LOCAL Houston | The City Guide January 2018 | Page 6

ON OUR RADAR
STAGES HITS THE BIG TIME
NEW CAMPUS IS THE STAR OF THE SHOW
Stages Repertory Theatre has announced plans for its new three-theater
campus, named in recognition of a major gift from Houston philanthropists
Glenda and Russell Gordy. The Gordys have pledged to match every new
donation to Staging Our Future: A Transformational Campaign for Stages,
dollar for dollar, up to $5 million, making this one of the largest individual
gifts in the history of Houston’s performing arts community. Once the match
is fulfilled, this gift will complete the $30.5 million capital campaign in sup-
port of the theatre’s visionary strategic plan, including construction of its new
66,850sf campus.
In recognition of this legacy commitment, the new campus will be named
The Gordy. In addition to the Gordy match, the Staging Our Future campaign
has raised $20 million to date, including major commitments from The Brown
Foundation, The Sterling-Turner Foundation and the Winston and Reckling
families, The Wortham Foundation and the Stages Board of Directors.
BE A TOURIST IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD
HERE’S TO THE WINNERS
EXPERIENCE THE UNUSUAL
WATT AND ALTUVE SCORE HIGH IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Hometown heroes! Sports Illustrated announced in December that Houston athletes J.J. Watt
of the Texans and José Altuve of the World Series Champion Astros have been named Sports
Illustrated’s 2017 Sportspersons of the Year.
Watt and Altuve were recognized for their contributions both on and off the field and for
embodying this year’s key theme of “Athletes Who Care.” The two were featured together on
the cover of SI’s annual Sportsperson of the Year issue and in new profiles spotlighting their
impact.
Said Watt: “All I did was give people a way to help… If I’m going to get an award, I feel
like over 200,000 other people should too.” Altuve, the Houston Astros’ second baseman and
American League MVP, is an inspirational story about a consistently underestimated player who
rose to the top of his sport. The three-time batting champion was a key part of the team that
brought Houston its first World Series Championship. He was recognized for giving back and
inspiring a community when it needed it most.
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L O C A L | 1 . 2018
Have you ever wondered how jeweler Johnny Dang cre-
ates his famous grills? Have you ever sat in the lotus position
while petting a goat? Not just visited, but made art at one of
Houston’s world-class museums or gone behind the scenes at
the largest rodeo in the world? How about taking an insider
tour of the home base for our World Series Champions,
the Houston Astros, or viewing the exceptionally unique Art
Car Parade like a VIP? It’s all on the schedule in 2018 with
Destination English!
Tours for Houstonians and out-of-towners alike, Destination
Houston, the cultural tourism arm of Destination English,
showcases the best and most unusual aspects of our town.
Weekly, affordable tours highlight insider Houston – where
to play, eat and, surely, later revisit with family and friends.
Visit www.destinationenglish.us/tours for tickets and details.
1 . 2018 | L O C A L
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