassi Fae hereby proclaims a day honoring Faerie Godfathers across the entire Milky Way. Conceived by Crazy Bear and Ribbon of the Radical Faerie community of Nashville, Tennessee, Faerie Godfather’s Day—half way between traditional Mother’s Day in May and Father’s Day—honors older gay men who have mentored younger gay (and straight) men (and women). Faerie Fae encourages us all to promote the day, host events, create greeting cards, throw theme parties, share stories about the older man in your life and how he made it more livable, and—moreover—take your Faerie Godfather out to dinner or for a drink. For info: www.faeriegodfathersday.com.

June 5 (Sat.)
Urban Mix III. City Dance Company dancers shake what their mamas gave ’em with an eclectic fusion of dance styles. Don’t forget the mosquito repellent Free. 8 pm at Miller Outdoor Theatre, 100 Concert Dr. in Hermann Park.

June 6 (Sun.)
Tony Time! It’s true. The most enjoyable Tony in the entertainment business does not have the last name “Danza.” The Tony with “Awards” at the end is the one everybody loves to see. • Hugh “Wolverine” Jackman hosts the 58th Annual Antoinette Perry “Tony” Awards for the second time. Jackman’s Broadway debut in The Boy From Oz has won him quite a bit of acclaim for his role as Peter Allen, the openly gay Oscar-winning singer-songwriter ex-husband of Liza Minnelli, who preferred entertaining over activism. Also look out for Jackman’s next film, Van Helsing, about a fierce vampire hunter armed to the teeth with vampire-slaying gizmos, scheduled for release this month. • The tension builds this month as nominees are announced May 10. Who will make the list? The season had so much to offer. There’s WICKED, the pre-qual to The Wizard of Oz, The Boy From Oz, Bombay Dreams (Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical inspired by the massive Bollywood entertainment machine), new plays like I Am My Own Wife and The Retreat from Moscow, canonical classics like Fiddler on the Roof, and neo-classics like Little Shop of Horrors. Great actors like John Lithgow, emcee Hugh Jackman, Nathan Lane, Ashley Judd, and Dixie Carter have all tread the boards of the Great White Way. Who will win? • See the winners, the glitz, and the glamour, on the big screen at Alamo Drafthouse. You might remember the Drafthouse held a screening party for the Oscars, which benefited the Linda K. Manning Houston Division of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. Watch the theater event of the year on the big screen while waitstaff bring you all the food and drink you desire. It’s almost better than being there. • The 2004 Tony Awards airs 7–10 p.m. on KHOU, channel 11; you can also view it at Alamo Drafthouse, West Oaks Mall. More info: www.tonyawards.com or www.alamodrafthouse.com, 281/556-0204.

June 10–13 (Thu.–Sun.)
Texas Folklife Festival. Celebrate the diversity of Texas. Learn about its cultures, sample authentic international foods, watch entertainers do their thing, and maybe take some arts and crafts home with you. $8 advance/$10 at the gate, $6 for seniors and military, $4 for children 6–12, free for kids under 6. Thursday & Friday 5–11 pm, Saturday noon–11 pm, and Sunday noon–9 pm at the Institute of Texan Cultures in downtown San Antonio. For info/tickets: 210/458-2390 or www.texasfolklifefestival.org.

PLANNING AHEAD FOR JULY

July 9-11 (Fri.-Sun.)
Getting the Love You Want. Patrick Vachon, licensed master social worker and advanced clinical practitioner, teaches couples how to reignite the fire that once burned brighter between them. Using Imago Relationship Therapy techniques developed by Harville Hendrix, Ph.D., author of the best-selling books Getting the Love You Want and Keeping the Love You Want, Vachon takes couples on an intensive weekend journey into each other’s hearts. $550/couple. Friday 7–10 pm, Saturday 8:30 am–8 pm, Sunday 8:30 am–7 pm at the offices of Patrick Vachon, 1712 Fairview. For more info: 713/524-1771, www.imagohealing.com, or vachonpj@aol.com .

July 23–25 (Fri.–Sun.)
DiverseWorks Retreat & Creative Capital Professional Development Workshop for Visual and Performing Artists. If you’re a fledgling visual artist or a struggling performing artist or a struggling fledgling visual and performing artist, this is the workshop for you. Learn how to market your work as a creative individual, how to handle public relations, how to raise funds to realize your vision, how to plan strategies, strengthen professional ties, and—bottom line—quit that crappy job making espresso for bourgeois-boho ingrates and support yourself as a friggin’ artist for a change. Free. Applications must be received by 5 pm, Friday, April 30. Applications available at DiverseWorks’ office at 1117 East Fwy off Main at Naylor, or by calling 713/223-8346, e-mailing Rachel@diverseworks.org, or at www.diverseworks.org.

