Come all you local weirdos, geeks, and history nerds and join us on Saturday, April 1st  from 10:00am – 4:00am as Archivists of the Houston Area partners with The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, for Old, Weird, Houston! Archival repositories and private collectors from around the greater Houston and Southeast Texas region have scoured their collections and will be bringing their weirdest, funkiest, rarest, and in some cases ugliest items in an all-day grown-up show and tell! 

There will be vendors with Houston swag, food, and drinks as well as panel discussions and presentations on topics such as hardboiled newspaper columnist Sig Byrd; the rise and fall of counterculture rag Space City News; the rescue and conservation of the Hyde Park Miniature Museum; the original story behind the Art Car Parade; and  the Orange Show’s history and its upcoming exciting restoration project. Stay after the talks for a performance from legendary Houston punk band Mydolls.

Participating AHA! Repositories

• McGovern Historical Center, Texas Medical Center Library
• UH Special Collections
• Lamar University Special Collections
• University of Houston Libraries, Preservation and Reformatting Dept
• Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center
• San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield
• The Dominican Sisters of Houston
• Houston Methodist Archives
• Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University
• Recovering the US Hispanic Literary Heritage Program

Besides being the welcome wagon at the event, AHA! will be hosting an Ask the Archivist booth where the public can get advice on their own preservation and archiving needs. We will also have a booth that will feature some cool event swag, including an exclusive sticker commemorating the event. You can also find copies of the AHA! Repository Directory (and pay your membership dues? Only $11 for a year). If you feel like manning any of these booths,we are still looking for volunteers! You can let us know by filling out this form. 

Where

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
2334 Gulf Terminal Dr., Houston, TX 77023

Gulf Terminal Drive is one street past Munger off the southbound Gulf Freeway feeder approaching Telephone Road. Plenty of parking available in the lot behind HQ dock.

When

Saturday, April 1st, 2023 10:00am – 4:00pm

Program Schedule