Category: Lake Conroe Area News

A part of heading back to school for a new year includes having updated shot records on file with the school district. 
As Houston-area schools are set to return in mid-August, organizations are offering free and discounted opportunities to get immunizations up to date. 
Here is where to find free and reduced-cost immunization events across Houston:
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Children’s Museum of Houston 
Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program, in partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Houston/Galveston, will administer free vaccinations to children six weeks to 18 years of age who qualify for the Texas Vaccines for Children Program in August at the Children’s Museum of Houston at 1500 Binz Street, Houston.
The vaccine event is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 1, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15. If the child has received a vaccination, parents are required to bring documentation of children’s vaccination records.
‍Pre-registration is required. Call Texas Children’s Mobile Clinic Program at 832-824-6355 to register. For questions and eligibility, call 832-824-6788.
Lone Star Family Health Center 
In Montgomery County, Lone Star Family Health Center’s 7th Annual Don’t Miss the Bus event takes place through Aug. 9. 
“Don’t Miss the Bus” is a two-week event across all family health center locations focused on back-to-school health services. Well child visits and vaccines are free for children without insurance. For those with insurance, there is typically no out-of-pocket expense for preventive services. Well child visits with a licensed medical professional are required to receive immunizations at the event.
To make an appointment for Don’t Miss the Bus, call 936-539-4004. If uninsured, request to speak to an eligibility specialist prior to making your appointment. All patients must bring a list of required immunizations from their school and a current shot record. Space and vaccine stock are limited.
Houston Health Department 
The Houston Health Department offers immunizations for children at its four health centers including — La Nueva Casa de Amigos, 1809 North Main; Northside Health Center, 8504 Schuller; Sharpstown Health Services, 6201 Bonhomme and Sunnyside Health Center, 4410 Reed.
Call 832-393-5427 or email TVFChouston@houstontx.gov to schedule an appointment. The free immunizations are available to children eligible for the Texas Vaccines for Children program.
Spring Branch Family Development Center
The Spring Branch Family Development Center hosts a back-to-school vaccination event at 8 a.m. Aug. 10. It’s at 8575 Pitner Road, Houston. The event is for students with Medicaid or Chip, uninsured or insurance does not cover vaccine cost. 
Participants are asked to bring the child’s shot record or letter from school nurse and bring as few people as possible to the appointment. 
The organization serves more than 12,000 Houstonians each year through a multi-agency collaboration that provides educational, recreational, health and social services in English and Spanish.
Galveston County Health District 
The Galveston County Health District’s immunization services division protects the health and well-being of the community by providing children and adults protection against vaccine-preventable diseases.  
A child must be eligible for the state-supplied Texas Vaccines for Children program, age 18 or younger and meet certain criteria. 
There is an administration fee of $13 for one vaccine and $25 for two or more vaccines per visit. Administration fees may be waived due to inability to pay. For more information call 409-938-2201.
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Fort Bend County 
Access Health and the Fort Bend County Health System hosts back-to-school health fairs from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 3 and Aug. 10 at 307 Texas Parkway, Missouri City. No appointment is needed. During the fair there will also be a backpack and school supply distribution, health screenings and limited sports physicals. 
A three-day, after-hours vaccination event at Ridgemont Family Clinic is set from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 7-9 at 5353 Ridgecreek Circle, Houston. Walk-ins welcome, call 281-634-7234 for an appointment. Bring a copy of child’s vaccine record. Parent or adult guardian must accompany children younger than 18.
Katy area 
The Texas Vaccine Institute will be offering August dates and times for any student enrolled in Katy ISD, insured or uninsured, to receive the necessary required immunizations for school entry.
August clinics are set for 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. Aug. 9, Aug. 10, Aug. 11, Aug. 15 and Aug. 16. 
The vaccines are given at the Professional Development Annex at 6361 S. Stadium Lane, Katy. Enter using Pavilion Annex doors. No appointments necessary. Vaccine prices range from $15 for one to $35 for three. 
For additional information contact the Health Services Department at 281-396-2629. 

With August brings the start of a new school year and a return to routine.
Before the bell rings on the first day and after there are some community events ahead in August and some that help families prepare for back to school and the upcoming fall. 
Here are some Montgomery County events coming up in August:
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Back-to-school sale 
Just Between Friends Back-to-School sale is billed as the largest resale event in Texas. It begins Thursday and continues through Aug. 4 at the Lone Star Convention Center and Expo Center in Conroe at 9055 Airport Road. 
Expect more than 900 sellers with 200,000 items up for sale at the annual event that is spread out over 53,000 square feet. Items for babies through teens. Admission is $3 at the door. 
Thursday is presale day. See selected times for special groups like VIP shopping, military families, first time parents and grandparents. Friday the event is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 
Southern Star Beer Run
The annual 5K run at the brewing company in Conroe is set for 8 to 11 a.m. Aug. 10 on the brewery grounds. Southern Star Brewing has changed hands and the property will host its grand opening soon. The original grand opening set for Aug. 3 was delayed by Hurricane Beryl. 