PERFORMING ARTS

• Birthday from Hell. The uproariously funny Fertle family faces more travails. About to turn 40,
Bridgette Fertle finds herself stuck in midlife crisis. To make things worse, none of the Fertles seem to remember her birthday. To make things spooky, Mama Fertle believes she’s been visited by her late husband, Ned. On a brighter note, the Fertle family simp, Earl, is inducted into The High Order of Little Baby Owls. The amazing thing is that all these characters, and countless more, are played—seamlessly—by a cast of three. $18. Through May 15. Thursday and Friday at 8:30 pm; Saturday at 8 and 10:30 pm at Radio Music Theatre, 2623 Colquitt (off Richmond & Kirby). Tickets/ more info: 713/522-7722.

• Boy Groove. Sick of boy bands? So is Chris Craddock, who wrote this Spinal Tap-esque spoof of a boy group’s rise to fame, with tunes like “You Make My Hips Buck,” and their eventual plummet to public disdain. A certain “park incident” brings about their comic demise. $23 Fridays & Sundays, $25 on Saturdays. May 18–July 10 at 8 pm, Sundays at 6:30 pm, at Theater LaB, 1706 Alamo (off 2100 Houston Ave.) For tickets: 713/868-7516 or www.theaterlabhouston.com.

• Convenience. Just a few days after Mother’s Day, this pop operetta opens. Vince’s father walked out on both him and his mother when he was only six years old. Left to themselves, the mother and son grew bitter and apart. After 20 years of the silent treatment, Vince finally finds love—with another man—and decides he must come out to his mother and restore their relationship. May 12–June 6 at Stages, 3201 Allen Pkwy. Tickets are $20–$35. More info: 713/527-0123 or www.stagestheatre.com.

• Le Devin du Village (or The Cunning Man, by Jean-Jaques Rousseau), is one of the most famous comic operas of the 18th century. Sung in French with English surtitles, this is Mercury Baroque Ensemble’s season finale. Friday, May 28, 7:30 pm, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, 800 Bagby. For tickets: 713/315-2525 or www.MercuryBaroqueEnsemble.org.

• 42nd Street. The Broadway legend that defined musical comedy, 42nd Street, is enroute to Bagby Street. The star-is-born tale brought us scores of memorable show tunes—“Lullaby of Broadway,” “We’re in the Money,” and “Shuffle off to Buffalo,” to name a few. • Cast member Dexter Jones lives just as loud and proud as he sings. Jones has been in a number of productions, on and off Broadway. His impressive list of credits includes A Chorus Line, TV’s One Life to Live, and Bojangles starring Gregory Hines. Michael Jackson fans might also recognize him from Jackson’s “You Rock My World” video. • May 12–23 at Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. Tickets are $23–$64. More info: 713/629-7469 or www.broadwayacrossamerica.com.

• A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Considered the funniest musical comedy ever written, co-writer Larry Gelbhart (M*A*S*H) created it drawing from the great ancient Greek comedies of Plautus. The Alley Theatre Resident Company takes on the story of romance, deception, temptation, and mistaken identity as its very first musical. Find out if these performers can sing as well as they can act. $20–$52. May 14–June 6 at the Alley Theatre, 615 Texas Ave. For tickets: 713/228-8421 or www.alleytheatre.org.

• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (the play). The off-Broadway sensation Hedwig and the Angry Inch inspired a cult film and following and helped revive pop culture’s fascination with glam-rock (alongside another glam-pic, Velvet Goldmine). The story tells the tale of Hansel Schmidt, an East Berliner looking to escape the Soviet bloc. Hansel decides to undergo gender-change surgery, marry American GI Luther Robinson, and flee to the U.S. The surgery is butchered, but Hansel still succeeds in becoming Hedwig Robinson, with an inch of manhood still intact. After her GI hubby abandons her in a trailer park, Hedwig decides to pick herself up, dust herself off, and reinvent herself yet again, as a rock star. • Her new beau, Tommy Spec, has similar dreams, steals her songs, and becomes the stadium-filling rock sensation Tommy Gnosis. Still ambitious—and spiteful—Hedwig forms her own band, The Angry Inch. They hit every city Tommy Gnosis plays, performing in shabby little venues. Finally, Hedwig gets to sing her side of the story. • May 7–30, Fri., Sat., & Sun. at 7 p.m. at Fitzgerald’s, 2706 White Oak. Tickets $20, Fri. & Sat.; $16, Sun. More info: 713/862-3838, www.fitzlive.com, or www.hedwighouston.com.

• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (the film). The dazzling film version of Hedwig returns for one weekend only, as part of Landmark River Oaks’ kitsch-fest of a midnight movie series. The cast of the play infiltrates the theater Friday to make the experience all the more glamtastically punkalicious. Friday and Saturday night, May 21 and 22, midnight, at Landmark River Oaks Theatre, 2009 W. Gray. For more information, call 713/866-8881 or visit www.landmarktheatres.com.

• The Hotel Play. Infernal Bridegroom Productions pushes the envelope again, in terms of madness and volume (with a cast of almost 70). In the story, a hotel clerk is met by a near endless barrage of oddball guests, all in a day’s work as any clerk will tell you. There’s the hateful hubby and his wife who just wants to go home, the florist, the guy who’s unhappy with his coffee. Like any clerk, some guests he messes with, some he ignores, some he simply watches as they have their temper tantrums. $10 Thursdays, $12 Fridays, $15 Saturdays. Through May 22 at The Axiom, 2524 McKinney. Tickets: 713/522-8443 or www.infernalbridegroom.com.

• Jekyll & Hyde. The musical adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novella tells the tale of young Dr. Henry Jekyll, a brilliant doctor and research scientist who, tormented by his father’s mental illness, attempts to isolate the elements of good and evil which constantly battle over the forefront of the human psyche. The results of the experimentation are infamous. Possibly the first widely-published parable of drug abuse, the story remains as strong as ever. $25–$68. Through May 9 at the Hobby Center, 800 Bagby at Walker. For tickets: 713/558-887 or www.tuts.com.

• TEXAS: The Big Picture. Anyone who’s Texas-proud and is looking to convert a few unbelievers will find this Texaccentric film handy. Narrated by native Texan Colby Donaldson (of Survivor: The Australian Outback) who grew up on a ranch in the small town of Christoval in West Texas, TEXAS portrays the Lone Star State in all its cinematic beauty, from her rugged mountains to her serene plains to her majestic city skylines and all her diverse inhabitants therein. Through June 7 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. For information: 713/639-4629 or www.hmns.org.

• Links. Several Dancers Core presents CORE Performance Company with an American premiere. This dance-ploration looks at how individual actions have collective ramifications across cultures. The choreography was developed by members of Berlin’s Tanzcompagnie RUBATO in collaboration with CORE. The Berliners commence the evening with a performance of their This Is Not a Lovesong. This event may be so riveting, you could very well find yourself chanting, “Domo Arigato, Tanzcompagnie RUBATO.” Saturday, May 8, 8 pm, at Miller Outdoor Theatre. For info: 713-862-5530 or www.severaldancerscore.org.

• The Unexpected Guest. Set on a foggy estate in Wales, a lost traveler enters a home and finds a woman, smoking gun in hand, standing over her dead husband. But no mystery’s ever solved that easily in Dame Agatha’s world. The play’s ending will surprise you. $14. May 28–July 3 at the Company OnStage, 536 Westbury Square. For tickets/info: 713/726-1219 or www.companyonstage.org.

PERFORMING ARTS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

• Beauty and the Beast. We all know this endearing fairy tale. Love can see through any surface, no matter how rough-hewn. We know it because we’ve seen it since childhood. Here’s a chance for your wee-ones to see it for the first time, and introduce them to the theater. $7. May 15–June 26, Sundays at 11 am & 1:30 pm, at the Company OnStage, 536 Westbury Square. Tickets/info: 713/726-1219, www.companyonstage.org.

RADIO

• After Hours. Saturdays, midnight to 3 am. Featuring the QMZ (Queer Music Zone) with Jimmy Carper. KPFT 90.1 FM, 713/526-5738.

• Queer Voices. Mondays, 8-10 pm. Features, news, music, interviews, reviews, and commentary. KPFT 90.1 FM, 713/526-4000.

ART/PHOTOGRAPHY

• Chocolate: The Exhibit. Chocolate. This universal treat is made from the seeds of the cacao tree whose scientific name Theobroma means “food of the gods.” Complimentary weekend tastings (beginning at 1 pm) offer samples from some of Houston’s finest boutique retailers. Wear a floppy khaki hat, speak in an Aussie accent, and insist you’re the Chocodile Hunter. Crikey! Through May 19 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, One Hermann Circle Drive. For tickets and information: 713/639-4629 or www.hmns.org.

• Bugs and Butterflies: A Rainforest Adventure. The movie A Bug’s Life is a big dirty lie. Bugs don’t sing and dance. They fight. They kill. They rip your heart outta your chest and show it to ya before ya die. Wait, that was Bruce Lee. This particular IMAX picture features a cast of real insects, starring Papilo the butterfly and Hierodula the praying mantis. The film follows the two from their birth to their inevitable encounter in a rainforest of Southeast Asia. Predator meets prey. This ain’t Pixar, baby. This ain’t pretty. At the Houston Museum of Natural Science, One Hermann Circle Drive. Tickets/info: 713/639-4629 or www.hmns.org.

