You are Welcome

Longtime River Oaks resident Welcome Wilson, Sr. (pictured, in front of his River Oaks home) will launch his new memoir, Always Welcome: Nine Decades of Great Friends, Great Times and (Mostly) Great Deals (Bright Sky Press), on Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. at Barnes & Noble River Oaks. The 90-year-old civic leader and historian will also be crowned King Nottoc in this year’s No-Tsu-Oh Festival in October. The No-Tsu-Oh (“Houston” spelled backwards) tradition started in 1899, and it is similar to New Orleans’ Mardi Gras with parades, balls, college football games and a carnival midway highlighting the festivities. In its early days, downtown buildings were bedecked with electric lights, people sported outrageous costumes, and horse-drawn buggies and automobiles were smothered in flowers. No-Tsu-Oh was put on hold for WWI. The Heritage Society now continues the tradition with a goal of bringing No-Tsu-Oh back as a city-wide festival.

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