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Don't Miss Events

Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events — festivals included

Joel Luks
Joel Luks
Oct 10, 2014 | 12:14 pm

On tap this week is a fabulous anniversary party that celebrates a group of your favorite news personalities, a family-friendly gathering at Houston's newest happy place, an attempt to break a Guinness World Record with gravity-defying feats and two cultural festivals that paint the city with colorful fun.

CultureMap Houston's Fifth Birthday Bash

What on earth is a mapazine? I rolled my eyes and I kept on walking the first time I heard the concept for this new whatever that was supposed to be the it thing on the web. But there were smart peeps behind CultureMap, folks that would eventually offer me an opportunity to put in my two cents about arts and culture. And here we are, five years later, reminiscing about the good times while looking forward to more adventures.

Our party on Friday celebrates all the hard work and sleepless nights. We can't wait to see everyone. Although online ticket sales are now closed due to overwhelming demand, there will be a limited number of tickets sold at the door. Just get there early to be able to join in the revelry that benefits Casa De Esperanza.

The deets: Friday, 7-10 p.m.; J.W. Marriott Houston Downtown Hotel; $25 cash at the door.

Saturday at Smither Park

The transformation from empty parcel to in-progress happy place has been remarkable, a destination to which everyone reacts the same way: Smiles all around. Smither Park, designed by visionary artist Dan Phillips and executed by a coterie of artists, is a mosaic that truly speaks to the spirit of Houston.

This family-friendly gathering includes live entertainment while artists continue to work on the Memory Wall and Lindley Fish Amphitheater. John Daugherty Realtors gets in on the artsy action by facilitating the collection of recycled and repurposed materials that add color and personality to the vibrant environment.

The deets: Saturday, 11 a.m.; Smither Park; free event.

Society for the Performing Arts presents the National Acrobats of China

Locals shouldn't need an introduction to this type of gravity-defying troupe as Houstonians have enjoyed performances by the Peking Acrobats and Golden Dragon Acrobats in recent years. But this Society for the Performing Arts show could be making history.

Before the 7:30 p.m. curtain call, The National Acrobats of China will attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the most people spinning plates at the same time. Organizers suggest that audience members arrive at 6:30 p.m. for the 7 p.m. attempt.

The deets: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Jones Hall; tickets start at $28.

Italian Festival

If you've recovered from the foodgasm that was the Original Greek Festival, then don your eating trousers again to enjoy this year's Italian Festival — meat on a stick, anyone?

You'll sample authentic Italian grub while participating in fun activities such as grape stomping, pasta eating contests, a bocce ball tournament, marionette puppet shows, Italian movies, cooking demonstrations and more.

The deets: Runs through Sunday; University of St. Thomas; $8 for adults, children ages 12 and under attend for free.

2014 Bayou City Art Festival Downtown

Don't let the forecasted precipitation rain on this parade of creative vendors, among them painters, photographers, textile artists, photographers and more than line Hermann Square and surrounding public spaces. As a different committee curates the merchants every year, there's always something fresh and new to discover.

Talking about things that are new: Be sure check out Bayou City After Dark (Saturday, 5-9:30 p.m.), a new festival component that complements what the event is known for with cocktails and live performances by Martha Wash of The Weather Girls and Grady Gaines and the Texas Upsetters.

The deets: Saturday (10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.) and Sunday (10 a.m.-6 p.m.); Hermann Park Square; $15 adult admission.

Smither Park is a mosaic that truly speaks to the spirit of Houston.

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be counted

Ken Hoffman rallies Houston to shatter the 1 million-attendance mark for the downtown Astros parade

Ken Hoffman
Nov 7, 2022 | 8:40 am
Astros World Series victory parade and rally
Jacob Power Photography

Estimates indicate even more than 1 million will attend the parade.

Houston city officials are estimating that 1 million fans will pack downtown streets for the Astros victory parade on Monday, November 7. (Get all the details here.)