• Cinema al Fresco. There are rumors of a remake of the ’76 cult classic Logan’s Run. So the Orange › Show took it as a cue to play the original Michael York vehicle about a youth culture gone haywire and the value of growing old. The evening opens with the experimental music of A Pink Cloud, The Wiggins, and Rua Minx. $5. 6–10 pm at The Orange Show, 2402 Munger. Info: 713/926-6368 or www.orangeshow.org.

• Fade In: New Film and Video. Eight international artists from across the globe exhibit their works—many are Houston or U.S. premieres—which make video or film the central component to the design. Through June 4 at the Contemporary Arts Museum, 5216 Montrose Blvd. Info: 713/284-8265 or www.camh.org.

• Family Records. Joseph Vitone’s ongoing photography series documents interpersonal relationships in his extended rural Ohio family. The same tensions, conflicts, and underlying love are made visible through his lens. At the Houston Center for Photography, 1441 W. Alabama. Info: 713/529-4755 or www.hpconline.org.

• Olafur Eliasson: Photographs. Houston is the exclusive U.S. venue for this exhibit of one of contemporary art’s unique young talents. The Denmark-born Eliasson’s creations are noted for their elegance, inspired by natural phenomena and introspection. Free. At the Menil Collection, 1515 Sul Ross. For info: 713/525-9400 or www.menil.org.

• Our Country: The History of Country Music. The history of America and the history of country music are both documented and paralleled in this visually stunning IMAX film. Historical footage is edited with images of the mountains of Appalachia, the Grand Ole Opry, and the deserts of California. Featured artists include Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and Houston’s own Lyle Lovett. Through June 7 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Info: 713/639-4629 or www.hmns.org.

• Passport to the Universe. This is not the dinky star show you went to as a kid. Academy Award-winner Tom Hanks narrates this full-dome, high-definition video at the Burke Baker Planetarium. Passport to the Universe brings you close-up views of star fields and planets through a virtual re-creation of our universe. Take the kids, bring the visiting relatives, or treat yourself to something just as entertaining as it is educational. $5 ($3.50 kids 3–11 & seniors 62+). At the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Info: 713/639-4629 or www.hmns.org.

• Perspectives 141: Aaron Parazette. Three new groups of work from native Houstonian and modern artist Aaron Parazette explore his use of arcs and loops, the sport of surfing as a means to examine landscape using waves and other oceanic qualities, and “word paintings” that focus on surf lingo. If only Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello could be there. Through June 20 at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 5216 Montrose. Info: 713/284-8250 or www.camh.org.

• Photo du Jour. World-renowned photojournalist David Hume Kemmerly exhibits his photographic diary of the year 2000, with one photo for each day. Subjects range from the ordinary to the breathtaking. At the Houston Center for Photography, 1441 W. Alabama. For info: 713/529-4755 or www.hpconline.org.

• shOUT! In celebration of Gay Pride, some of Houston’s most powerful new queer voices are given an outlet. Keep an ear open for the return of the Queer Poetry Slam, some of the most outspoken verse in town. May 14–June 26 at DiverseWorks, 1117 East Fwy (off N. Main at Naylor). For info: 713/223-8346 or www.diverseworks.org.

• Under the Radar. The 41st Rice student art exhibit brings works in various media by graduating visual arts majors to public view. Many of these works are available for purchase; take advantage of the opportunity before the artists become renowned and priced out of reach. Through May 8 at Rice Gallery, on the ground floor of Sewall Hall, near entrance 1 off Main and Sunset.

• Video Art Now looks at video as a recently accepted artistic medium. Some of the most captivating video art from around the globe examines what we watch on video and how we watch it, experimenting with projection spaces. Through July 4 at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, 5216 Montrose Blvd. For information: 713/284-8250 or www.camh.org.

• Yale Street Arts & Flower Market is a new Heights market created for local artists to display and sell their original works of art. Fresh-cut flowers are also available. Entertainment is provided by local musicians and is a highlight throughout the day. The market is free & open to the public from 9 am–5 pm and continues the first Saturday of each month, coinciding with the Heights 1st Saturday events. The market is located behind Kaplan’s Ben-Hur at 210 West 21st Street just off Yale. Free parking is available in the Kaplan’s parking lot. Info or booth rental: Mitch Cohen at 713/802-1213 or visit www.YaleStreetMarket.com.

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