City Celebrates Cultural Designation

From the November 13 edition of the Item:

The city of Huntsville celebrated its official designation as one of the State of Texas’ seven new cultural districts during a reception Thursday at the Katy and E. Don Walker Sr. Education Center.

The designation was officially presented to the city by Dr. Gary Gibbs, executive director of the Texas Commission on the Arts who was in attendance with commission’s deputy director Jim Bob McMillan.

“To receive this designation was a competitive process,” Gibbs said. “Huntsville was one of 30 cities who applied for this designation, and one of seven to receive it.”

The State’s Cultural Designation program is a new one, with the 2009 pilot program initiated by the TCA in December of 2008.

Huntsville’s cultural district includes of all the city’s downtown square area, as well as Oakwood Cemetery, the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, the Samuel Walker Houston Museum and Cultural Center, the Sam Houston State University campus, and more.

Today@Sam discussed the event prior to the ceremony.