Category Archives: Events

Mark you calendar! Saturday, May 18, 2024, 10am-1pm. Glenwood Cemetery Archives Tour. 2525 Washington Ave, Houston, TX 77007.

Glenwood Cemetery Archives Tour on Saturday, May 18

You are invited to an AHA! exclusive tour of the historic Glenwood Cemetery Archive on Saturday, May 18th with the option of hanging out on the grounds after for a picnic – so please bring your lunchboxes.

The Glenwood Cemetery was established as a private cemetery in 1871 and is located west of Downtown Houston overlooking Buffalo Bayou. The design of this cemetery was special as it broke the typical grid layout of Houston cemeteries and instead was based on the principles of 19th century romantic garden cemeteries. In addition to its use as a resting place for many prominent Texans, Glenwood Cemetery hosted visitors who utilized the space as a park – as public parks didn’t exist back then as they do now. In 2022, Glenwood Cemetery created an Archive (and completed the groundwork on it in 2023), dedicated to the history of the cemetery encompassing over 150 years of history. The Archive collection is composed of 20 collections and 2 special collections.

What to Expect:

  • The tour will be indoors; however, resources will be provided to anyone who wishes to explore the grounds to see flora/fauna and art collection along the difference family lots.
  • Parking will be available in the front parking lot and additional vehicles can park along the brick curb paths- be sure to not block the main gate or any lanes.
  • They have public restrooms on site but no water fountain, so please bring your own water bottles!

Limited Slots for Tour, RSVP Today!

We are limited to 25 people so please RSVP as soon as possible. We have included a waitlist space as well; in case anyone needs to cancel their RSVP as the event gets closer.

Please RSVP via the link below and be sure to include your preferred contact information that you will have access to the day of – in case any changes occur:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UYIyJbFmzNRYGh2KnS5ZjQAg-7VU3J-qUlDITS9C3Is/edit?usp=sharing

While there are limited spots for the indoor tour of the archives, all are welcome to enjoy the grounds and picnic.

Archivist Meetup in Katy Asian Town, Saturday, April 13 @ 12:30pm

Join us for our next Archivist Meetup which on Saturday, April 13th at 12:30 in Katy! Since our Spring Meeting is the same week, we are going to do a social event this time around in Katy Asian Town, which is a shopping center off of Grand Parkway. It boasts a fantastic assortment of restaurants and bars with cuisines from all over east Asia. There is also Kinokuniya, a Japanese bookstore which not only has manga but all kinds of Japanese stationery (great for paper nerds! 🥸🤓), a cat café called Cat Haven ($20 dollar entry fee but all the kitties), and an H-Mart (so many good snacks!). 

We will meet up in front of Tan Tan Wok at 12:30 and have lunch together and then decide where we want to explore. This is just a fun hangout but it can be a great way to network and discuss issues you might be having with your collections or to just vent with fellow archival folks! 
You can RSVP via this Google Sheet. I do not think that Tan Tan Wok takes reservations, but I would like to be able to let them know how many might be in our party when we get there. We look forward to seeing y’all then!

We have another exclusive sticker for this year's Old, Weird Houston event. Visit us at the Houston Archives Bazaar at the annual Old, Weird Houston at The Orange Show on Saturday, March 30th 10am - 6pm. Grab your 2024 exclusive Old, Weird Houston sticker while supplies last!

2024 Exclusive Sticker for Old, Weird Houston

Exclusive Sticker for 2024. Old, Weird Houston. “Magnolia City” HoustonArchivists.org. The stickers features a magnolia flower, steam train engine with orange slices for wheels.
Exclusive Sticker for Old, Weird Houston 2024. The stickers features a magnolia flower, steam train engine with orange slices for wheels, symbols of Houston’s history.

We have another exclusive sticker for this year’s Old, Weird Houston event. Visit us at the Houston Archives Bazaar at the annual Old, Weird Houston at The Orange Show on Saturday, March 30th 10am – 6pm. Grab your 2024 exclusive Old, Weird Houston sticker while supplies last!

The archives bazaar represents some of the many diverse repositories and collections around the city. Archivists will be there to showcase their collections. Come and get to know the local area archives and the history they preserve for Houstonians and researchers all over the world.

Get to know the Magnolia City sticker

The Magnolia City sticker features historical symbols from Houston’s past and gives a shout out to The Orange Show, our hosts for the Houston Archives Bazaar for the past two years.

