HTX-WDL: Impact 9/2/2025

After its inaugural Texas Fine Craft Show last year, The Woodlands Arts Council is gearing up for another show featuring nearly 60 fine craft artists.

The details: Scheduled for Sept. 26-28 in The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, the craft show will feature artists selling products such as jewelry, furniture, ceramics, wearable art and more. Artists will also give talks about their technique on Saturday and Sunday.

• Sept. 26, 5-9 p.m.; Sept. 27, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sept. 28, noon-5 p.m.
• $20 (one-day ticket), $25 (two-day ticket), $150 (Cheers ticket)
• The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands

MilkShake Factory is opening a new location in The Woodlands, a Strauss PR representative confirmed.

The details: The location is expected to open in the first quarter of 2026, the representative said.
Founded in 1914 as a soda fountain and chocolate shop, MilkShake Factory offers chocolate treats, such as chocolate barks and cake pops, as well as a variety of milkshakes.
 

• Opening in early 2026
• 4747 Research Forest Drive, Ste. 195, The Woodlands

Lone Star College-Montgomery marked its 30th anniversary with a convocation event welcoming faculty, staff and students for the start of the fall semester, according to an Aug. 25 news release.

The details: Opened in 1995, the Montgomery campus has grown, with more than 18,000 students enrolled in fall 2024, per the release. 
The anniversary celebration included a speech from Dana Pritchard, the college’s first enrolled student, who shared her journey and encouraged students to “never give up,” according to the release.

Stay tuned: Throughout the year, the college will host a series of “30 for 30” service events to highlight its community engagement. More information on anniversary events is available online. 
 

Gov. Greg Abbott signed Texas’ new congressional map into law Aug. 29, declaring in a video posted to social media that “Texas is now more red in the United States Congress.”

The details: Under Texas’ current congressional boundaries, Republicans hold 25 of Texas’ 38 congressional seats. State lawmakers have said the new map will help them gain up to five more during the 2026 midterm elections.

Texas Democrats have called the mid-decade redistricting effort unconstitutional and "racially discriminatory," while Republicans asserted that the map "complies with the law" and was designed to help more Republicans get elected to the U.S. House.

Next steps: Texas’ new congressional map is set to take effect in early December, although it will be discussed in court two months earlier. After state senators approved the map Aug. 23, the League of United Latin American Citizens and a group of Texas residents filed a lawsuit asking that the map be found unconstitutional.

A panel of three federal judges will hear arguments in the case Oct. 1-10 in El Paso.