The run starts and finishes at Southern Star Brewing Co and then cool off with a craft beer. Once runners cross the finish line, collect a souvenir pint glass and enjoy up to four 8-oz pours of beer, included with entry and a 2024 race T-shirt. 
Registration is open at the Run In Texas website.  
Montgomery County Funky Junque Market
The Montgomery County Funky Junque Market returns to the Lone Star Convention Center, 9055 Airport Road from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 17. 
Shop holiday items, decor, handcrafted items and more with more than 125 small business vendors featuring fall and holiday items. Entry is $5 cash at the door. 
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Texas Red Fest
The music festival Texas Red Fest is set for 2 p.m. Aug. 24 at Heritage Place Park in downtown Conroe. The festival features bands including The Lacs, Justin Champagne, Rehab, Cypress Spring and Austin Toliver. Tickets are $30. 
Wellness Expo 
A two-day Wellness Expo is set for Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at the Lone Star Convention Center in Conroe. More than 75 exhibitors featuring products and services for mind, body and spirit. Shop for nutritional products, energized jewelry and stones, essential oils and air purifiers. 
Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. Admission is $7. 

Nearly 50 years after Chuck Walker was a member of the 1976 Summer Olympics USA boxing team, he is still close with the remaining boxers of the team and calls them brothers. 
Walker, 67, of Conroe represented the United States at the Montreal games and his boxing teammates included Ray Charles Leonard, best known as Sugar Ray Leonard, brothers Leon and Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph, Charles Mooney, Big John Tate and Howard Davis.
Several in this list won gold medals that year. While Walker didn’t medal in 1976 the former boxer-turned-movie director/producer has plenty to reminisce about from his Olympic experience as the Summer Olympics get underway in Paris.
The Games began Friday night and continue through Aug. 11 in France. 
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Dancing before boxing
Walker grew up in Mesa, Arizona and became enrolled in dance as a young boy to overcome being born with a club foot. He later became a professional dancer.
He began boxing at age 13. His uncle, Mack, took him to some advertised boxing matches in Mesa. 
“I sat in the audience and watched those fights and there was something in me that said ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to do that.’ I’d never had that sensation before or since,” he said. “Something just swept over me.” 
He pestered his dad to take him to the Gene Lewis boxing gym in Mesa where he became a regular for the next five years. At 16, he won the Arizona State Golden Gloves Championship in Phoenix. 
National spotlight 
In the summer of 1975, he earned the chance to fight in the national boxing tournament in Shreveport, Louisiana. There he won his first three fights and began to turn heads. On the fourth night, he fought Robert White who was the No. 2 boxer in the nation and won. 
This qualified him for the finals where national sportscasters Pat Summerall, Frank Gifford and boxer Jerry Quarry went to bat for him with CBS so Walker’s final fight of the tournament was televised nationally.
Thinking about it still gets him emotional today. He took that match knocking his opponent out in the first round. 
“From total obscurity I was suddenly champion of the United States and No. 1 in line to all international competitions,” he said.
He was a part of the boxing team for the 1975 Pan American Games in Mexico City and continued to fight up until the Olympics. He received a bronze medal in Mexico City. 
Montreal Olympic experience 
Walker participated in the opening ceremonies in Montreal and called it a surreal experience to be among athletes from all over the world. 
“Fortune smiled on Chuck in many ways at Montreal, as he reveled in the companionship of three later-to-be world champions,” said Robin Montgomery, Montgomery County historian and close friend of the Harris boxing family. “These were Michael Spinks who defeated Larry Holmes for the world heavyweight title, his brother Leon, who defeated the fabled Muhammed Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard, popular world champion middle weight.”
Walker’s Olympic match though was disappointing and still leaves some questions about the scoring. He fought the Polish champion Jerzy Rybicki now a Polish politician. 
The fight went to a split decision with three votes for the Polish fighters and two for Walker. He now feels the decision may have been impacted by global events at the time. 
“It shouldn’t have even been close. Howard Cosell was doing the commentary and said ‘Ladies and gentleman this is the biggest travesty of justice I’ve ever seen in the Olympic games.’ Everyone was sorry but that didn’t chance the results and that was the end of my Olympic games,” he said. 
Rybicki went on to win the gold medal in the division. 
Often at the place where the athletes stayed during the games, he’d get on and off the elevator with a guy named Bruce. They would exchange pleasantries and go on about their day. 
“Of course he wasn’t that famous at the time, but it was Bruce Jenner,” Walker said.
The former athlete who now goes by Caitlyn Jenner won the gold medal and broke the world record in decathlon in Montreal. 
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Movies and turning pro 
Following the Olympics he turned pro and continued to fight. He stopped for a while to focus on entertainment projects, but in 1984 staged a comeback and this lead him to Conroe to train with Henry Harris and the Harris family of which boxer Roy Harris was a product. 
