Live Music at Waterway Square
The plaza at Waterway Square is a great place to have lunch and during Spring Break 2009, it was also a great place to listen to live music. The festivities during The Woodlands Live at Lunch allowed visitors to experience the world-class fountains, and live music during Spring Break 2009. The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted a preview to the 2009 Live at Lunch series at Waterway Square on Monday, March 16, 2009 and Wednesday, March 18, 2009 Ramon Torres was the featured musician. The Live at Lunch series began April 7, 2009 and ran every Tuesday through April 28, 2009. Additionally, Waterway Square is home to Live at Five which features live music from several different bands with various musical genres each Wednesday during warm-weather months. Check the events calendar for more information.
Waterway Fountains Music
The musical selections at the vary depending on the time of year and around certain holidays. The shows run between 6 pm and 10 pm on weekdays, and 2 pm to 10 pm on weekends at 15 minute intervals. The Fountains at Waterway Square standard song list includes a rotating list of musical selections, including:
- The Rainbow Connection by Kermit the Frog
- Louie, Louie by The Kingsmen
- Texas Medley, including Faded Love, Deep in the Heart of Texas and Cotton-Eyed Joe
- Proud to be an American by Lee Greenwood
- Contradanza, a Cuban dance melody
- In The Mood, by Glen Miller
Christmas Holiday Songs
In keeping with the holiday spirit, The Fountains at Waterway Square have been programmed with a variety of festive holiday songs. The holiday songs run between mid November and early January. The 2009 list is the same as last year and includes favorite holiday classics “Frosty the Snowman” by Gene Autry, “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano,“Winter Wonderland” by Tony Bennett, and “Jingle Bells” by Canadian Brass.
July 4th Independence Day Music
The Fountains at Waterway Square are usually programmed with a variety of patriotic songs between July 1 and July 5 and have included favorite patriotic classics such as “America the Beautiful” by Ray Charles, “Proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood, the “National Emblem March,” “Seventy Six Trombones,” “Stars and Stripes Forever,” and “God Bless America” performed by the Houston Symphony. The Independence Day shows run from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, and 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.
“We’re pleased to be offering these patriotic songs,” said The Woodlands Township’s Director Kemba DeGroot who chairs the Public Facilities Administration Committee. “The Woodlands is a great place to celebrate the Fourth of July and it’s very significant to have these spectacular patriotic songs playing in our magnificent series of fountains. Our residents and visitors will feel the pride of being an American in one of the greatest towns in all of America – The Woodlands.”
Located 30 miles north of downtown Houston, The Woodlands Township is the local government born out of one of the country’s leading master-planned communities. This 28,000 acre residential and commercial development is home to more than 88,000 residents, over 2,000 businesses, numerous corporate headquarters, 155 miles of hike and bike paths, more than 100 parks, and millions of square feet of shopping, dining, entertainment venues and commercial office space.
Waterway Square Park, located along Lake Robbins Drive between Waterway Avenue and Woodloch Forest Drive, features a 120-foot long, 10-foot high stone water wall where ribbons of water flow down seven terraced levels to a lower pond with 20 cascade jets. The water wall is flanked by stairs and stepped water cascades, all leading to an upper fountain containing 80 jets and three boomer jets that shoot water up to 75 feet (nearly eight stories!) high. The water jets, waterfalls and cascades are designed to create a variety of displays and effects ranging from the subtle flow of water over a stone wall to dancing columns of water, to intense bursts of water shooting several stories into the air. Waterway Square features 7 speakers on the upper level and 12 speakers on the lower level powered by 4,250 watts of power supplied by 5 amplifiers to create the surround-sound musical accompaniment of the Waterway Fountain.
The Pump & Equipment Room is located on-site but barely visible as it is housed in a 3,251-square-foot building with vaulted ceilings. The overall pumping capacity of the Fountains water pumps is 12,000 GPM (gallons per minute). That’s enough water to fill an average backyard swimming pool in under 2 minutes! The water in the fountain system runs through nearly 2 miles of pipe to get to and from the fountains.
There are 260 kinetic lights (also known as light emitting diodes or LEDs) in four colors that can be combined to create all the colors of the rainbow spectrum in the Waterway Fountain. The interactive fountain has a total of 34 choreo jets enhanced with colored lights and 6 laminar flow jets. This fountain features a mosaic called “Treasures from Grandma’s Purse”, created by renowned artist Dixie Friend Gay, who is also the creator of “At the Water’s Edge”, a series of mosaics located in niches on the Waterway Avenue Bridge.
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