Lubbock Culture Minipost - Flatland Film Festival this Weekend!

flatlandfilm.org

Yep, it's that time again and this time I am giving you some advanced notice! The FFF happens on Thursday-Saturday of this week. Here's the schedule:

 

The FFF is my favorite annual event in Lubbock and I strongly urge you to go check it out for yourself. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed last year when I found out that the festival would not include the short film segment. But that's not a problem this year - the shorts are back at 9pm on Friday.

 

If you're a fan of local music, the festival has a treat for you as well. Flat land and Open Skies appears to be a comprehensive documentary that outlines the Lubbock music scene over several decades...and there will be a performance by the Lubbock Allstar Band after the closing reception. If you only attend one cultural event in Lubbock this year...well, you know the rest.

 

May you enjoy getting to know your neighbors!

 

PS. Please tell Scott Faris that the Mesquite Hugger sent you!

Lubbock Culture: Flatland Film Festival

As per usual with this blog, this is a bit late in the delivery...

Lots of cool things happen around the LHUCA, but my favorite annual event there is the Flatland Film Festival. This year's festival caught me off guard. With anniversaries and elections and lots of other stuff going on, it slipped my mind to get the word out. So, here it is half over, but there is still a lot to see.

A blue heron from Yakona, a visual journey through the history of the San Marcos River - this film looks amazing!

Tonight: 6pm Yakona, 8pm Madly (Taylor Shofner screenlay reading), and 12am Why Don't You Play in Hell? There will be three short films between Yakona and Madly)

Saturday Night: 7pm Que Caramba es la Vida, Closing Reception 9:30

May you go and have a wonderful time!

PS. Be sure to check the official site linked above - a few local media sources have the wrong times posted.

Combating Lubbock Boringitis: Urban Tech

Imagine living in a place where there is always something to do.

In case you haven't heard, our fair city has once again been voted the most boring town in America. And it is not hard to see why we have such a reputation. If one is not interested in going to a movie, attending a sports event, or heading down to the Depot District to drink a lot of alcohol, well, you are going to have to do some digging.

Don't do it!

But there have been many glimmers of hope in the last few years. Two that stand out happen in the downtown area: the LHUCA First Friday Art Trail and the Lubbock Downtown Farmer's Market. If you have been fortunate enough to visit either of those recurring events, you've had the chance to see local folks out enjoying the place we call home and the company of our neighbors. And it's pretty darned awesome.

Another group that is working in the same direction is Urban Tech. They are an offshoot of the Texas Tech College of Architecture. In their own words:

A place for students to think, draw, design, model and create.
A product of ideas and information in public exhibition in the form of drawings and models and transportable information via digital media.
A process of civic engagement and exploration.
Urban Tech will clarify the public benefits of architecture, promote the creation of new knowledge and serve as a laboratory for ethical professional behavior where community needs supersede private agendas. (I really like that last sentence!)

Urban Tech has been stepping away from the drawing board lately and taking their work and ideas into the street downtown. And if you have not made it out there, you still have time this week to head over to Avenue J to see what's up and to support the idea of resurrecting our downtown to create an area where people would love to live, work, and play. Besides the cultural events, you can check out the functional art, the pocket park, and the prospective graphics on the windows. You can even pick up one of the cool t-shirts for $10.

Bands on Friday Night

Coffee in the morning and live music during the lunch hour and after work

Last night's Broadway & Gourmet on Ave J

If you are one of those who keep complaining about how boring our town is, here is your chance to truly be the change you wish to see in the world. Get out and support a future that can be.

May you live in an interesting place that inspires you!

PS. Be sure to check out a few of the other projects on the Urban Tech website. BIKE!

Lubbock this Weekend:Quick Reminders with Links

 Jacob McCoy Burton at J&B Coffee (26th and Boston) tonight 9/5/14

Snapshots of Hunger: Lubbock - First Friday Art Trail  Tonight

Lubbock Downtown Farmers Market - Saturday starting at 9am

Walk to End Alzheimer's Register Saturday at 8am - Now an indoor event! (South Plains Mall)

Walk for 4 Health at Lubbock Lake Landmark - Saturday 9am-1pm (Come-n-Go)

May you find something to keep you busy this weekend!

