Last week we told you about the fantastic ice skating venue being constructed in Discovery Green. Well, brothers and sisters, we got our skate on last night. Here's what you need to know before you skate your heart out and release your inner Chazz Michael Michaels. Wear tall socks, kid, or bring them with you. The rental skates are in great shape, but they'll still chap your cankles if you're planning to rely on your......

That's right, folks, it's not a drive-in -- it's a glide-in! Discovery Green has been hard at work creating Houston's only outdoor ice rink for the holidays, which will have its grand opening tomorrow night! The Ice at Discovery Green is comprised of two rinks -- the 7,200 square foot main rink and a smaller one called the Snow Box just for the kiddos -- and features real ice, none of this artificial ice junk.......

Grab your blankets and head to the hill at Discovery Green Friday evening for Fresh Fridays, hosted tonight by Dance Houston. Home Grown Motion: A Gathering of Local Dancers will be tonight's performance and dancers and dance groups will perform in an impromptu festival on the Anheuser-Busch Stage. Many styles of dance will be represented including hip hop, jazz, contemporary, and international dance. Show up early to see and participate in the open warm-up......

Houstonist took our sweet time finally getting down to The Lake House in downtown's Discovery Green, and do we ever wish we'd discovered (heh...get it?) this little gem sooner. Aside from its beautiful, modern-yet-relaxed architecture and location in the middle of Discovery Green, The Lake House is an unassuming little restaurant. It's made to fit seamlessly with the rest of the park, classic wood-paneling appropriately reminscent of a lake-side cabin and soaring glass walls showcasing......

Day 5 post-Ike, and here's hoping you are all hanging in there, barring any stir crazy tendencies to strangle whoever turned on the lights on billboards before your abode. We hear ya. We've been trying to get out and about the last few days to blow off some steam, and it does seem to be helping to get out around other citizens, albeit if only to swap favorite between shower remedies. Good news is, the......

Note: Due to impending weather from Hurricane Ike, please check the Discovery Green website for information regarding this event. This Friday night, head over to the hill at Discovery Green to catch the start of the KUHF Silent Film Concert Series sponsored by Houston Public Radio. Three silent films from the 1920's will encompass this free series and the films will be accompanied by live, original music. The series kicks off at 7:30pm on......

It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since Max Fischer got kicked out of Rushmore and "made a go of it" at Grover Cleveland High. But it has been ten years, so to celebrate, Discovery Green is presenting Screen on the Green - RUSHMORE 10TH CLASS REUNION! A free screening of this indie classic by Houstonian Wes Anderson at the Anheuser-Busch Stage and Fondren Performance Space, otherwise known as the hill. Rushmore......

Hey, locavores! Find yourself wanting a more comprehensive listing of all the farmers markets in town? Wondering where else to hit after your weekly jaunt to the Midtown Farmers Market or Urban Harvest? Wishing that there were markets on days other than Saturday mornings? Houstonist has got your back, babies! Some of these markets may be familiar to you, some may be brand new, and all are worth a visit. So get out there this......

Summer days may be long but shorts are where it's at — film shorts, that is. For more than 10 years Houston's Aurora Picture Show has hosted a contest for Extremely Short Films (3 minutes and under) from across the globe. This year's Extremely Shorts festival coincides with Aurora's 10th birthday, and to celebrate, the avant garde theater is hosting a weekend of festivities, including a free retrospective tonight at Discovery Green. The Best of......

As if you needed another reason to head down to Discovery Green this weekend, here's one more: Dock Dogs! Yes, the time-honored "dog performance sport" of leaping off docks and catching crazy air will be going on all weekend at the downtown park. If you thought the Lumberjack Games were the most ludicrous yet highly entertaining sport you've ever seen, then you haven't witnessed the majesty of Dock Jumping. In this sport, dogs of all......

Forty musicians performed the entire Sgt. Peppers album by The Beatles at Discovery Green, downtown’s newest park. The park was packed and people filled the hill and sat all the way up to the stage! The show started with a few random Beatles tunes, including Across The Universe complete with tabla and sitar. The group then launched into the featured performance and it was a magical event. After they played the entire album, the......

Have you seen Discovery Green? You simply must hit the amphitheater tomorrow evening from 6:00 - 8:30 pm to see Houston's own Archie Bell performing with one of Houstonist's favorites, The Allen Oldies Band. In fact, if you can go as early as 4:00 p.m. and no later that 7:30 p.m. - Central City Co-op is hosting a "Green Market", so pack a small cooler, just in case to stash your organic and locally grown/made......

One Park Place may be billed as "the pinnacle to the adjacent new Houston Downtown Park," but this new kid on the block should not go around beating up on its neighbors. Construction materials fell from the tower (foreground in the accompanying photo) striking 5 Houston Center (background), which sits across the street from the construction site. The objects shattered the outer panes of a lower level window at 5HC. We arrived on the scene......

Spring is springing which means that Festival time in Houston is ramping up, people. This weekend saw the official launch of Discovery Green and the recurrence of the Westheimer Block Party; more on these in a second. Next weekend brings us the International Festival and others. Get out your calendar and start planning. You'll not want to miss a chance to be outside if the spectacular weather continues. >> Discovery Green Park opens downtown:......

Celebrate the opening of our new Downtown green space, Discovery Green , this weekend at the Discovery Green Family Day on Sunday, April 13th. It seems like just yesterday we were all in an uproar about the hideous name choice. And here we are now, able to frolick in her glory. Enjoy 12 acres of urban green space including a one-acre lake, children’s playground, interactive water features, amphitheater stage and slope, small and large dog......

