“If you want to be cool, just be you!” Main Street Theater brings Pete the Cat and this message we all need to hear  to the stage in a fun, lively musical that will delight the whole family. Performances will be held at MST’s MATCH location, 3400 Main St., Houston, TX  77002:

Sundays, February 27, March 6 and 13, 2022 at 12:30pm and 3:30pm and

Saturdays, March 26 and April 2, 2022 at 10:30am and 1:30pm.

The show is recommended for Pre-Kindergarten and older. All tickets are on sale via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at MainStreetTheater.com. Tickets are $18 - $28. Group rates are available. No children under 3 are admitted in the theater (including sleeping babies). (Performances are also available for school groups and homeschools. Call 713.524.9196 ext 1 or visit the website.)

Main Street Theater also offers Accommodations Performances:

Sensory-Friendly / Relaxed Performance: Mar. 13 at 12:30pm

Audio Described Performance: Mar. 13, 2022 and 3:30pm (email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reserve)

ASL Performance: Apr. 2, 2022 at 1:30pm

About Pete the Cat

Everybody loves Pete, the groovy, guitar playing cool cat. Everyone but Jimmy, the world’s most organized second grader. But all that changes when Pete the Cat and Jimmy take a once-in-a-lifetime road trip. The whole family will love Pete’s hilarious, jazzy antics in this toe-tapping musical! Recommended for Pre-Kindergarten and older. 

The musical has book and lyrics by Sarah Hammond, music by Will Aronson, and is based on the Pete the Cat series of books by Kimberly and James Dean.

About the Production

Pete the Cat is directed and choreographed by Daria Allen. Musical direction by Eduardo Guzman. The cast includes Seth Cunningham, Tyler Galindo, Brock Hatton, Matt Hurt, Shannon Nichols, and Diana Alcaraz Villa. The design team is Matt Lewis (set design), David Gipson (lighting design), Victoria Nicolette Gist (costume design), Shawn W. St. John (sound design), Lee O Barker (properties design), and Sarah Sneesby (choreography). Mary McNeely is the stage manager. 

Do you know what a Wonderbook is? Last month, I was pleasantly surprised to find a selection of these wonderful books on the shelves in the Children's Department at the Tomball Library.

Wonderbooks are read-along books that combine the text of the book with a read-along recording all in one bound book. In short, it's a printed book with a ready-to-play audiobook device inside. Kids press PLAY to read along with the book, and they can also switch to Learning Mode for some additional literacy learining and fun!

Wonderbooks are similar to the older style books on tape (where you have a separate cassette / CD that you have to play on your own device). But again, Wonderbooks have the player with speaker combined with the hardbound book, usually right inside the front cover. The controls are easy for kids to use and include a play button, reverse/fast forward, a reset button, and a headphone jack. 

All four of my kids are highly proficient readers, but I still read aloud to all four of them ALL the time. Face it, you're never to old to hear a readaloud, especially at bedtime. (Sometimes I even read aloud to my husband, and he often reads aloud to me.) My whole family cherishes books and great stories! That's why I was so happy to stumble upon these Wonderbook treasures. When I want my children to just sit and follow along in the book while its being read alound (but when I don't want to do the reading aloud myself because of... well, chores), Wonderbooks to the rescue! 

The Tomball Library didn't have a huge collection of Wonderbooks, but we checked out 3 and left about 20 more on the shelves. The books we saw were popular, modern titles that we were already familiar with, and they all looked brand new. 

The caveat? These bad boys are a pretty penny to replace, so make sure you're keeping them in a safe spot at home so you can return to them to the library when they're due!

Azzurro Italian Coastal Cuisine restaurant is coming to Hughes Landing® in The Woodlands® on the ground level of One Lakes Edge®, the luxury multifamily development by The Howard Hughes Corporation®. Azurro represents the fourth restaurant opened in The Woodlands by local restaurateur Enrique Orioli and his family-owned and operated restaurant group.

Azzurro adds to Orioli’s three prestigious dining establishments— the Creekside Park® and Research Forest area locations of Avanti Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar, and the award-winning Via Emilia Italian Restaurant in the Village of Indian Springs, winner of OpenTable’s “Tastemaker Award” for Best Italian Restaurant and “Diner’s Choice.”

