Enjoying the best time of the year in Houston? Don't waste these idyllic temperatures by staying home. Instead, get out and enjoy a walk for your health, a fair about the Kindle's predecessor, a harmonious choir, a fun and serious concert and a dark comedy in which you'll laugh about a man's misery.
2014 Houston Heart and Stroke Walk
The weather gods will be smiling for this annual walk that raises funds and awareness about an affliction that claims the life of more Americans than anything else. Heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the nation, is no joking matter, so join in the expected turn out of 30,000 to breathe hope into a condition that affects so many. Better yet, strike up a conversation with your neighbors, many of whom will be open to sharing their encouraging stories.
So let's walk, shall we? After all, participation is free, but fundraising is encouraged. So what's your excuse?
The skinny: Saturday, 9 a.m.; NRG Stadium; participation is free.
The Printing Museum's 12th Annual Book Fair
Get your head out of your techie playthings and flip the pages to a different chapter in your literary life at the 12th Annual Book Fair hosted by The Printing Museum. Used and vintage books, rare editions and collectibles will be offered by 20 dealers from all around the country.
Alongside one-of-a-kind shopping, the fair includes book appraisals, lectures on collecting by Antiques Roadshow personality Ken Sanders and demonstrations on papermaking, bookbinding and lithography.
The skinny: Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; The Printing Museum; $5 general admission, free for museum members.
Houston Chamber Choir presents "Farewell to Arms"
So by now you should know that the Houston Chamber Choir croons with passion, heartfelt musicality and superhuman intonation. What else would you expect from this intimately sized professional ensemble? Right, themed programs that reframe subjects in such a way so listeners gain a different understanding of something familiar.
"Farewell to Arms" does exactly that by exploring the milieu of war through the music of Maurice Ravel, Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Francis Poulenc, Karl Jenkins and Stephen Chatman, the latter of whom composed a work for male voices to John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields.
River Oaks Chamber Orchestra presents "Serious Fun"
It may sound like an oxymoron — serious and fun — but you can bet your bottom dollar that the musicians of the River Oak Chamber Orchestra, ROCO to the cool kids of classical music, fuse both genuinely. That's pretty much what you'll find in this program that includes Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 with piano virtuoso Anne-Marie McDermott tickling the ivories and the world premiere of Anthony DiLorenzo's setting of Jabberwocky, which adds to ROCO's impressive pile of new music commissions.
With guest maestro Alastair Willis on the podium, expect witty commentary in addition to a handful of surprises.
The skinny: Saturday, 5 p.m.; The Church of St. John the Divine; $35 adults, $25 seniors and $15 students. Sunday, 4 p.m.; The Centrum; $25 adults, $20 seniors and $10 adults.
Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre and Two Star Symphony present Danse Macabre: The Constant Companion
When two dark artistic powers come out of the shadows for a once-in-a-decade type of creative debauchery, there's only one way you should feel: Scared. But not enough to run for your life. Instead, march your virgin soul over to 14 Pews as Bobbindoctrin Puppet Theatre and Two Star Symphony zap new life into a collaboration that includes a seven piece ensemble, gruesome puppets and video projections.
Danse Macabre: The Constant Companion is a cryptically funny tale about a man in hopeless despair. So let's laugh at his misery. I believe Avenue Q would call that "Schadenfreude."
The skinny: Playing through Monday; 14 Pews; $15 adults, $10 students and seniors.
The Printing Museum's 12th Annual Book Fair includes a lecture on collecting by Antiques Roadshow personality Ken Sanders.
