MC Valina Polka 6:00 Auf Geht’s 7:00 Keine Kunst German Folk Dance Troupe 7:30 Auf Geht’s 8:30 Rathkamp German Folk Dancers 9:00 Auf Geht’s
MC Edita Rybak 6:00 Chris Rybak Band 7:30 David G Wonders 8:00 Chris Rybak Band
MC Heidi Holadio 6:00 Alex Meixner Band sponsored by Polka Beat 7:00 Rathkamp German Folk Dance Troupe 7:30 Alex Meixner Band 8:30 Das Ist Keine Kunst German Folk Dance Troupe 9:00 Alex Meixner Band
MC Scott Armstrong 6:00–10:00 Blue Yonder
6:30–8:30 Kenny James
MC Heidi Holadio 10:30 Matt Tolentino’s Royal Klobasneks 11:10 Parade arrives 11:15 Opening ceremonies and keg tapping 11:30 Matt Tolentino’s Royal Klobasneks 12:30 Clements HS German Club folk dancers 12:45 Tompkins HS German Club folk dancers 1:00 Matt Tolentino’s Royal Klobasneks 2:00 Scandinavian Folk Dancers of Houston 2:30 Matt Tolentino’s Royal Klobasneks 3:30 Woodlands HS German Club folk dancers 3:50 TBA 4:00 Kingwood HS German Club folk dancers 4:15 Auf Geht’s 5:30 Rathkamp German Folk Dancers 6:00 Auf Geht’s 7:00 Cloggers On The Move 7:30 Auf Geht’s 8:30 Keine Kunst 9:00 Auf Geht’s
MC Edita Rybak 10:30 Round Top Brass Band 11:30 recorded music 12:00 Round Top Brass Band 12:45 Deer Park HS German Club folk dancers 1:00 Kingwood HS German Club folk dancers 1:15 Round Top Brass Band 2:20 TBA 2:30 Round Top Brass Band 3:15 Clements HS German Club folk dancers 3:30 Great Oak School German Choir 4:15 Chris Rybak Band 5:15 Woodlands College Park German club Polka Band and folk dancers 5:45 Woodlands HS German Club folk dancers 6:00 Chris Rybak Band 7:00 Scandinavian Folk Dancers of Houston 7:30 Chris Rybak Band 8:30 Rathkamp German Folk Dancers 9:00 Chris Rybak Band
MC Katerina & Valina Polka 10:30 TubaMeisters 11:30 recorded music 12:00 TubaMeisters 12:45 Woodlands HS German Club folk dancers 1:05 TBA 1:15 Das Ist Lustig 2:00 German folk dance Showcase; six German Clubs from Houston area high schools 2:30 Das Ist Lustig 3:15 Woodlands College Park German Club folk dancers / Polka band 3:45 Alex Meixner Band sponsored by Polka Beat 5:00 Das Ist Lustig 6:00 Keine Kunst German Folk Dance Troupe 6:30 Alex Meixner Band 7:30 Masskrugstemmen (Stein holding) 7:50 Das Ist Lustig 8:40 Masskrugstemmen (Stein holding) 9:00 Alex Meixner Band
MC Scott Armstrong 10:30 Armstrong Family Bluegrass Band 11:30 recorded music 11:45 Robert Duke Trick Roper 12:15 London Lawhon 12:45 Armstrong Family Bluegrass Band 1:45 TBA 2:00 Robert Duke Trick Roper 2:30 Armstrong Family Bluegrass Band 3:35 Derek Song 4:00 London Lawhon 4:30 Deer Park HS German Club folk dancers 4:45 Tompkins HS German Club folk dancers 5:15 TBA 5:30 Hollerin’ and Yodelin Contest 6:00 The Siekers Band 7:30 Derek Song 8:00 The Siekers Band
11:00–3:30 Rebecca Jane 4:00-9:00 Joe Brikha
MC Heidi Holadio 12:00 Walburg Boys 1:15 David G Wonders 1:45 Walburg Boys 3:00 Rathkamp German Folk Dancers 3:30 Walburg Boys 4:30 Cloggers Unlimited 5:00 Walburg Boys
MC Edita Rybak 12:00 Chris Rybak Band 1:15 JungeMeisters 2:00 Keine Kunst German Folk Dance Troupe 2:30 JungeMeisters 3:30 Chris Rybak Band 4:30 Rathkamp German Folk Dancers 5:00 Chris Rybak Band
MC Valina Polka 12:00 Das Ist Lustig 2:00 Cloggers Unlimited 2:30 Alex Meixner Band sponsored by Polka Beat 4:00 Keine Kunst German Folk Dance Troupe 4:30 Alex Meixner Band
MC Scott Armstrong 12:00 Armstrong Family Bluegrass Band 1:00 Robert Duke Trick Roper 1:30 Traveling Murphy’s 2:30 Robert Duke Trick Roper 3:00 Armstrong Family Bluegrass Band 4:00 Traveling Murphy’s 5:00 Armstrong Family Bluegrass Band
1:00-5:00 Shelia Lee and Friends
David G Wonders Tallest German Katerina on Saxophone Gene Hackemack on Accordion
Saturday & Sunday only: Ghillie The Elf TubaMeisters Derek on classical Violin
*subject to change*
Halloween is a special day that delights children of all ages and helps adults feel like kids at heart. Few people want the fun to end once trick-or-treating is over. By throwing a Halloween party, revelers can continue celebrating well into the evening.