They’d better hope that I show up. Otherwise they’d have to downgrade their estimate to 999,999 fans.

I’m not saying that city officials are overly optimistic, but Houston does have a history of exaggerating crowd sizes. Hey, the Houston Texans still insist that 67,000 fans are packing NRG Stadium for games. And the city throws numbers around like 400,000 people lining downtown streets for the Thanksgiving parade. That’s just crazy talk.

The Astros parade will cover 1.7 miles down Smith Street from Preston to Tuam starting at noon. That’s almost twice the distance of the 2017 Astros parade, but not even close to the 3-mile route starting at Smith and Tuam (actually the finish line) that some media outlets reported on Sunday. Don’t they have GPS on their phones?

The weather is supposed to be fair and toasty, schools will be out, and all signs are pointing to a record crowd Monday.

Back in 2017, Astros’ stars George Springer, Carlos Correa, Josh Reddick, Dallas Keuchel, Charlie Morton, Brad Peacock, Evan Gattis, manager A.J. Hinch, and others rode fire trucks waving at fans. They’re all gone.

Only five Astros remain from that championship season: Justin Verlander, Yuli Gurriel, Alex Bregman, Lance McCullers, Jr. and José Altuve. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same: World Series kings again.

The previous most-attended parades in Houston were after the Rockets won the NBA title two years running in the mid-‘90s. Officials say 500,000 people watched superstar Hakeem Olajuwon, coach Rudy Tomjanovich, and the Rockets celebrate downtown.

If the Astros do draw 1 million for their parade, it would be about half of everybody who lives in Houston (the fourth biggest city in the U.S. with 2.1 million population). The population of Harris County, the third-biggest county in the U.S., is 4.7 million.

In this politically charged and divided election year, the one thing everybody can agree on is … we love our Astros.

The 2017 Astros parade was held along a winding route similar to the Thanksgiving parade: starting at Smith and Lamar, going east on Walker, looping south on Milam, then west on Pease, turning north on Smith back to the start line. Mayor Sylvester Turner said 1 million people attended that parade and he thought the number could go even higher after officials reviewed video footage.

Mayor Turner’s judgment could be excused by giddy Astros fever. Consider this: city parade counters, possibly groggy from tryptophan, used to claim that 400,000 people watched the Thanksgiving parade along that same 20-block route as the Astros parade in 2017.

For that to be true, there would have to be 20,000 people lining each short city block, standing just on the sidewalk. That’s more than a sold-out crowd at Toyota Center emptying onto all 20 blocks, even the ones that appeared sparsely attended. At least we know that Enron accountants found work.

That’s to reach 400,000 spectators. To say one million people watched the 2017 Astros parade, even with fans hanging out windows of buildings and poking out of parking garages, that’s a tough one to buy.

A few years ago, after officials claimed 250,000 people were at the Thanksgiving parade, I found an expert in crowd estimates who used overhead photos and a formula of one person per two square feet of standing room. He put the Thanksgiving parade crowd at 20,000. I’m not a math expert, but 20,000 is less than 400,000. A whole lot less.

The Astros route Monday will be nearly twice as long as the 2017 route. METRO rides will be free. Most compelling, the Astros are more popular than Thanksgiving turkey, especially white breast meat, which is dry and extremely overrated.

So the Astros do have an outside shot at 1 million. I’m sure city officials will claim and media outlets will report 1 million. Just get there early.

Be counted.

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world series parade!

Here's what to know about the Houston Astros World Series championship downtown parade

Steven Devadanam
Nov 7, 2022 | 6:02 am
José Altuve World Series trophy
Photo by Steven Devadanam

Cheer on José Altuve as he hoists the trophy.

The Houston Astros have clinched their second World Series title in five years and since the Saturday, November 5 win, nearly all of Houston has been celebrating.

Now, tens of thousands are expected to scream for the team on Monday, November 7 at the official World Series Parade downtown.

