Sit, Stay, Run!

SUN 3/21

If you want to make sure your mutt stays your best friend, you’d better take
him to the Houston Humane Society’s Greek in the Streets K-9 Fun Run and Walk.
Not only will Rover love the workout, he’ll also appreciate the plethora of
sniffing opportunities. The event includes a competitive one-mile run for dogs
and their owners, with awards in six categories based on the gender of the human
and the weight of the pooch. “This one is for people who have pretrained with
their dogs and can clip right along,” explains Stacey Wilbanks, spokesperson
for the Houston Humane Society.

In addition, there will be a noncompetitive one-mile dog jog and a one-mile walk, with or without Fido, which is the event’s most popular division. Afterward, human participants are entitled to a couple of free brewskies, and their canines can splash around in kiddie pools or saunter through the crowd dressed as deviled eggs and ballerinas for the doggy costume contest.

If pet royalty is more your speed, hit the society’s SpokesDog and SpokesCat
coronation ceremony. For obvious reasons, no other kitties are allowed on the
premises. Noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21. Sam Houston Park, 1100 Bagby. For
information, call 713-433-6421, extension 5538, or visit www.houstonhumane.org.
$25 for advance registration; $30 on the day of the race. Costume contest free.
— Bliss Foster

Bey Area Brawl

The bizarre lovechild of Pokémon and a game of marbles, Beyblade is
the latest anime-inspired craze to tantalize U.S. kids and exasperate their
parents. Essentially, kids aim a Beyblade launcher, yank the ripcord and try
to blast each other out of a Beystadium. And when they’re not busy playing,
many of them follow the adventures of the blue-haired, puppy-eyed, ambiguously
gendered characters on the Beyblade TV series. This weekend, Houston
Beybladers (ages eight and up, with parents’ permission) can get their Blade
on in a qualifying tournament at the Beyblade Battle Association Blader Jam
Finals at Space Center Houston. The winner will move on to the national competition,
and the winner of that showdown, of course, will try to conquer the world. 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 20. 1601 NASA Road 1. For information, call 281-244-2100
or visit www.beyblade.com. $15 for competitors;
$13.95 to $17.95 for spectators. — Steve Devadanam