📌 Two New Pickleball Programs Just Opened Up the Sport for Everyone

📌 Tomball's New Brewery Is a Bet on Brewer and Chef Together

📌 A Full Year of Aftercare Included: Old Town Spring's Piercing Studio for Kids

☀️ Mostly Sunny · 89°F / 69°F

Sunny and warm with no rain expected. Take it outside today.

Source: Vaisala Xweather

The Woodlands Township Parks and Recreation Department has added two new pickleball programs built for players who need a more supportive environment to get on the court.

The first, Pickleball for Parkinson's, runs on the first and third Tuesdays of each month, 10 to 11 a.m., at the outdoor covered court at Bear Branch Recreation Center. The program combines movement, coordination, and social interaction in a setting designed to meet each participant where they are. The second, Adaptive Pickleball, runs on the second and fourth Tuesdays, 10 to 11:30 a.m., at the same location. A USA Pickleball Ambassador and certified instructor leads each session, starting with fundamental strokes and finishing with open play.

Both programs are open now and can be registered for at thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov, by calling 281-210-3954, or emailing [email protected].

Why it matters: The Woodlands has one of the most active pickleball communities in the region, and these programs open the court to people who haven't had a way in until now.

Source/Credits: The Woodlands Township

Old Town Tomball is getting its brewery back. Southern Oak Brewing opens Wednesday, October 7, at 308 Market St, the same address that housed Fire Ant Brewpub for eight years before it closed in May.

Behind it are two Tomball families. Kendra and Josh Schwaiger run Paradigm Brewing Company and bring more than two decades of combined experience in beverages, including time at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Karbach Brewing. Their partners, Tatia and Doug George, own Graze at 208 N. Elm. Chef Doug George spent 37 years as a corporate chef with ClubCorp and trained at the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Together they are brewing beer on-site under a Texas brewpub license, with 28 taps planned alongside a kitchen designed to rise well above bar food. A preview menu from the soft opening included a bison burger, shepherd's pie, and heirloom deviled yard eggs.

Doors open at 11 a.m. Hours: Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Why it matters: When Fire Ant closed, Old Town Tomball lost the only place brewing beer on the block it was selling it on. Southern Oak brings that back, and bets that a brewery and a serious kitchen together are better than either would be alone.

Source/Credits: Hello Woodlands

Somewhere in Old Town Spring, parents are finally finding an answer to a question they didn't know had one: where do you take a child for a piercing that won't become a rushed, uncomfortable, or regretted experience?

Pretty and Pierced, at 419 Gentry Street, Suite 205, built its entire business around that question. Owner Kayla Hatch uses needles only, no guns, and pairs every appointment with two piercers working side by side. For first-time piercings, which Hatch says are very common, the dual setup allows for simultaneous placement and keeps the child's attention engaged instead of building dread for a second needle. Numbing is offered before every appointment. Children get to choose their own earrings, which are included in the service price. After the appointment, each client leaves with an aftercare bag of their own.

What distinguishes Pretty and Pierced is what comes next. The studio covers a full year of aftercare support with every service, meaning families have professional guidance through the entire healing process, not just the appointment. The studio also handles a significant number of corrections for children who had piercings done elsewhere with a gun and ended up with complications, uneven placement, or an experience bad enough that they needed to start over.

Why it matters: For families across The Woodlands and north Houston, Pretty and Pierced turns a milestone moment into a good memory instead of something to apologize for.

👉 Read the full story here

🗃️ Fire Department visit | The Woodlands Children's Museum | 10:30 AM | $10 admission | More info

🗃️ Music Bingo benefiting Inspiring Hope | Two Tones Dueling Piano Bar | Evening | 21+ | More info

🗃️ The Bee Lady presentation | The Woodlands Children's Museum | 11:00 AM | $10 admission | More info

🗃️ Payton Riley 18th Birthday Concert | Dosey Doe - The Big Barn | Doors 6:30 PM | More info

🗃️ Brad Paisley with Jake Worthington | Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | Evening | Ticketed | More info

🗃️ Jaclyn Smith book signing | Village Books | 6:00 PM | Purchase required | More info

🗃️ Hayley Williams with Magdalena Bay & Rico Nasty | Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | Evening | Ticketed | More info

🗃️ Movie Madness: Scream (1996) | Rob Fleming Amphitheatre | Evening | $5 | 13+ | More info

🗃️ Memorial Hermann 10 for Texas | Northshore Park, 2505 Lake Woodlands Dr | 7:00 AM | More info

🗃️ Paws n' Pints adoption event | Ale & Ivy, 305 Sawdust Rd | 12:00 PM | More info

🗃️ Concert in the Park: Chris Kizzia (Country) | Northshore Park | Evening | Free | More info

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George Mitchell bought the first 2,800 acres that would become The Woodlands in 1964 from the Grogan Cochran Lumber Company, at $125 per acre. Over the next ten years he completed more than 300 separate transactions to assemble the full property before the community opened in 1974.

"He lies like a tombstone." Translation: only tells the flattering version, never the whole truth.

Your GPS always knows exactly where you are but has no memory of anywhere you've ever been.

What is orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot.

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