By Forest Riggs –– After a little cold snap that dampened some early festivities, the parades, music and partying for Mardi Gras 2025 kicked off on February 21. Friday evening saw downtown streets crowded with anxious revelers as the Downtown Umbrella Brigade kicked off the 14 days of celebrations. Those famous colors — purple, gold

By Forest Riggs –– The artistic legacy of Mark L. Watford In January, Galveston Island was treated to a showing of the fantastic art works by long-deceased island resident and artist, Mark L. Watford. Watford, who passed away on May 5, 1996, left a huge portfolio of his brilliant work and, thanks to the undaunting

By Forest Riggs With Christmas behind us, we now move into 2025 — and none too soon. I don’t think I could take another day of Sunny 99.1 playing their four Christmas songs over and over and over. With all the zillions Christmas songs out there, one would think they could come up with more

By Forest Riggs Did you ever hear a Thanksgiving song? Didn’t think so. I often wonder why that is. Years ago, the Texas Troubadour, George Strait, included a song on his Christmas Strait to You album. The song was “It’s Christmas Time in Texas” and with Strait’s honky-tonk voice and good ol’ Texas Swing beat,

By Forest Riggs  In June, Galveston was struck pretty hard by Tropical Storm Alberto. After crossing into Mexico and leaving the Yucatan, the winds intensified over the warm Gulf waters. What was thought to be a small depression, for some areas, turned into a real problem for communities along the upper Texas coast. Galveston experienced

By Forest Riggs  The 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season started June 1st, and it took only eighteen or so days for the warm Gulf waters to feed a disturbance, reminding all that hurricane season has arrived.   The first named storm of the season, Alberto, came ashore in northern Mexico and the far-reaching bands of wind and

By Forest Riggs  After a relatively short spring, June has arrived, and with it comes the dreaded 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Galvestonians are very familiar with hurricanes and storms, however as the season nears, folks in Galveston and elsewhere along the Texas Gulf Coast become a little nervous and fearful. Having seen the destruction and

There is only one Larry King By Forest Riggs You do not have to dig too far back into your recall to remember a lovable Galveston resident and very active community member, Larry King, a.k.a. Pickles. Larry was well-known in the community. As an entertainer, artist, theatre director, actor, bartender and other titles, Larry possessed

Spring has arrived on Galveston Island and once again, the island waits with open arms.  By Forest Riggs Countless books have chronicled the island’s rich history. The early struggles and historic roles of the island have been recorded and told in volumes of works. Reading any one these works can easily draw the reader into

By Forest Riggs  After two weeks of festive partying and rocking to the rhythm of Mardi Gras, Galveston Island is taking a break. Over three million beads were tossed during the 23 parades that traversed the people-lined streets of the east end and downtown. With the passing of Fat Tuesday came the beginning of Lent,