Arts & Entertainment

Off the Hookom

A local Olympic hopeful wants you to get on board

SUN 10/23
Would you ever guess that a blazing city like Houston could be the home of one of the greatest snowboarders in the country? No? Then you haven't heard about snowboarder Stacia Hookom, who calls the Bayou City home. This weekend, there's a party for the six-time national champion at the Howling Coyote. Ever since she was a child, Hookom has been at home on the snowy slopes. None of that changed when she moved from her native Colorado to Houston. "The truth is, when I'm in Colorado, most of the people I meet on the chairlifts are from Texas and often from Houston," she says. "There's a kinship between snow sports and the city of Houston."

She's relying on that kinship to make it to the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy. Proceeds from this weekend's party will help her pay the costs of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic Team. (She can't snowboard down the slope of the Beltway 8 and I-45 interchange, as a few Houstonians have suggested. Thanks, guys.) Partygoers can look forward to live music, a chili dinner, a raffle, a snowboarding-gear auction and, of course, video of Hookom cutting up the snowy mountainside. 3 p.m. Sunday October 23. 6536 FM 1960 West. For information, call 713-975-7786 or visit www.staciahookom.com. $5 donation. -- Mosi Secret

Well, Hello, CHUM

THU 10/20
As we've been reminded recently, hurricanes suck. Before Katrina and Rita, there was Iris, a brutal storm that capsized the dive ship Wave Dancer four years ago, killing 20 divers. That might scare most of us from the water, but divers are a tough breed who won't be kept down (take the crazies who happily plop back into the water after surviving a shark attack, for example). They're also a generous breed: Local dive group CHUM is hosting a charity auction benefiting Katrina victims this week. Joe Burnworth wrote a book about the Wave Dancer tragedy called No Safe Harbor, which he will sign and discuss at the event. Dive in at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 20. Mykonos Island Restaurant, 2181 Richmond. For information and reservations, visit www.chumclub.org. Free. -- Steven Devadanam