Get to know the Magnolia City sticker - (1) You can get the exclusive sticker at the 2024 Old, Weird Houston event on 3/30 at The Orange Show. (2) Learn more about Archivists of the Houston Area and the event at our website. (3) Magnolia Flower. Forests of wild magnolia trees flourished on the east side of town. (4) Magnolia City is Houston’s earliest nicknames. (5) Locomotive symbolizes progress and forward thinking. It has been featured on the city’s seal since 1840. (6) Orange slices honor The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and the “Artist in Everyone”. (7) Mossy Green Background resembles the color of the bayous as well as the pollen that covers the city every Spring, and most especially it represents the majestic live oaks that grow throughout the city.
Get to know the Magnolia City sticker – (1) You can get the exclusive sticker at the 2024 Old, Weird Houston event on 3/30 at The Orange Show. (2) Learn more about Archivists of the Houston Area and the event at our website. (3) Magnolia Flower. Forests of wild magnolia trees flourished on the east side of town. (4) Magnolia City is Houston’s earliest nicknames. (5) Locomotive symbolizes progress and forward thinking. It has been featured on the city’s seal since 1840. (6) Orange slices honor The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and the “Artist in Everyone”. (7) Mossy Green Background resembles the color of the bayous as well as the pollen that covers the city every Spring, and most especially it represents the majestic live oaks that grow throughout the city.

Magnolia Flower for the “Magnolia City”

Houston has acquired many nicknames throughout it’s illustrious 188 years of existence. Bayou City, Space City, Clutch City, and H-Town to name a few. Magnolia City was one of the earliest monikers. It harkens back to a growing, bustling town in Southeast Texas where wild magnolia trees flourished on the east side of town, near Harrisburg.

Locomotive

The steam locomotive has been featured on the Seal of the City of Houston since it’s initial adoption in 1840. It symbolizes progress as well as aspirations for the future. From the humble beginnings at the confluence of the White Oak and Buffalo Bayous, Houston became the hub of industry in the Southwest by the end of the 19th century thanks to the railroads. At its peak, Houston was a distributing point for as many as ten railroad companies.

Map of Houston, The Magnolia City, May 21, 1898. A printed engraving from the "Texas World" newspaper depicting Houston as the hub of manufacturing and distributing for Texas. [University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, https://id.lib.uh.edu/ark:/84475/do06149p703]
Map of Houston, The Magnolia City, May 21, 1898. A printed engraving from the “Texas World” newspaper depicting Houston as the hub of manufacturing and distributing for Texas. [University of Houston Libraries Digital Collections, https://id.lib.uh.edu/ark:/84475/do06149p703 ]

Orange Slices

The wheels of orange slices on the locomotive honor The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art and The Orange Show Monument that they preserve as a celebration for the “Artist in Everyone.” Nothing captures the unique, creative, artistic spirit of Houston and Southeast Texas than The Orange Show. The events and folk art installations that they preserve will inspire Houstonians for generations.

Mossy Green Background

The mossy green background resembles the color of the bayous as well as the pollen that covers the city every Spring, and most especially it represents the majestic live oaks that grow throughout the city. Did you know that live oaks are the most populous tree in Hermann Park? You can find almost 1,800 of them within the 445-acre park. While we can’t say for certain that the live oak is the most populous tree is the Houston metropolitan area, they are definitely ubiquitous and one of the most picturesque features around town.

Old, Weird Houston Poster Available!

March 30, 2024 | 10am - 6pm Orange Show World HQ, 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive Old, Weird HOUSTON, A celebration of our city's hidden histories. The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art presents a local alternative history fair and symposium that preserves, interprets, and shares the hidden histories of unusual and creative people, institutions, and events that have made our city one of the most diverse and livable in the country. Archivists of the Houston Area (AHA!) Archives Bazaar Exhibitions of early art car activity A daylong speaking program with presentations and panels featuring William North; Valentin Diacanov; Mike Vance; Phillip Pyle, II; Stephen Fox; plus area students The Hyde Park miniature Museum Food trucks And Houston-proud vendors Keynote performance (5 pm): John Lomax III presents The Lomax on Lomax Show
Download the poster

The annual Old, Weird Houston at The Orange Show is on March 30th. The event flyer is available to download.

  1. Download.
  2. Print.
  3. Post around town.
  4. Tell everyone about the event. 

This event features an archives bazaar, a day-long schedule of speakers and panels, along with food trucks and vendors. Find all links and details at here on the AHA! website or at on The Orange Show website.