Overlooking Lake Woodlands, Azzurro Italian Coastal Cuisine will be located across from Truluck’s Ocean’s Finest Seafood and Crab, in a pristine setting with a patio overlooking Lake Woodlands. The new restaurant will feature Italian regional seafood specialties, handmade pasta, several braised meats, steak options and rare Italian wines. The vibrant, seaside décor will allow the ambiance to fully reflect the emphasis of the coastal region of Italy.

“Many of the recipes come from my grandmother, Nonna Elda, who was born and raised in Northern Italy. We do give our team the opportunity and freedom to create new menu items, but there’s no changing our classics,” stated Orioli.

Orioli describes why he believes The Woodlands is a  perfect fit for his restaurants. “The Woodlands is a thriving and tight-knit community. We recognized this eleven years ago when we opened our very first restaurant in Indian Springs. Since then, we’ve opened restaurants in Creekside Park and Research Forest. All have been very well received by the community. We are exceptionally excited to bring Azzurro to Hughes Landing.

“As a family-owned and operated restaurant group, we truly value the connection we make with the members of our community and its visitors. Food is much more than nourishment. It is a way we come together to connect and create memories. When we serve our guests, we are not only serving them a meal; we are sharing our family story through our cuisine. We are excited to bring generations of combined hospitality and restaurant experience to our latest venture, Azzurro.”

Jim Carman, President of the Houston Region for The Howard Hughes Corporation, added, “We are delighted to announce the addition of an authentic, family-owned Italian restaurant to Hughes Landing. Azzurro Italian Coastal Cuisine will be a wonderful addition to the diverse dining options at Hughes Landing, popular for its attractive, walkable ambiance that offers shopping, dining and entertainment, all within a beautiful natural setting.”

Azzurro Italian Coastal Cuisine is expected to open this summer.

Meet Patricia N., our Spotlight Mom for February 2022!

If you're a mom interested in being in our Mom Spotlight in 2022, please CLICK HERE. 

Please tell us a little about your family:

I’m a single Mom to three beautiful girls. I am a local preschool teacher and have been doing that for 13 years. We love our community here in The Woodlands and have made many lifelong friends. My middle daughter has severe food allergies and I have eczema and allergies as well, so we are huge advocates for other allergy families. I also do free trainings on food allergies for other local teachers.

Do you have a business you'd like to share with our readers:

I just want to talk about the support group that I started on Facebook for local allergy families. Lots of great resources and support within the group. It’s called Allergy and Asthma Parents of The Woodlands/Conroe and I’m really proud of it. I have around 300 members. I’m always looking for ways to give back.

Favorite place to go in The Woodlands area:

We love to picnic at the local parks and go to Farmers markets. We also love the beach at Pundt Park and hiking trails.

Favorite blogs I read:

Woodlandsmommy.com is the only one I currently read, but I constantly follow support groups on Facebook. 

First job:

Pappys Restaurant in Houston. Hostess.

Favorite childhood book or story:

Berenstain Bears. I loved when my Mom would read to my sisters and me.

Favorite meal to prepare together:

We always eat at home most of the time due to my daughter's severe food allergies. We love anything plant-based and enjoy trying new foods that are safe for us as well. We have fun making homemade pizzas!

3 Things on my Long-Term To-Do List:

1. Go back to school for my teaching degree.
2. Pay for another child to have oral immuno therapy for food allergies.
3. Purchase our first house for me and my girls.

How I spend my Friday evenings:

Hanging out with my daughters, movie night! Popcorn and snuggles.

Favorite non-homemade dessert (and where can we find it):

Creamistry in The Woodlands Mall has really good vegan and non vegan ice cream options.

Best way to spend $50:

On a date with my girls. Picking up lunch and taking them to picnic and walk the Waterway.

Something in your purse that has an interesting story behind it:

Our Epi Pens. I’ve had to use them several times on my daughter and myself.

My life:

My life consists of doing the very best that I can everyday for my girls. I work with kids and come home to kids and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My middle daughter has been doing Oral Immuno Therapy to decrease her severe food allergies for the past year now and it has been life-changing for us. We are now able to eat out at restaurants more safely than ever before. My daughters play softball as well, and we love to be outdoors.

How can our readers find you?

Allergy and Asthma Parents of The Woodlands/Conroe and Oral Immuno Therapy through Woodlands Allergy Clinic.