When hosting a Halloween party, it helps to determine who will be in attendance before making any plans. Parties that include children should be PG in nature, and hosts should find the right balance between scary and fun. While you want to have a certain measure of the macabre, make sure you don’t send young guests home with nightmares. Reserve gruesome decorations and details for adult-only parties.
Halloween parties do not necessarily need to be ghoulish to be fun. Try a glittery gala masquerade party or decorate exclusively in orange and black. Classically eerie parties may feature ravens and crows, or they can be subtlety spooky with red candles and heavy curtains.
Many people can’t wait to dress up for a Halloween party, even picking out their costumes months in advance. Still, not everyone feels comfortable donning a costume. To welcome all guests, don’t make costumes mandatory. One way around this is to set up a Halloween Disguise Table full of accessories that anyone can borrow and use to alter their appearance. Goofy glasses, strange hats, adhesive mustaches, or masks can be fun. If someone didn’t feel comfortable dressing in full costume, he or she may be more apt to pop in a set of plastic fangs or put on a spinning bow tie.
Food is an integral part of any party and can enhance Halloween soirées. Candy is a pivotal component of Halloween and you can play off that theme at your party. Set up a candy bar full of appropriately hued candies of all shapes and sizes. Put them on display in clear glass or plastic canisters so they add to your Halloween décor.
Some people like to get creative with Halloween cuisine, crafting foods into items that may look like parts of the body or other symbols of the holiday. Cookie cutters can turn sandwiches, desserts, biscuits, and many other foods into different shapes. However, foods also can be made a tad more spooky simply by renaming them or presenting them in interesting containers. Why not serve punch out of a fish aquarium? Other beverages can be housed in jugs or old bottles and labeled “potions.” Use laboratory instruments, such as petri dishes, vials and beakers, to serve snacks.
A Halloween party makes for a fun night, and there is no limit to what hosts can do when planning their scary soirées.
Summertime heat can affect energy levels and take their toll as heat waves overstay their welcome. Days upon days of rising mercury require enterprising individuals to find ways to stay cool.
Summer heat and humidity can be both daunting and dangerous. People who are unable to cool down and stay hydrated run the risk of heat stroke. Symptoms of heat stroke include a body temperature of 104 F or higher and feelings of confusion. The Mayo Clinic notes that heat stroke also may cause slurred speech, irritability and even seizures. Heat stroke is often identifiable by an absence of sweat, a rapid pulse and headache.
Staying cool should be a top priority when temperatures become extremely hot. Fortunately, there are fun ways to stay cool and beat the summer heat.
Driving vacations are popular for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is flexibility. Such excursions are not restricted by flight schedules, and travelers often feel as though they have more control over their trips when traveling by car rather than traveling by air.
Road trips also can save travelers money, especially when traveling in groups of three or more and expenses such as fuel and tolls are shared. In addition to sharing the road with a few friends and family members, road trip enthusiasts can employ several other strategies to enjoy a vacation that’s both frugal and fun.
Road trips make for great vacations, and travelers can take many steps to make such excursions more affordable without sacrificing fun.
Many dads and father figures will attest that Father’s Day is special because they get to spend it with their families. While the gifts might be nice, it’s the time together that dads truly cherish.
Family members who want to make Father’s Day extra special this year may want to put extra effort into customizing Father’s Day fun rather than shopping for gifts.
So what equates to a fun-filled and enjoyable day for fathers? That all depends on Dad’s interests. While no two fathers are the same, there are some universal ideas that can make for a memorable Father’s Day.
Rest and relaxation
Fathers do a lot for their families, and many fathers have hectic daily schedules. Come Father’s Day, Dad may just desire a day when he’s not called on to do anything. Provide this for him by removing many of the responsibilities that can bog your father down. This includes chores that may be tackled on Sundays or even responsibilities that Mom often relies on him to tackle.
Special dinner
On this special day, Dad may deserve a dinner that stands apart from more routine family meals. A specially cooked meal that the entire family prepares together or a reservation at a favorite restaurant will no doubt bring a smile to Dad’s face. Make sure that the meal includes his favorite foods.
Favorite activity
Plan the day around an activity that Dad enjoys. If he’s an avid fisherman, this could mean taking the rods out and spending a few hours seeing what’s biting. Or it may involve attending a ballgame, watching his favorite movie or playing a few rounds of golf.
Father’s Day is a special day that many fathers would insist is even better when spent with family.