  • Old, Weird Houston
  • Saturday, March 30, 2024 
  • 10:00 am- 6:00 pm 
  • Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
  • 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive
  • Houston, Texas 77023
Slide graphic announcing AHA! 2024 Program Schedule. We are busy filling out the year with events, professional development opportunities, repository tours, and get-togethers. # View the schedule on houstonarchivists.org. Leave a comment in the spreadsheet if you have any questions or suggestions.

2024 AHA! Program Schedule

The 2024 programming schedule is available.

We are busy filling out the year with events, professional development opportunities, repository tours, and get-togethers all over the Houston and Southeast TX area. We’ve already had 2 events this year and planning many more. Hope to see y’all soon!

See the Schedule

Leave a comment in the spreadsheet if you have any questions or suggestions.

Reserve your booth for Old Weird Houston. Deadline is March 15th. Old, Weird Houston at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive. Houston, TX 77023 takes place Saturday, March 30th 10am-6pm.

Sign-up to Exhibit at Old, Weird Houston, Deadline 3/15

Sign-up to exhibit your repository at the annual Old, Weird Houston at The Orange Show on March 30th. The deadline is March 15th. Please share this with anyone who might be interested in participating at the event! 

Sign-up to Exhibit

https://form.jotform.com/233535199972166

We would like the archives bazaar to represent all of the diverse repositories and collections around the city, so we encourage y’all to sign up to be an exhibitor. You can bring anything from your repository that is interesting or relevant to the history of Houston, as well as any printed materials or swag items from your institution/organization. The main goal is to get folks interested in archives and to become familiar with local area repositories. Each exhibitor will get a “booth” provided by the Orange Show to showcase their materials. More details about exhibiting and signing up is included in the sign-up form.

This event features an archives bazaar, a day-long schedule of speakers and panels, along with food trucks and vendors.

You can read more details about the event on the Orange Show’s website, and check out some videos of the speakers who participated at last year’s event. 

Save the date! Saturday, March 30, 2024, 10am-6pm. Old, Weird Houston at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive. Houston, TX 77023.

2024 Old, Weird Houston @ The Orange Show

It’s that time of year again! We are teaming up with the Orange Show for the annual Old, Weird Houston event on March 30th. This event features an archives bazaar, a day-long schedule of speakers and panels, along with food trucks and vendors. 

We would like the archives bazaar to represent all of the diverse repositories and collections around the city, so we encourage y’all to sign up to be an exhibitor. You can bring anything from your repository that is interesting or relevant to the history of Houston, as well as any printed materials or swag items from your institution/organization. The main goal is to get folks interested in archives and to become familiar with local area repositories. Each exhibitor will get a “booth” provided by the Orange Show to showcase their materials. 

More details about exhibiting and signing up can be found here. 

Save the date! Saturday, March 30, 2024, 10am-6pm. Old, Weird Houston at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive. Houston, TX 77023.

Save the date! Saturday, March 30, 2024, 10am-6pm. Old, Weird Houston at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive. Houston, TX 77023.

The deadline to sign up is March 15, 2024. Please share this with anyone who might be interested in participating! 

We also will need some volunteers to help with the event. You can sign up to volunteer here. 

You can read more details about the event on the Orange Show’s website, and check out some videos of the speakers who participated at last year’s event. 

  • Add it to your calendar! 
    • Old, Weird Houston
    • Saturday, March 30, 2024 
    • 10:00 am- 6:00 pm 
    • Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
    • 2334 Gulf Terminal Drive
    • Houston, Texas 77023
PowerPoint Party! 2/24 @ 2pm. In-person: 2375 Bolsover, Houston, TX 77005 (see note about parking) Virtual Meeting ID: 880 0818 7968 Passcode: 874871 Short 1-3 slide presentations on any archive-related topic. Practice your in-person and/or virtual presentation skills or support your local archivists as an observer. In-person and virtual presentations will be viewable to all participants. (Cody is grilling a little bit!)

PowerPoint Party! 2/24 @ 2pm (hybrid event)

Please join us for a PowerPoint Party on Saturday 2/24 at 2 PM! This will be a hybrid event hosted in person and online via Zoom.

