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Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events, including Bunnies on the Bayou

Rise from the depths of your couch and mark your calendar for a week that includes experimental tunes, food and film, a walk with your pooch, happy bunnies and the beginning of a colossal fundraising campaign that does its part to cure disease.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 2013 Man & Woman of the Year Kick Off

Off they go. That would be the assemblage of 25 hopefuls who will kick off their fundraising efforts for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society en route to earning the title of 2013 Man & Woman of the Year. The affair celebrates the beginning of an 11-week campaign that brings in cash to support those battling leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma.

The deets: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.; Saks Fifth Avenue; free event.

Nameless Sound presents Roscoe Mitchell & Alvin Fielder, The Resounding Vision Awards and the Roscoe Mitchell Quartet

Nameless Sound is quite the busy bee this week with a trio of events that comprise a week-long residency with saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell, who's a pioneer in composition and improvisatory music.

On Thursday, 6:30 p.m., the festivities hit the Historic Eldorado Ballroom at Project Row Houses to honor Mitchell with Nameless Sound's Resounding Vision Award in a gala that will also recognize patrons Sanford and Susan Criner. Proceeds from the $200-a-head dinner will underwrite the company's education initiatives and concert series.

The residency concludes on Friday, 8 p.m., at the Eldorado Ballroom with a performance featuring the Roscoe Mitchell Quartet. Tickets are $13 general admission, $10 students with ID and free for guests 18 and under.

Aurora Picture Show presents "An Evening of Texas Mexican: Food, Film and Meaning"

This dinner-and-a-movie event is blown up to the nth degree as food writer/producer Adán Medrano mingles a nine-course chef tasting menu of Texas-Mexican-American cuisine with reels of avant-garde, lyrical and even a few horror art videos that delve into how film and food industries influence each other.

The deets: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.; Aurora Picture Show; tickets are $60 for the general public, $40 for Aurora Picture Show members.

The Dog Walk benefiting Hermann Park Conservancy presented by the Houston Rockets

Bring your furr-ever buddy to this scenic, one-mile stroll around Hermann Park and stick around for the party that features Clutch The Rockets Bear. Walk away with a T-shirt for you and a special surprise for your best friend.

Best of all, your efforts will support Hermann Park Conservancy's activities that keep the public space verdant, glowing and beautiful — just like you.

The deets: Saturday, 8 a.m.; Hermann Park; registration is $25.

2013 Bunnies on the Bayou

He has risen, and so will the hundreds of "happy" hopping bunnies in absolutely fabulous attire for this year's Bunnies on the Bayou, an al fresco event that puts a different spin on Easter festivities. This casual gathering is an excuse to fundraise for 16 charitable organizations including AIDS Foundation Houston - Camp Hope, AIDS Housing Coalition, Bayou City Performing Arts, Bering Omega Community Services, Expert Nutrition, Lazarus House, Lesbian Health Initiative, Lesbians Over Age Fifty, Montrose Counseling Center, Pet Patrol, Safe Affirming Family Environment and Spay Neuter Assistance Program.

Who knows, maybe you'll get to know your friends biblically. Especially at the network of circuit parties the night prior.

The deets: Sunday, 1 p.m.; Wortham Center Fish Plaza; $30 in advance, $40 at the door, $125 VIP.

Arts smarty pants and in-the-loop dance maven Nancy Wozny's pick: Dance Salad 2013

Nancy says: "The first time I saw Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's work I felt as if he were operating from a new rule book. His physicality and theatricality are completely original. He is one of the most sought after choreographers on the planet. Some of you may have seen his handwork in the recent feature film Anna Karenina. Cheraoui is a Dance Salad favorite and he's back with his company Eastman in PUZ-ZLE. This is the choreographer's fourth visit to the Dance Salad festival.

"There's more to get excited about with this years' Dance Salad Festival. Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has two works on the program and Rome' Spellbound Contemporary Ballet and The Polish National Ballet are other highlights."

The deets: Thursday through Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Wortham Theater Center; tickets start at $20.

Hop along with other conies at Bunnies on the Bayou, a different kind of Easter celebration.

Photo by Dalton DeHart

Hop along with other conies at Bunnies on the Bayou, a different kind of Easter celebration.

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Money Matters

This is the income you need to live comfortably in Texas in 2026

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Single U.S. adults need at least $80,000 to live comfortably; in Texas, the figure is much higher.

A new national report looking at the income it takes to live comfortably in each of the 50 states has revealed Texans need to earn slightly less now than a year ago.

SmartAsset analyzed what a single individual, as well as family of four, must earn to cover minimum basic needs adjusted using the 50/30/20 budgeting rule. The resulting estimate represents the annual, pre-tax income needed to live comfortably in every U.S. state.

A single, full-time worker needs to make $90,563 to live comfortably in the Lone Star State, the report found, which is down a meager 0.2 percent from last year ($90,771).

Under the 50/30/20 budgeting strategy, that means a single Texas earner would have $45,282 to spend on necessities like housing and utilities, $27,169 for discretionary spending, and $18,113 for emergencies or retirement savings.

Texas ranked 34th nationally in SmartAsset's list of states with the highest income needed for a single adult to live "in sustainable comfort" in 2026. Only five other states — Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Mississippi — saw a decline in the income needed to live comfortably this year.

For a family of four to live comfortably in Texas, income requirements change significantly, according to the findings. To support a two-child household, a family needs $203,424 in combined total household income to be considered financially stable. This is down slightly from 2025, when SmartAsset reported a family of four in needed $204,922 to live comfortably in Texas.

This is a comfortable lifestyle for a family of four in Texas, according to the report:

$101,712 dedicated to necessities and living expenses
$61,027 dedicated to discretionary spending
$40,685 dedicated to emergencies, savings, or debt repaymen

According to the report, a family of four now needs to make at least $200,000 to live comfortably in 40 U.S. states, a figure that is far out of reach for many American families.

"As housing, grocery, transportation and other essential costs pressure household budgets, earning a six-figure salary no longer guarantees financial comfort in much of the U.S.," the report said. "A single adult now needs at least $80,000 a year to live comfortably in every state, while the threshold exceeds $100,000 in nearly half of states. For a family of four, the income needed to live comfortably is as much as $329,000."

Still, earning the minimum income to live comfortably in Texas doesn't guarantee financial stability in the Lone Star State's major cities. Earlier this year, SmartAsset determined single residents in Houston need to make about $90,000 to qualify as financially stable, while families of four need around $205,000.

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