Snapshots of Hunger: Lubbock - First Friday Art Trail and the Texas Hunger Initiative

If you are looking for something to do in Lubbock this weekend and want a different view of life in Lubbock, be sure to swing by the Christine DeVitt Icehouse Gallery (511 Ave J) during the First Friday Art Trail.  The exhibit there is titled "Snapshots of Hunger: Lubbock."

[Lubbock, Texas]-The Texas Hunger Initiative Lubbock field office has partnered with The South Plains Food Bank and the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts to present an exhibit entitled “Snapshots of Hunger: Lubbock” which will be on display at September’s First Friday Art Trail. Six Lubbock residents, the exhibit’s artists, explore what food insecurity looks like in our community.

If you are like me, it is a little too easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of your own day-to-day life and to blind yourself to what is going on with your neighbors. Exhibits like this are very important for helping us to keep our eyes open to the struggles of those around us. If you would like to know more about the Lubbock branch of the Texas Hunger Initiative, be sure to visit texashunger.org. If you want to learn more about local efforts to battle hunger, please check out the Lubbock Edition of the Neighborhood Guide to Food & Assistance.

And, if you are fortunate enough to meet Grace Norman, the THI's Regional Director, please tell her thank you from the Mesquite Hugger.

May you and those around you never go hungry.

Lubbock this Weekend (June 6th and 7th, 2014)

The First Friday Art Trail is tonight.

LHUCA First Friday

The Downtown Farmer's Market really does kick off tomorrow morning.

Lubbock Downtown Farmers Market

May you find inspiration, health, and a good bargain or two!

PS - Say hi to Yellowhouse Lance and Kelle B from the Mesquite Hugger!

Lubbock Local Events: First Friday Art Trail is Tonight!

Get out and support the local arts AND the local food trucks!

First Friday Art Trail

May your local arts support you!

LHUCA Forum on Fracking Today

I am not a brave or particularly wise man, but I do try to be accountable for my actions and give thought to those actions and how they impact others. I keep a journal to help me with that.

I do not want to go to this forum. I do not want to hear industry and economic experts explain why fracking is good for our energy independence and our ability to support our kids, because I see these as short term benefits leading to a long term destruction of what we are and hope to be. I go today with three questions in mind:

1. How long can we hope to destructively and toxically extract the earth's resources until we have gone too far?

2. How far can we push it before our money and our science cannot save us?

3. Have we reached that point already?

May we live and breathe freely, and may our actions not destroy that for others.

LHUCA: A Discussion About Fracking - This Saturday Afternoon

The more I research fracking, the more I see it as a reckless and dangerous practice that is quickly accelerating our destruction of our planet and the water that sustains all life on our planet. I view hydraulic fracturing as a form of suicide for our race.

I have found that most people in our area support the practice because of the short-term economic impact and "energy independence". I see wind and solar power as vastly superior forms of power generation that could accomplish the same goals without destroying our future.

I have also found that the majority of the people in our area have very little idea of what the practice involves and what chemicals and risks are involved.

If you are in the Lubbock area and would like to know more about fracking, there will be an explanation and discussion this weekend at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts. Here is the link. (I hope to see you there.) 

http://www.lhuca.org/documents/FrackingPosterSm.pdf

May our knowledge and decisions be based on truth rather than propaganda. 

Support your local arts: Arroyo!

Feeling a bit hypocritical on posting this one because I have not seen it yet, but there is a movie showing at Premiere Cinema (you know, the new place in the mall) that was shot and (mostly) produced in this area and the actors are local celebrities. It is called Arroyo, the lead role is played by Kenny Maines, the movie was shot in Slaton and Post, and it will be in the theatre through Sunday. Enjoy!

See the trailer here:
http://www.thearroyomovie.com/

May your popcorn not get stuck in your teeth!

The Flatland Film Festival Starts Tonight in Lubbock

Lots of cool stuff and the opportunity to support the local arts while being a couch potato.

For you sci-fi and/or live music geeks, there will be a reprise of the Metropolis Elektro on Friday night (and I am very excited since I missed it the first time around.)

My favorite part is always the short films, and those will be shown on Saturday afternoon.

I will buy a bag of popcorn for anyone who attends and mentions a horned toad, a mesquite tree, or a tiny house.

http://flatlandfilm.org/index.html

May you have a blessed day filled with art and joy.

Supporting the Local Arts - Flatland Film Festival

Quick Post: We are less than two weeks from the Flatland Film Festival. Don't miss out on one of Lubbock's kept secrets!

Flatland Film Festival - LHUCA