Good morning, Houston. If the dearth of new TV in the wake of the writer's strike has left you willing to watch anything, we've got some news for you: HTV, the municipal station, is launching a new program! Woohoo! Entertainment Houston, a 30-minute show, will focus on — wait for it — Houston's facilities, included the Wortham Center, Jones Hall, the George R. Brown Convention Center and the not-quite-finished Discovery Green. A new episode......

>> Poll shows split over Clemens, McNamee: The court of public opinion currently stands divided in Harris County regarding the Roger Clemens steroid scandal according to a poll by The Chronicle. According to the results published yesterday by David Barron, 35.5 percent said believed McNamee; 32.8 percent sided with The Rocket; and, 31.7 percent did not respond. The margin of error is listed at 4.1 percent. These numbers may prove initially encouraging for Clemens......

Good morning, Houston. We freely admit that we don't like bugs, so we've tried quite a few home extermination methods — but we've never blown the roof off our house while doing it like Patricia Espiricueta of Galveston did. It seems Espiricueta was fed up with her home's roach problem, so she set off five bug bombs and left the house. While she was gone, the fumes hit a pilot light and exploded, lifting......

Good morning, Houston. One thing about the holiday season: You hear Christmas music everywhere you go (and if you haven't been hearing it, just tune in to Sunny 99.1 — you'll catch up quickly). With that in mind, we were interested to check out ASCAP's list of the most-played holiday songs this year. It was released on Dec. 4, but by that time, the group reported that 1,562 different holiday songs had already been......

More on Hines' proposed 47-story downtown skyscraper: The Chronicle has some details about the building and its design, and it looks like it really could be something different for the CBD. Plans call for the 630-foot building to be clad in glass, with the west facade featuring projecting vertical glass fins to shade offices from afternoon sunlight. Near the top of the building, on its east side, will be a notched opening that'll shelter......

Earlier this year, we talked about the downtown real estate boom: One Park Place, the apartment tower under construction at the edge of Discovery Green; Houston Pavilions, the retail and office complex being built on Main Street; and a few skyscrapers in the planning stages. Well, the Houston Business Journal reported on one of those proposed new buildings Friday: a 47-story skyscraper being planned by Hines in the 800 block of Main Street. There......

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art will soon be conducting a nationwide search for a new Executive Director, as Susanne Theis will be leaving August 31st to become the new Programming Director of Discovery Green, which opens in early 2008. Susanne has been with The Orange Show for more than 20 years. Under her guidance, The Orange Show has garnered international recognition for the world's largest and oldest Art Car Parade and each of......

Discovery Green, the unfortunately named park under construction in downtown Houston, has gained its first high-profile piece of artwork: Jean Dubuffet's Monument au Fantôme, which has stood in front of 1100 Louisiana for 25 years. Dan Duncan, the pipeline tycoon who owns the skyscraper, has donated the sculpture to the park, where it will sit along Avenida de las Americas across from the George R. Brown Convention Center. "It's a fantastic piece of art," park......

Good morning, Houston. We can't remember a time when Ed Brandon wasn't on KTRK — so it'll be odd when he's not on TV anymore. As we learned from Mike McGuff yesterday, Brandon plans to retire in mid-April after 35 years in front of the weather map. McGuff has a long (and fascinating) interview with Brandon; once you've checked that out, you can leave a comment for Ed on Channel 13's website. >> Lampson......

Remember the 37-story apartment tower announced last May for a block overlooking Discovery Green? KHOU reports that foundation work began this weekend, when about 800 cement trucks dumped their contents into the big hole at the corner of Austin at Lamar. And downtown observers are all atwitter: "I think that Houston will see a lot more residential development downtown. I think this is a lead project for many to come," said architect Jeffrey Ryan......

Architecture Center Houston Grand Opening For its inaugural exhibit, the Architecture Center Houston, affectionately referred to as the ArCH, offers a show of current plans for the future of Houston. The exhibit, titled Houston: Future Form, is divided into four areas: Architecture, Bayous, Parks, and Transportation. It includes plans for Discovery Green, the new downtown park, the realignment of I-10 and I-45, as well as the Asia House in the Museum District and continued landscaping......

Before you try to tackle President Bush and the state of the whole country tonight, you can read Mayor White's state of the city address, delivered yesterday afternoon at a Greater Houston Partnership luncheon. White, a popular and effective mayor, discussed the achievements of the city in the past year as well as goals and programs he sees for Houston's future. Among other things, Bill White mentioned the success of his Safe Clear program in......

At times, we've looked at all the apartments going in downtown and wondered how many people actually lived there. The answer, according to the Chronicle, is quite a few: The occupancy rate for downtown apartments is 89 percent and seems to be growing. That's up 6 percent over last year; by contrast, demand for apartments citywide decreased by 1.7 percent in the last 12 months. The main reason: convenience. "Our kids are grown and gone,"......

More today on the selection of "Discovery Green" as the name of the new downtown park: The name was the brainchild of Kim Borja, an accountant for Pappas Restaurants, and park officials liked it so much that it was the only name they forwarded to Mayor Bill White. Wow. "I definitely wanted something other than 'park' in the name, so I decided on 'green,'" said Borja, who hasn't yet claimed his prizes — a signed......

Well, the soon-to-be downtown park has been christened — and the best name they could come up with the name chosen from about 6,200 entries was Discovery Green. That's apparently the name that best reflected "the spirit and uniqueness of the new downtown park and, among other qualities, Houston's diverse history, and communities and distinctiveness from a regional standpoint." Is it just us, or does "Discovery Green" accomplish none of those goals? Instead, it sounds......