5/21
Irish poet W.B. Yeats had a total thing for the supernatural. He wrote boatloads of poetry with fairy-centric themes like "Come away, O human child!/To the waters and the wild/With a faery, hand in hand/For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand." Bad advice, considering that these elfin creatures were always accused in Irish lore of stealing sweet babies and making mischievous use of them. Fairies finally get a fair turn at the first Pixie Parade on Saturday at the Texas Discovery Gardens in Fair Park. The 7.5-acre garden will become a classroom as toddlers through preteens arrive in proper dress and tour the grounds with guided strolls. Kids are encouraged to come in pixie or fairy-tale costumes and learn about the city's urban oasis. The 10 themed areas will be full of riddles and nursery rhyme clues as plants are related to different fairy tales--a "Nest Egg Gourd" gives clues to Humpty Dumpty, while Lamb's Ear hints at "Mary Had a Little Lamb." It promises to be an afternoon of garden patch riddles (including Peter Rabbit garden vegetables) and festivities. The event is part of a month-long fairy-tale festival at the community garden. If they're not wandering the butterfly habitat or scent garden, kids can make crafts and meet other pixie revelers, having no need to proclaim, as Yeats did, "Faeries, come take me out of this dull world/For I would ride with you upon the wind." Texas Discovery Gardens is located at Fair Park, 3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Play pixie at 10 a.m. May 21. Adults $3, seniors $2, children (ages 3 to 11) $1.50. Parking is free. Call 214-428-7476 or visit www.texasdiscoverygardens.org. --Leah Shafer
Wake-up Call
5/21
Back in my day, skaters skated, surfers surfed and skiers skied. Simple times, happy times. Things were "cool," occasionally "awesome," but never in our wildest dreams could anything have been "off the chain." Probably because my generation didn't have something as obviously off the chain as wakeboarding, an extreme aquatic amalgam of water-skiing, snowboarding and skateboarding. Different times, complicated times. On Saturday and Sunday at Fort Worth's Marine Creek Park, witness the Pro Wakeboard Tour and all of its festivities, addictive like an EA Sports video game soundtrack. Local favorite Gabe Lucas will compete with defending champ Parks Bonifay and dozens of other hopefuls. Marine Creek Park is located at 4600 Marine Creek Parkway. Tickets are available at www.prowakeboardtour.com or at the gate for $10. --Matt Hursh
Boots and Bonnets
5/22
Great Britain's sucking it right now. Coldplay has yet to be replaced as icon of UK rock--something sorely needed. Even on TV, NBC's version of The Office is funnier, if only because you can hear all the jokes. The British Emporium, however, fares far better just sticking with the classics. Highlighting its car show on Sunday is the iconic Routemaster double-decker bus and a black taxicab, in addition to other British classic cars and bikes. The show runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (awards for "Shiniest Boot" and other zany titles are presented at 4 p.m.) and is located at 140 N. Main St. in Grapevine. Call 817-421-2311. --Paul Kix
Katy's Friends
5/19
Get your exercise, your drink on and a full meal all at one place. The Michelob Ultra Seventh Annual Katy 5K Run/Walk/Skate presented by Travis Walk/Terrace House promises to give every opportunity for fun--and for the good of the trail. More than 40 local restaurants and food vendors will participate, and proceeds benefit Friends of the Katy Trail in the effort to provide a soft-surface path for runners. The event begins at 6:15 p.m. May 19 in Reverchon Park, 3505 Maple Ave. at Turtle Creek Boulevard. The event also features a Point-5K Dash (a one-third-mile run) for kids 9 and under, a 5K skate and The Blenders providing live "get moving" music. To register call 214-303-1180 or visit www.lukeslocker.com. --Jenice Johnson
