Meet Yvonne Thomas | President of Historic Baytown’s Arts, Culture & Entertainment Council (ACE District Council)

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yvonne Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yvonne, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
The ACE Council’s events, festivals, and the Baytown Sculpture Trail exhibit are designed to be interactive & family friendly to all who live in Baytown and encourage visitors. They bring people together to celebrate the diverse cultures in the community by offering movies, music, foods, dance & art that all ages can enjoy for free. We sponsor zumba in the Town Square, twice a week during the warmer months of summer where we get an average of 50 participants each evening. For International Women’s Week we have movie nights in Town Square where we show movies that emphasize achievements of women. The 25 rotating, museum-quality sculptures on display in the Sculpture Trail each year come from across the nation and are of many different styles and materials. Visitors can help choose the “People’s Choice” and the artist is awarded monetarily. A Best of Show award is also given and chosen by artists & educators which honors the artist’s skills. The Baytown Sculpture Trail is a great opportunity for sculptors to show their work to the public. We also sell and lease many of their works each year. We have now expanded the outreach of Baytown Sculpture Trail to bordering cities such as LaPorte, League City, and Humble who have leased and purchased sculptures to display in their communities. The businesses in the Downtown Arts District area have benefitted from all the visitors that come to participate in our activities. It is our pleasure to bring all of these activities to the community free of charge. We give people an opportunity to experience things that they might not have the opportunity to do if they had to pay for them.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The Historic Downtown Arts District was the once booming downtown of Baytown and for the last 30+ years has been struggling to survive. With the loss of several of the aging buildings, the City built a Town Square to accomodate events wtih a stage, lighting, play areas and a large central fountain. Some new small businesses moved in and renovated their buildings. One building owner , Dr Yvonne Thomas, a dentist by profession, decided to form a non-profit consisting of the business owners to try to revive the area using art, cultural events, and entertainment. The Historic Arts, Culture & Entertainment Council, Inc (ACE District Council) was born with a mission to revitalize the old downtown. It was certified as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in 2017. Since then, and with some support of the City of Baytown, donors, sponsors, grants & volunteers, the ACE Council has hosted a number of festivals focused on the cultural diversity of the community. It has not been easy and fundraising is ongoing, but overall it is working!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would start by showing them all the wonderful experiences that we have in the Historic Downtown Arts District consisting of The Baytown Sculpture Trail, Town Square, a visit to our Tourism Center, The Baytown Historical Museum, take in a play at the Baytown Little Theatre and spend a unique evening at 510 West, a fabulous wine bar featuring acrobatic acts and themed shows. The owners are world renowned performers who have been on many televised talent shows like <b>America’s Got Talent. </b> The Art League of Baytown features local artists and special art exhibits. They can eat at the area restaurants, including Wazabi Sushi Bar, Bocanegras Kitchen, Roosters, and have dessert at Sabor of Mexico Ice Cream. We would also invite them to come to the Market at Town Square, vote for their favorite sculpture, and attend one of our festivals such as the Caribbean Vibes, Pre-Grito Fest and our Christmas on Texas Avenue festival which all highlight local vendors, food trucks and entertainment. We would then branch out to other areas of Baytown to visit the Baytown Nature Center, a favorite of birding enthusiasts, where we could fishing, and walking trails. The City park system also has many trails and includes beautiful Jenkins Park with tree lined trails, a dog park, a disc golf course, water sprinkler features and more. A whole day can be spent at Pirate’s Bay Water park, and we can wind down one evening and have dinner at the Hyatt Hotel’s restaurant. There is certainly a lot to do downtown and around Baytown in general.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The ACE District Council is a 501(c)(3) non-profit since 2017 and has many supporters ranging from business &amp; individual donors, sponsors, grants, City of Baytown, Lee College, student &amp; adult volunteers. Our volunteer Board members put in many hours planning and implementation of our activities, fundraising, and marketing.

Website: www.acedistrictbaytown.org, www.baytownsculpturetrail.org

Instagram: @acedistrictbaytown @baytownsculpturetrail

Facebook: ACEDistrict,Baytown BaytownSculptureTrail

Image Credits
SCULPTURE: “Dab” by Micheal Zikogiannis, Moko Jumbies Stiltwalkers