Yes, you read that right, a PowerPoint Party! Come learn about local repositories, projects, and other interesting archives-related concepts from our AHA! members. We encourage people to participate by presenting a short 1-3 slide presentation on any archive-related topic. Tell us about the repository you work at, an interesting collection you recently browsed, any projects you may have worked on, some interesting news or tea you may have heard, or anything else that you’d like to share. Presenting a PowerPoint is not required, and you are more than welcome to come and just observe 🙂

Presenting is such an important professional skill, but also something that many people prefer to avoid. Whether it’s anxiety or frustrations with technology, we hope that this event will provide a low-stakes and friendly environment for AHA! members to practice this skill in a fun way. As more conferences are hosted in a hybrid format, this is an opportunity to practice either/both skill sets.

Online participants can join us on Zoom.

In-person participants can join us at 2375 Bolsover, Houston, TX 77005
Be mindful of parking signage, especially in front of the house. Free parking on Dunstan, East of Greenbrier; Paid Parking in garage near Morningside and Rice Blvd near Coppa Osteria

Map showing Free parking on Dunstan, East of Greenbrier; Paid Parking in garage near Morningside and Rice Blvd near Coppa Osteria

Map showing Free parking on Dunstan, East of Greenbrier; Paid Parking in garage near Morningside and Rice Blvd near Coppa Osteria

in-person: 2375 Bolsover, Houston, TX, 77005. Virtual: zoom ID: 880 0818 7968 passcode: 874871. | Short 1-3 slide presentations on any archive-related topic. | Practice your in-person and/or virtual presentation skills or support your local archivists as an observer. | In-person and virtual presentations will be viewable to all participants. (Cody is grilling a little bit!)

in-person: 2375 Bolsover, Houston, TX, 77005. Virtual: zoom ID: 880 0818 7968
passcode: 874871. | Short 1-3 slide presentations on any archive-related topic. | Practice your in-person and/or virtual presentation skills or support your local archivists as an observer. | In-person and virtual presentations will be viewable to all participants.
(Cody is grilling a little bit!)

Social media graphic for "Old, Weird Houston" presented by the Orange Show & AHA! Ten archives from the Houston & Southeast Texas region with their weirdest stuff! Show & Tell. Ask an Archivist. Music & Talks. Swag, Food & Drinks. When: April 1, 2023, 10am-4pm. Where: 2334 Gulf Terminal Dr. Houston, TX 77023.

Old, Weird, Houston! @ The Orange Show

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! 

Exclusive sticker for "Old, Weird Houston" for the Archivists of the Houston Area (AHA!). houstonarchivists.org. Designed by Laura Ramirez
Exclusive sticker for “Old, Weird Houston” for the Archivists of the Houston Area (AHA!). houstonarchivists.org. Designed by Laura Ramirez

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

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

10 aEvent Begins
10:15 am: Welcome & Sig Byrd by Robert Kimberley
11:30 am:   Space City News by Thorne Dreyer
12:30 noon:The History of the Art Car Parade
1:30 pm:   Hyde Park Miniature Museum by Pete Gershon
2:30 pm:    Orange Show history and conservation panel
4:00 pm:     Performance by Mydolls at Orange Show monument
Social media graphic for "Old, Weird Houston" presented by the Orange Show & AHA! Ten archives from the Houston & Southeast Texas region with their weirdest stuff! Show & Tell. Ask an Archivist. Music & Talks. Swag, Food & Drinks. When: April 1, 2023, 10am-4pm. Where: 2334 Gulf Terminal Dr. Houston, TX 77023.
Social media graphic for “Old, Weird Houston” presented by the Orange Show & AHA! Ten archives from the Houston & Southeast Texas region with their weirdest stuff! Show & Tell. Ask an Archivist. Music & Talks. Swag, Food & Drinks. When: April 1, 2023, 10am-4pm. Where: 2334 Gulf Terminal Dr. Houston, TX 77023.
Social media graphic for "Old, Weird Houston" presented by the Orange Show with the Archivists of the Houston Area. Saturday, April 1st 10am - 4pm at Orange Show World HQ 2334 Gulf Terminal Dr. Houston, TX 77023. A Local history fair showcasing oddball ephemera from collections both public and private.
Social media graphic for “Old, Weird Houston” presented by the Orange Show with the Archivists of the Houston Area. Saturday, April 1st 10am – 4pm at Orange Show World HQ 2334 Gulf Terminal Dr. Houston, TX 77023. A Local history fair showcasing oddball ephemera from collections both public and private.