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EXHIBITIONS AT THE HOUSTON MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE: “Morena Moderna: Virgin de Guadalupe,” a photographic exhibit by Diana Molina that documents Our Lady of Guadalupe as an important cultural image and a venerated religious symbol, continues through April 20. “Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia,” an exhibition focusing on the history and culture of Ethiopia, continues through April 27 and features the fossil of Lucy, ancient manuscripts and royal artifacts from a dynasty Ethiopians believe goes back to the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. “CSI: The Experience,” an interactive forensic science exhibition related to the popular CBS TV show, continues through April. The exhibition invites visitors to use real science to solve hypothetical crimes in a multimedia environment featuring cast members of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigations.” Visitors enter a “crime” scene to identify and record evidence, go to a “laboratory” for scientific testing, into an “autopsy” room for pathology analysis and to the “office” to build a case based on the scientific evidence. Tickets for the special exhibition are adults $15, children 3-11, seniors 62 and older and college students with valid ID $12. “Revealing Character,” Robb Kendrick’s series of tintype photographs documenting the lives of modern-day cowboys in Texas, continues through May 4. “Marshes: The Disappearing Edens,” a photographic exhibition by William Burt featuring flowers, birds and other wildlife creatures, as well as the lyric details of the marsh, continues through May 11. “Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius,” an exhibition that reveals the ingenuity and brilliance of a man ahead of his time, on view through Sept. 1. The exhibition explores the amazing inventions of the original “Renaissance Man,” such as flying machines, robots, submarines, underwater breathing gear and solar powered industries. Visitors can explore more than 50 custom-built wooden models of da Vinci’s most innovative designs and inventions, including a hang glider, helicopter, military tank and elegant bridge structures - many of which can be seen realized in today’s technology. These models have been produced in vivid detail from his original drawings by artisans in Italy. Many models will be interactive and hands-on. Tickets for the special exhibition are adults $15; children 3-11, seniors 62 and older and college students with a valid ID $12. The museum is at One Hermann Circle Drive across from the Miller Outdoor Theater in Hermann Park in Houston. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Admission to the museum is $8 for adults, $4 for children 3-11 and seniors 62 and older. Some exhibitions have separate admission charges. (713) 639-4600, (713) 639-4629 or www.hmns.org

southeasttexaslive.com

SOUTH HADLEY - Images from World War II and music from the 1940s will emanate from the float townspeople have constructed for Sunday’s Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade.
Honoring America’s “greatest generation” provided the theme for the float, according to William L. Schenker, who organized the effort for this year’s tribue.
Ronnie Dion Signs created panels that depict in black, white and gray images of the war’s Pacific and European theaters as well as a likeness of the famous Life magazine photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse on V-J Day in 1945.
The Pacific theater panel depicts an aircraft carrier with the names of the locations of important battles like Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The European theater panel depicts a B-17 bomber and a tank battalion as well as the names of such locations of important battles as Normandy, site of the June 6, 1944, invasion of France, and Sicily.
An end panel in the display lists the names of the 37 town residents who died in service in World War II.
“There were many more who served,” Schenker said of the town’s residents in the military at that time.
The group working on the float also salvaged an old Silvertone radio from the town landfill and refinished it. Its interior has been fitted with speakers so that it broadcasts such popular tunes from the period as those by the Andrews sisters, Glenn Miller and Kate Smith.
“Some of the music brings back memories,” Schenker, retired police chief, said.
He recalled sirens sounding and church bells pealing on V-J Day on Aug. 6, 1945 when he was almost 10 years old.
“All my heroes served in World War II,” Schenker said, explaining that in addition to those in military service he means those who did such things as work in factories.

masslive.com

Thousands of Girl Scouts and Brownies turn out, as well as the marching bands from Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe high schools and Kyrene Akimel A-al Middle School.
“Marching bands make a parade,” Schmitt said.
Other returning favorites include the Sun City West Jazzy Poms, a group of showy seniors, and Center Pointe Dance Studio of Ahwatukee, which won “best of parade” last year for its entertaining choreography and tumbling.
“They were really impressive,” Schmitt said.
Center Pointe Dance Studio owner Kim Lindsey said this year’s float is going to be especially festive.
“It’s a 20-foot-tall Easter Basket and it’s about 40 feet long and we’ll have about 40 dancers on the float and about 60 on the street,” Lindsey said.
Schmitt also said both the Legislative District 20 Democrats and the Republican Women of Ahwatukee registered for the parade. “This is a political year, so we’ll have a political touch,” he said.
Morning television anchor Scott Light of 12 News Today will be the grand marshal, riding in a Cadillac from Coulter, a major sponsor. Also riding in the parade will be Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The Kiwanis Club is excited to have a grand sponsor this year with Freeway Chevrolet. The company will cover many parade expenses and the Spring Fling, Schmitt said.
The parade lasts about an hour, and afterward, the Spring Fling will start at Ahwatukee Park. More than 40 crafters’ booths will sell everything from cosmetics and jewelry to artwork and children’s items.
Photos with the Easter Bunny will be $7 and an Easter egg hunt will require three tickets ($3). Rides, games, food and drinks will be available, too. From 3:30 to 5 p.m., Ahwatukee blues band Blooster and the Mighty, Mighty Hot Wings will perform.

azcentral.com

Most of us think St. Patrick’s Day evolved when the Irish immigrants started arriving in America during the Potato Famine in the 1840s. But the first St. Patrick’s Day parade in the 13 colonies was organized by the Charitable Irish Society in Boston in 1737.
Imagine, Boston has been celebrating St. Patrick’s Day for 271 years.
In Boston, the holiday is closely tied to the day George Washington drove the British out of Boston in 1776. Boston was one of the most important ports in our new country. The Americans were able to drive off several thousand troops and loyalists with only a few warning shots and no loss of life. It also included a promise from the British commander not to burn the city when they left.
This was a major accomplishment and Washington’s first victory of the war. It was also a huge morale boost for the new country, as the city where the rebellion against England started was the first to be liberated.
Some of the soldiers who served under Washington were Irish Catholic. Many of these men, with no jobs, enlisted right off the boats, upon arrival to their new homeland. They had experienced first-hand British occupation and suppression in Ireland. Because of their courage and loyalty, George Washington allowed his troops a holiday on March 17. This event became known as The St. Patrick’s Day Encampment of 1780.

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Band director Russ Smith guides the Shelby County Community Band through a rehearsal at the Strand Theatre, 215 S. Harrison St. The band will perform its midwinter concert at the Strand on Sunday. Steve Talbert
Band at the Strand
Community concert moves to vaunted venue
Bigger isn’t always better. A new, smaller venue brings intimacy to the Shelby County Community Band’s 15th midwinter concert.
At 2 p.m. on Sunday, the band will perform the annual event at the Strand Theatre, 215 S. Harrison St. The event previously was held in Shelbyville High School’s Breck Auditorium.
“Breck Auditorium is a tremendous community resource,” Russ Smith, band director, said, “but many times the audience feels like they are BBs in a boxcar, because Breck is so large, and our audiences don’t normally fill more than a section or two of the 1,056-seat auditorium. The Strand will provide us with a more intimate performance space, making it a lot more comfortable for both the audience and the performers in the band.”
David M. Finkel, president of the Strand’s executive board and trumpet player in the band, also believes the Strand’s smaller size will enhance the band’s annual concert.
“The Strand is a smaller space, seating just under 500,” Finkel said. “It will not only be more intimate for the audience, but will give people a reason to come to downtown Shelbyville.”

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