Having a rough post-Halloween morning? Do the walk of shame, kick the goat in your bed out of the room and drink up your I-got-so-drunk-I-don't-know-what-I-did antidote. Your treats and tricks may be a thing of the past, but Houston goes on with fall happenings.
On tap this week is a melange that includes an art party, luxurious vehicles, wheels and reels, healing food, bookish fun and winter truffles.
MFAH Mixed Media Designed by IKEA
While on any given day the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is a calm, cultured and sophisticated milieu in which to imbibe the human creative potential, it's nice to know that museum officials aren't so stuffy that they can't appreciate a rowdy carouse of sorts. The MFAH Mixed Media Designed by IKEA has now become a signature event that breathes street cred into the award-winning architecture with bad ass DJs, a colorful ambiance designed by IKEA Houston and activities that nod to one of the exhibitions on view.
Who doesn't love an art party?
The skinny: Friday, 8 p.m.; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; tickets start at $15.
41st Annual Jewish Book & Arts Fair
Take it from me: The only Jew-isms you need to know are oy, oy vey and oy vey ismier to fully immerse yourself in this two-week-plus festival of Jewish arts and letters. Literary notables such as Peter Sagal and Letty Cottin add to a melange of lectures, concerts and film screenings that delve on topics that anyone, regardless of their background, can relate to well. Amid the countless events, jot down the Omer Avital Quintet concert, which is helmed by a bass player of Moroccan and Yemenite descent whose music is as original as his provenance.
Buffalo Bayou Partnership and Aurora Picture Show host Bike-In Video Festival "Wheels to Reels"
Screw drive-ins and try a different type of transportation-cum-movie gathering, particularly as the temperate temps are finally friendly for leisurely cycling without ending up sweating like a pig roasting on a bonfire. Aurora Picture Show and Buffalo Bayou Partnership buddy up for a free al fresco movie screening that lauds what's cool about bike culture. Scott Stulen of the Walker Art Center curates the series that includes anything from six-second Vine clips to short films.
The Bike-In begins at 6 p.m. with a group ride led by BikeHouston from different locations (map here).
No bike? Houston B-Cycle kiosks solve that problem. The ride ends at Sesquicentennial Park, where Stulen will show off his prowess at the turntables prior to sunset, when the films will screen.
The skinny: Saturday, 6 p.m.; Sesquicentennial Park; free event.
Eighth Annual Highland Village Ferrari Festival
Swoon over a collection of some 50 very expensive hot wheels when the Italian beauties take over Highland Village. Feel the sheer power and style of something only a few can afford while enjoying bites from Up Restaurant, Smith & Wollensky, Sprinkles Cupcakes and other Highland Village restaurants.
Behind this posh-esque event is jeweler Frank Valobra and businessman Paul Cox, who created the festival to raise awareness and funds for the Texas Children's Cancer Center.
The skinny: Sunday, 10 a.m.; Highland Village; free event.
"Food Fight Against Cancer" benefiting Halo House
Hippocrates knew what was up when he penned, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," though it took millennia for research to reach a similar conclusion and recognize that nutrition plays a critical role in healing the body.
Think of this event as a delicious throwdown in which chefs from Sparrow Bar + Cookshop, The Hippo Kitchen, Sorrel Urban Bistro, Radical Eats and The Pass & Provisions duke it out to concoct a tasty dish that also fights cancer. Proceeds from the fundraiser benefit Halo House, a nonprofit that offers affordable housing to cancer patients.
The skinny: Sunday, 7 p.m.; Sparrow Bar + Cookshop; tickets are $125.
Staff writer and resident gourmand Eric Sandler's pick: Moueix Wine Dinner
Eric says: "Unlike some Houston sommeliers whose over-the-top recommendations for every obscure vintage make it hard to tell whether any individual bottle is actually good, Philippe Restaurant + Lounge beverage director Vanessa Trevino Boyd's typically calm demeanor means that, when she gets excited about something, it's probably worth shouting about.
"When she sent me an email to tell me that Edouard Moueix of Chateau Petrus' visit to Houston is a 'pretty big deal,' I understood that to mean that the guy is a legend in the wine world — to whom Vanessa would give him a key to the city if she could. While she isn't pouring any of the ultra-expensive Petrus at the dinner, the food and wine options more than justify the ticket. Can you say duck en croute 'pot pie' with some of the first winter truffles? I can."
The skinny: Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m.; Philippe Restaurant + Lounge; tariff is $155.
Chef Monica Pope is one of a handful local toques participating in the "Food Fight Against Cancer," a fundraiser that benefits Halo House.
