Super Happy Fun Land to re-open soon. Hopefully.

by Omar Afra
All the venue closings this past year has been hard on the Houston music scene. 2008 marked the demise of The Proletariat, Engine Room, and temporarily Super Happy Fun Land. To give you a brief synopsis, Houston’s favorite uber-eclectic outsider arthouse and music venue SHFL operated out of a house in the Heights for 5 years until the property owners squeezed them out. Well, the silver lining was that they found a new home in a gigantic warehouse just east of downtown that could facilitate larger shows, more art, and crazier antics. So we at Free Press Houston decided to have a giant shindig at the new venue to celebrate our 5th anniversary and the opening of the great new spot. The place was packed. Err, too packed. The fire marshals came and, lo and behold, SHFL did not have adequate occupancy permitting to permit such an event. They of course got ticketed out the watoozy and have since been jumping through all the municipal hurdles required to submit building plans, acquire permits, and such to open their doors legit. It looked rather bleak for a while as the city does not exactly get excited about doing what it takes to get outsider-art venues open. After having their plans denied several times and given the run around for nearly a year, the good folks at SHFL have got their chance. Their plans were recently approved and they are set for a final inspection in early January to get their occupancy permit. Problem is, they need help. They need help painting, laying gravel, and could probably use a donation or 2 to get them ready for this impending city interrogation. Brian, Olivia, and Louie at Super Happy have been hosting music and art for years on end now as a virtual philanthropy and surely deserve your help. Frankly, a community effort is needed here. If you have a shred of love in your heart, holler at Brian at 713.252.7706 or at info@superhappyfunland.com

www.superhappyfunland.com