Skaters, Corvettes, and a date night planned for you.

The kids are out, the heat is on, and the city is finding plenty of ways to have fun anyway. This week brought a little good news worth celebrating too. One of our own just earned a national honor for the work she does out at Tyrrell Park, and there's real progress on something a lot of us near the tracks have been waiting on.

The whole country has World Cup fever right now, and our Team USA is through to the knockout round. Houston is even hosting a match on the Fourth of July, so the action is closer than you'd think.

The weekend's a good one. A skate competition downtown, The Wiz on stage, a car show rolling into Ford Park, and a date night plan I put together so you don't have to. Let's get into it.

Jenny Lee

A Beaumont woman just earned a national award for helping kids fall in love with nature. Rebecca Woodland, who runs the Tyrrell Park Nature & Visitors Center, was named a 2026 recipient of the Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award from The Garden Club of America. The Magnolia Garden Club nominated her for the hands-on nature programs she's built for local kids and families since the center opened in 2022. If you've ever taken your little one to a free Saturday session out at Tyrrell Park, she's the one behind it. A national honor, quietly earned, right here at home. Read it from the city here.

Quieter days may be on the way near the tracks. If you live anywhere near a railroad crossing, here's news worth hearing. The city's Railroad Quiet Zone is nearly restored. A final inspection wrapped up on June 9, and the contractor now has a short list of fixes to finish before the crossings can officially go quiet again. Two things to know in the meantime: train horns will keep sounding until the federal sign-off comes through, so nothing changes just yet, and if you've noticed the "No Train Horn" signs covered up around town, that's a normal part of the process, not a step backward. They'll be uncovered once the quiet zone is back. Steady progress on something a lot of us have been waiting on. City update here.

Here's what's worth getting out for this week, Beaumont.

🛹 Go Skate Beaumont! Skate Competition · Thursday, June 25 · 5 to 8 PM · Beautiful Mountain Skate Park · Free to watch · Cheer on local skaters at this downtown competition. Easy, free, and a fun way to kick off the weekend.

🌿 Beaumont Farmers Market · Saturday, June 27 · 8 to 11 AM · Beaumont Athletic Complex, 6525 College St · Free · Fresh produce, baked goods, and friendly faces. Get there early, the good stuff goes fast.

🎭 The Wiz (matinee) · Saturday, June 27 · 2 PM · Julie Rogers Theatre, 765 Pearl St · $10 to $20 · A community production of the beloved musical, presented by the John Williams Center for Performing Arts. A perfect afternoon out with the kids.

🏎️ Tri-City Corvette Club Show · Saturday, June 27 · Ford Park · The 32nd annual show rolls in with rows of polished Corvettes, and it benefits a local cause. Fun for the whole family, and a treat for the car lovers.

We did the planning, so you don't have to.

💛 The Date Night Plan · Friday, June 26

Here's your Friday night, start to finish.

1. 🍝 Start on Crockett Street. Settle in for dinner at Riverside Grille. Call ahead to reserve your table so you're not waiting. 409.347.8004
2. 🎭 Hop over to the Julie Rogers Theatre. The Wiz takes the stage at 7. Grab your tickets ahead, opening night fills up.
3. 🍸 Cap it off on Bowie Street. Slip into Hearsay for a late drink and let the night linger.

🎶Saturday, June 27 Star Spangled Spectacular · Jefferson Theatre · $10 · A patriotic evening of music, film, and history for America's 250th. Doors at 6, program at 7. A gorgeous night at our historic theater.

Where to catch live music around town this week. Beaumont's a little quiet on the books this weekend, so a few nearby spots are mixed in, city noted.

🎵 Thursday, June 25 Pour Neches Riverfront (Port Neches) · King Connection · 5 PM

🎵 Saturday, June 27 Pour Neches Riverfront (Port Neches) · Andrew McCabe · 6 PM Tia Juanita's Fish Camp (Lumberton) · Jarrod Mehan · 6:30 PM

🎆 City of Beaumont Fourth of July Celebration · Saturday, July 4 · Lake at the Downtown Event Centre · Free · Gates at 5, fireworks at 9, billed as the largest display in Southeast Texas. LA ROXX headlines, plus food trucks and kids' activities. Bring lawn chairs and blankets.

🎬 Movie Night: Yankee Doodle Dandy · Friday, July 10 · Jefferson Theatre · The summer classic movie series rolls on.

🛍️ Sargent Street Market (Vidor) · Saturday, June 27 · A neighborly market just up the road. Local vendors, handmade finds, and a good reason for a short drive.

Community Exposed. The good stuff nobody's talking about.

🐾 A little lemonade, a lot of heart, at Puppy Love
Puppy Love dog store is a neighborhood staple and a local favorite, and this is just the kind of thing that makes it special. Owner Patti Vincent and her granddaughter Emily put on a lemonade and brownie stand right at the shop, with every dollar going to Anna's Angels, a local dog rescue. A family, a storefront, and a big heart for animals who needed it. That is the good stuff.

And the cause behind it is a good one. Anna's Angels is a volunteer-run, foster-based rescue that has saved thousands of Southeast Texas dogs from the euthanasia list, getting them healthy and sending them on to forever homes as far as the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Every cup of lemonade helped that work along.

If you've never been in, Puppy Love is worth knowing. Patti is known and loved by pet owners all over town, the kind of shop owner folks trust because she only stocks the best, most nutritional food for our fur babies. She's the one I turn to for my little Morkie Louie, and Louie agrees: a trip to the store is one of his favorite outings of the week.

A look at what's on the market in Beaumont this week.

🔑 THE FIND

4350 Pebble Beach Dr, $299,900. 3 bed, 2 bath, 2,007 sqft, in Willow Creek right on the 10th hole. The smart-buy entry point.

Click here to view

🏡 THE KEEPER

12 Bayou Bend Place, $589,900. 4 bed, 6 bath, 4,507 sqft in the West End. The family home with room to grow.

Click here to view

THE STUNNER

7705 N Peninsula Dr, $1,395,000. 5 bed, 6 bath, 4,992 sqft, modern with a pool. The dream.

Click here to view

Things you didn't ask for, but now you're a step ahead.

This week: Let AI build your reading list

Standing in the library or scrolling for your next book, never sure if it's the one? Skip the guesswork. Tell Claude (free at claude.ai) what you've loved before, and it'll hand you a lineup picked for your taste.

Here's a prompt to start with, just paste and make it yours:

"I love [your favorite books or authors here]. Build me a reading list of 5 books I'd probably love, a mix of well-known and under-the-radar, with one sentence on why each fits. Keep it to what I can actually find and order easily."

Tweak the list, grab the first one, and you've got your next few reads sorted. Try it, then hit reply and tell me what's on your stack. I'm always hunting for a good one.

We read every word you send.

That's the week, neighbor. Whether you make it out to cheer on the skaters, catch The Wiz, or just treat yourself to a slow Sunday, I hope something in here gives you a reason to get out and enjoy our city. Thanks for letting me round it up for you.

See you next Thursday.

Jenny Lee · Locally written. Community trusted.