Nice weather often equates to an uptick in road trips. During such trips, motorists and their passengers will need to take breaks to refuel both their vehicles and their bodies.
Rest stop and convenience store snack options are often unhealthy, and it can be difficult for nutrition-minded travelers to find acceptable fare. But a little creativity coupled with some smarter choices can ensure road trips don’t derail healthy diets.
The costs of raising a family can be considerable. In its 2014 "Expenditures on Children by Families" report, the United States Department of Agriculture estimated that parents in middle-income households with a child born in 2013 can expect to spend $245,000 raising a child up to age 18. While estimates regarding the cost of raising children are widely varied depending on the source of the approximations, it's fair to assume that raising children can be costly as well.
Thanks to the costs of food, housing, childcare and education, many parents find themselves looking for ways to trim their everyday expenses and create more room in their budgets. Fortunately, such cost-cutting can be done without forcing parents to alter their lifestyles dramatically.
1. Consume less energy.
Reducing energy consumption does not mean parents and their children will spend their nights in darkened homes illuminated only by candlelight. Technology has made it easier than ever before to cut energy costs around the house. If you don't already have one, install a programmable thermostat at home so you are not paying to heat or cool your home while no one is there. Though their price tag might be higher than traditional light bulbs, energy-efficient light bulbs also can cut costs, as they consume considerably less energy without reducing light output and last far longer than traditional bulbs. Parents can also reduce the temperature on their water heaters. Manufacturers may set water heater temperatures as high as 140 F, and it requires considerable standby heat to keep waters at that temperature. Lowering your water heater temperature to 120 F won't make showers any less enjoyable, but you might notice considerable energy savings over the course of the year.
2. Conduct an entertainment audit.
Home entertainment options have expanded considerably in the 21st century. Many families still pay for cable or satellite packages, but they're now also paying for streaming subscriptions to services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime. Audit your entertainment consumption, determining whether your household relies more on cable/satellite service or streaming subscriptions. Consider reducing your cable/satellite package to the basic plan, if not cutting the cord entirely. If your family is less reliant on streaming subscriptions, cancel those subscriptions to save money. If you rely on both equally, consider cutting one for a month to see if you can live without it. With so many entertainment options available, chances are you won't even notice the missing service.
3. Become a smarter food shopper.
Frequent trips to the grocery store waste gas, add unnecessary wear and tear on your vehicle and increase the chances you will make impulse purchases. Try to get all of your grocery shopping done in one weekly trip, using a list so you are less likely to make impulse purchases. Make the most of sales by buying sale items with longer shelf lives, such as cereals, in bulk.
Saving more money is a goal for many families. While saving more often means making sacrifices, those sacrifices do not always necessitate drastic lifestyle changes.
Easter is a time when Christian families gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Religious customs abound on Easter, but a number of secular traditions have emerged as well. Perhaps the most popular secular tradition associated with Easter is the coloring of Easter eggs.
Easter egg dyeing kits emerge in early spring. Consumers have a variety of alternatives to these kits at their disposal. There are some people who desire more environmentally friendly Easter eggs, so here are some creative and greener ideas for coloring eggs this year.
Good Friday is a Christian holiday that is celebrated every year on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday. Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary, the location outside of Jerusalem’s walls where the crucifixion took place.
Though Good Friday is considered a holiday and is a legal holiday in many countries across the globe, the commemoration is not characterized by the festive atmosphere many holidays inspire. In fact, in the fourth century, the Apostolic Constitutions described Good Friday as a day of mourning and prayer. In addition, many Christians fast on Good Friday, eating only one full meal and two smaller meals that do not add up to a full meal.
Christians believe that commemorating the death of Christ helps to remind them of the sacrifices that Christ made and the human sin that contributed to his death.
The observance of Good Friday has existed for centuries. According to Catholic Online, the Catholic Church does not celebrate Mass on Good Friday, though church services held on Good Friday correspond to the divisions of a traditional Mass. These services include the Liturgy of the Word, during which the Passion of Jesus Christ is read; the intercessory prayers for all people, including non-Christians; the Veneration of the Cross, during which the crucifix is unveiled to the congregation; and the Holy Communion. During these services, the church organ and bells are silent.
Good Friday is one of the holiest days of the year for Christians across the globe. This year Good Friday is celebrated on March the 25! Today!
Adopting a dog is a wonderful way to bring joy into a home, and adoption may very well save a dog’s life. According to the Humane Society of the United States, between six and eight million pets end up in shelters each year and half of those are unlikely to be adopted.
Adjusting to life with a dog is not always easy. Owning a dog is a big responsibility, the scope of which first-time dog owners may not fully grasp until their furry friends arrive at their new homes for the first time. But there are ways to make the transition to dog ownership go smoothly, which should afford new dog owners more time to spend with the newest additions to their families.
Shelter dogs often make great companion animals, and owners should afford their new dogs ample time to adjust to their new home.