Fans can catch the 1.7-mile parade starting at noon at Preston Street and Smith Street and will run to Tuam Street and Smith Street.

City officials ask attendees to arrive early and to take advantage of ridesharing agencies, Houston METRO, or even carpool. To that end, METRO rides will be free all day on Monday.

"Please take advantage of METRO," said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "I ask that everyone be on their best behavior. Showcase the best of what this city is all about. It's our turn to be appreciative and celebrate them."

Rideshare locations include:

  • Roast Square Memorial Park
  • Allen's Landing
  • Eleanor Tinsley Park
  • Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart

Those attending should pack drinks and water and plan for a long, warm day.

Meanwhile, CultureMap news partner ABC13 urges fans to utilize its real-time traffic map — find it here.

Many local school districts including Houston, Fort Bend, Alief, and more are closing on Monday — with one notanle exception, Katy. Astros superstar Alex Bregman lobbied the district to let the kids attend on Twitter.


Hey @katyisd 👋

Please the kids come to the parade! #GoStros
— Alex Bregman (@ABREG_1) November 7, 2022

For lucky fans are attending — many have lined up seats as early as 5:30 am Monday — it's a chance to root, root, root for the home team that brought them a title.

"The fans support us. And seeing that place erupt was spectacular," Astros owner Jim Crane said regarding Saturday's win. "Have a safe day and enjoy the championship."

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Ken Hoffman reminds Houston Astros fans to chill out — we got this

Houston's beloved Jewish bakery opens in Tanglewood with fave treats and coffee drinks

Magnificent Memorial-area mansion shatters record as most expensive home sold in Houston

come on down

Houston cozies up as a top winter travel destination for warm-weather lovers

Hannah J. Frías
Nov 4, 2022 | 10:30 am
Memorial Park Eastern Glades Boardwalk over Hines Lake
Photo courtesy of Memorial Park Conservancy

Memorial Park's Eastern Glades makes for a fun trip.

For Texans, winter in the Lone Star State brings a long-awaited respite from six months of unbearable heat. We're pretty content to finally leave the house without a double (or triple) layer of SPF. But for tourists, winter in Texas brings respite from the opposite problem: colder climates where locals actually experience things like rain and snow. A recent WalletHub study shows Texas taking three of the top 10 "best winter vacation destinations for warm-weather lovers," with Houston landing at No. 7.

Specifically, Houston scores top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 1) and most attractions (No. 9).

Comparing around 70 of the largest U.S. metro areas, the study groups cities by warm and cold weather. Rather than a subjective survey of each locale's scenic beauty (in which Texas cities would also sweep the top 10, of course), WalletHub focused on the cost and convenience of traveling to each city, as well as the number of attractions and variety of activities in each destination.

As a result, the two lists rank "the cheapest U.S. destinations that are also the easiest to reach," according to the study's landing page. To compile the data, WalletHub measured 37 key metrics, including two weeks of flight data, safety indicators, and weather predictions.

In the warm weather category, Nevada's Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise metro area nabbed the No. 1 spot with an overall score of 67.18 and high marks in the number-of-attractions category (No. 2) and number of warm-weather activities (No. 1).

In total, Texas took nine of the 37 spots in the warm weather category, with three cities in the top 5. Here's how other Texas metros fared on the list:

  • Austin — No. 2. Top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 2) and best weather (No. 6).
  • Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington —No. 4. Top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 3) and best weather (No. 2).
  • San Antonio-New Braunfels — No. 5. Top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 6) and lowest local costs (No. 3).
  • Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land — No. 7. Top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 1) and number of attractions (No. 9).
  • Killeen-Temple — No. 21. Top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 6).
  • McAllen-Edinburg-Mission— No. 27. Top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 1).
  • Corpus Christi— No. 32. Top marks for lowest travel costs (No. 7).
  • Brownsville-Harlingen — No. 33.
  • Beaumont-Port Arthur— No. 35.
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