Photo: Larry Hunter Jr, Damion Hypolite, Jannetta Gilliam, Tosha Hunter-Hypolite, Wilma Hunter, Myles Hunter, Morgan Hunter, Maya Hunter and Larry Hunter Sr.

HOUSTON- A surprise 70th Birthday celebration for Playwright/Author Larry Hunter, was hosted by his children and spouses, Larry Jr., Tina, Domion and Tosha at the Epiphany House, 1924 Calumet Street, located in Mid-Town.
Hunter is the author of two books, and several plays. Plays like “Rawley Street Whistler,” “The Elder Come To Town,” anf “My Sister’s Keeper,” which was performed in the Music Hall.
 He was surprised when he walked through the door and was greeted by the traditional “Surprise!” by his family, students, co-actors, friends and classmates. Larry still has the heart of an athlete. He played basketball and baseball on his high school team.
After graduating, he attended Wiley College in Marshall Texas on a baseball scholarship. He was a highly recruited left-handed pitcher, with plenty of heat. Yet, he was toasted as being “mild-mannered” and “sweet,” slow to anger.  If anyone doesn’t like Larry, they need to have their oil and filter changed, because there’s something wrong with them.  Happy 70th Birthday Larry, Welcome to the Seventies Club!

Although he had trouble with his left hand after receiving an electrical shock, he continued to make club appearences and play music.

HOUSTON- Creole Blues Musician Ashton Savoy, recently passed away at the age of 80. Although he was not exactly a household name in Houston, he was internationally known as a blues virtuoso with both his singing and his guitar. Ashton was born in Sunset, Louisiana in 1928. He grew up in a musical family, his father played fiddle and guitar. As a teenager, he moved to New Orleans where he became blues player when he was influenced by T-Bone Walker and Reed.
In 1958, he recorded the song “Baby Baby” in Lake Charles for the Kry label. Two years later Savoy moved to Houston, where he fell in with local blues players. He toured Europe and remained active on the scene here through the ’80s and ’90s, playing mostly blues, sometimes in French, and occasionally zydeco at clubs including the Big Easy, Shakespeare’s and the Silver Slipper. The Louisiana-born, Houston-based singer and guitarist cut several songs a half century ago that can be hunted down on compilations, but he wasn’t nearly as well documented as his hero and friend Lightnin’ Hopkins. His niece, Sandra Savoie-Arceneaux, says he suffered an injury in 1999 while fishing. He threw a pole over a live wire and received an electrical shock., damaging his left hand. Although he had trouble making chords on the guitar after the accident, he continued to appear on local stages, unable to stop playing music. Ashton Savoy is survived by his wife, Leona, eight children, three sisters, three brothers and extended family.

Michael Jackson became a liaison for the culture, and helped propel hip-hop dance into the mainstream culture.

The world lost a one-of-a kind musical genius on Thursday June 25th, when the legendary Michael Jackson passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest.  As his fans mourn, no one can deny the musical legacy he leaves behind.  One of the contributions he made to the music industry that is often overlooked is his gift to the Hip-Hop community.  Michael Jackson helped open doors to Black music which, without his impact, would have made it hard for a genre like Hip-Hop to become a mainstream phenomenon.

 

Photos:
1. Frank and Eunice Wesley, Megsa Dorsey, Paula Smith, Doretha Jones and
Jimmy Bigham
2. Rose McGowan and Archie Taylor
3. Jackie Daniels
4. Vergie Welcome, Reginal Walker, Katherine McGowen and Geraldine Barnes
5. Roph Trumble
6. Shirley Honeycutt, Helen Cotton and Bonnie Collins
7. Spoon Daddy

HOUSTON- “Party Time,” an old fashioned, down home, 19th of June celebration, with all the trimmings “went down” at the Silver Slipper Night Club, 3717 Crane Street, located in Northeast Houston. It was wall-to-wall and back-to-back. The citizens who were celebrating lived through and survived legal segregation and Jim Crow.

Like everyone else, when I received word of Michael Jackson’s death on June 25, I was in a state of shock. But when sources told me that the BMW left at the scene of Jackson’s rented mansion was registered in Texas, I had a sinking feeling. Little did I know that the connection was closer than I thought.

Juneteenth Events Around Texas

HOUSTON- The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston will host Bowl for Kids’ Sake, on Saturday, June 6, 2009, at Palace Lanes, 4191 Bellaire Blvd, from 12 noon- 8p.m.
The BFKS season runs each year from February - August. Community Bowling Events are announced for different areas of Houston that anyone can take part in. In between, major sponsors of BFKS hold their own private bowling events for employees. Bowl for Kids’ Sake (BFKS) is a great way to get involved with and support the mission of BBBS. BFKS is a series of bowling events that anyone can take part in. Big Brothers Big Sisters is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the fullest amount allowed by law. Cancelled checks of less than $250 act as tax receipts. BBBS will provide tax documentation for all single gifts of $250 or more.
If you have any questions, contact Rosalind Moore at (713)860-8209.

Houston-native Lady “D” is scheduled to perform.

HOUSTON- Brush off your dancing shoes, and head down to Houston’s Miller Outdoor Theatre in Hermann Park for Texas Folklife’s 20th Annual Accordion Kings & Queens Festival. Headlining this once-in-a-lifetime event will be Tejano greats Sunny Sauceda and Santiago Jimenez, Jr.; Zydeco stars Cedryl Ballou and The Zydeco Trendsetters, the Czech polka specialists Mark Halata and Texavia, and Lady “D” and The Zydeco Tornadoes. Popular Texas journalist Joe Nick Patoski will emcee the star-studded affair on Saturday, June 6, at 6:30 p.m. and it is free and open to the music-loving public. The night promises to be a squeezebox extravaganza!
The Festival’s program of performers promises to thrill this year’s audience and get them up off their feet and dancing under the stars. Louisiana native and Houston darling, Lady “D,” opens the festivities with her Zydeco Tornadoes band, known for its upbeat Zydeco music and audience participation.
The Miller Outdoor Theatre is located just south of downtown Houston, near the museum district and the Houston Medical Center in Hermann Park, located 100 Concert Drive. For more information contact (281)373-3386.

AUSTIN- UpRise! Productions is auditioning performers for their summer show and overall season. Diverse, experienced, professional actors, dancers, poets, singers, are encouraged to audition for paid positions. Performers must be willing to fearlessly tackle taboo and unconventional subject matters. To be considered for their summer performance, you must respond prior to June 1, 2009. For more information, email info@upriseproductions.org.

The works of Julie Dash, director and writer of “Daughters of the Dust,” will be featured in the collection.

HOUSTON- Cinema Remixed and Reloaded: Black Women Artists and the Moving Image Since 1970 is the first exhibition to examine the critical contributions of Black women film and video artists to the field of contemporary art. The exhibition may be viewed at the Contemporary Arts Museum, located at 5616 Montrose Blvd.