He fought until the late 1980s still No. 4 in his weight class and then turned his attention to acting and directing and formed Walker Cable Productions with then Conroe High teacher Sam Cable in the 1990s. Cable promoted Walker’s last few fights. 
Over the years they’ve found success with several films including 2008’s “The Man Who Came Back” starring Eric Braeden, Billy Zane, George Kennedy, and Armand Assante; “Border Cross” which came out in 2017 featuring Lorenzo Lamas and Danny Trejo and 2015’s “A Little Christmas Business” with Daniel Baldwin, Tammy Barr, Lorenzo Lamas, Bo Hopkins, Leslie Easterbrook and Gib Gerard. 
Most recently in 2023 working with Cable’s son, Ritchie, they released the film “The Author” about an author who is in a car accident. He is struggling with his faith and is asked to write about his life. 
They are currently working on a series about community theater. 

The sound of wedding bells will soon be ringing throughout the Houston region as cooler fall weather is on the horizon. And wedding planners and some newly engaged couples may be looking for venue ideas in preparation for next year.
Typically, wedding season peaks in Texas during the spring and fall, as temperatures drop away from the triple digits. 
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But planners and future brides can choose from a wide array of venue options in the Houston area that can fit a variety of budgets, from farmhouses to beach-side venues. 
And more venues are coming to the area, such as The Blue Magnolia in Montgomery County, which is slated to open in May 2025.
Here are six venues around the area for people planning for their big day:
The Majestic Metro (Houston)
The Majestic Metro in downtown Houston has been hosting weddings for more than 30 years, according to the venue’s website. The two-story building comes with several features, including a state-of-the-art sound and dance lighting system with a large dance floor, a multimedia projection and space to accommodate for small and intimate to large and grand weddings.
The venue, which is located in the Market Square Historic District, can hold up to 500 guests. There is also a parking lot and garage less than a block from the venue. 
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Special rates for hotels will be offered to guests looking to book a room at the SAM Houston and Hilton Curio Collection hotels. 
Pricing for weddings is dependent on size and day of event.
For more information, visit majesticmetro.com. 
The Bowery House and Gardens (Katy)
The Bowery House and Gardens in Katy is a loft-style event venue nestled in an intimate garden setting at Seven Oaks, according to the venue’s website. The venue off Franz Road comes with several customizable spaces, including a rooftop terrace, an indoor space, a courtyard and a garden deck that features a 3,000-square-foot deck that holds up to 300 guests.
Overall, the venue can hold up to 300 guests per floor plan, the venue’s website states. 
Pricing varies depending on the day of the week, but a Saturday wedding starts at $7,500. 
For more information, visit boweryhousekaty.com. 
Lindsay Lakes (Cypress)
Lindsay Lakes in Cypress is a luxurious wedding venue with several spaces to accommodate guests, according to the venue’s website. This includes an ivory stone chapel with hand carved doors, a lakeside area with scenic views and a lodge that has elegant chandeliers with sensational lighting and two fire places. 
Each ceremony location can hold up to 300 guests, the website states. 
Bridal parties will be able to choose between two houses — a cottage and a lake house, which includes amenities such as a garden, a family room, a poker table, a living room and kitchen area. 
Pricing varies depending on the day of the week, but can start at up to $8,499.
For more information, visit lindsaylakes.com.
The Luminaire (Montgomery)
The Luminiaire in Montgomery is a private, 20-acre wedding venue near Lake Conroe, according to the venue’s website. The venue off South Pine Lake offers an indoor and outdoor option — a turfed lakeside ceremony area and large back porch and inside, a full circle bar and an expansive reception hall. 
The venue also offers a private bridal suite and groom’s den.
Pricing is dependent on size and day of the event, the website states.
For more information, visit theluminairevenue.com.
The Blue Magnolia (Magnolia)
The Blue Magnolia is a 10-acre farmhouse wedding venue that sits between The Woodlands and Magnolia. While the venue is currently being constructed, it is slated to open in May 2025. The property features a 1,200-square-foot, two-story chapel with amenities including an interior cocktail area, a grand staircase that leads into the reception hall, and a bridal and groom suite. 
The venue can hold up to 350 guests, according to the venues website. 
For more information, visit thebluemagnoliatx.com.
Waters Edge (Seabrook)
Waters Edge near Seabrook is a private wedding and event venue that sits on the shore of Clear Lake, according to the venue’s website. The 7,000-square-foot venue is all-inclusive and offers several spaces for guests, including a ballroom and chandler room, a patio area, a beach area and a cabana.
The venue is also ideal for Desi weddings, Mehndi, Sangeet, and Baraat, the website states. It also has hosted traditional Nigerian, Chinese, and Vietnamese weddings and Tea Ceremonies. 
It can accommodate up to 350 guests, the website states.
For pricing and more information, visit thewatersedgehtx.com.