Weekend events planner

Here are the top 7 things to do in Houston this weekend

Your work week is almost history, and it’s time to look ahead to the weekend. Expect some fun, seasonal events around town — from a gingerbread competition, to brunch with Santa — plus some seasonal songs to get you in the holiday spirit.

We've rounded up your top seven things to do in Houston this weekend. For more options, check out the full CultureMap Events Calendar.

Sing your heart out
Friday, December 8
Break out your festive holiday attire, warm up your voices and head downtown to MKT Bar for the Family and Friends Karaoke Party, featuring rare Karbach beers and seasonal brews and bites. (9 pm to 2 am; tickets: free admission)
1001 Austin St.; 832-360-2222

Gingerbread throwdown
Saturday, December 9
The Architecture Center Houston Foundation presents the Gingerbread Build-Off competition at City Hall's Hermann Square. Expect an edible battle among dozens of teams, using entirely consumable building materials. There will also be food trucks, hot chocolate, caroling, and photos with Saint Nicholas at the family-friendly event. (10 am to 4:30 pm; tickets: free admission)
900 Smith St.

Cheers
Saturday, December 9
Saint Arnold Brewing Co.’s World Famous Pub Crawl begins in Rice Village at Under the Volcano with stops at Kelvin Arms Scottish Pub, Little Woodrow's, Rice Village, The Gorgeous Gael, The Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, The Gingerman, and Hopdoddy Burger Bar. Your prize for making all the stops is a Saint Arnold Pub Crawl pint glass. (2 to 6pm; tickets: free admission)
2349 Bissonnet St.; 713-686-9494

Bright lights
Saturday, December 9
Pedestrian-friendly neighborhood Christmas festival, Lights in the Heights, boasts a parade, carolers, hot beverages, carriage rides, and dozens of beautifully decorated houses. (6 to 9 pm; tickets: free admission)
Houston Heights: Bayland Ave. and Woodland St. between Studewood and Beaucham; Norhill St. between Highland and Euclid.

Sneak peek
Saturday, December 9
Get a first look at BCK: Kitchen & Cocktail Adventures, the sister concept of Bosscat Kitchen and Libations, during a Lights in the Heights Pop-Up. Expect hot chocolate, bacon butter popcorn, and other festive snacks. BCK is slated to open in January 2018. (5:30 pm; tickets: free admission)
933 Studewood St.

Kiddie wonderland
Sunday, December 10
Gather the kids and head to the Briar Club for Houston Symphony's Magical Musical Morning, complete with brunch, photos with Santa, arts and crafts stations, and lost more. (11 am to 1 pm; tickets: $150 per adult; $75 per child)
2603 Timmons Ln.; 832-531-6701

Jump, jive and wail
Sunday, December 10
Iconic guitarist, songwriter, vocalist, and three-time Grammy-Award winner Brian Setzer and his 19-piece orchestra bring their Christmas Rocks! Tour to Arena Theatre. Setzer is known for adding his own blend of gunpowder and rockin’ style to two forgotten genres: rockabilly and swing. (8 pm; tickets: $39.50 to $65 per person)
7326 Southwest Fwy.

Brian Setzer and his 19-piece orchestra bring their Christmas Rocks! Tour to Arena Theatre.

Photo courtesy of AT&T Performing Arts Center

Brian Setzer and his 19-piece orchestra bring their Christmas Rocks! Tour to Arena Theatre.

event-planner

by the numbers

Remote workers in Houston earn far more than commuters, data shows

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Remote workers in Houston earn 40 percent more than their commuting counterparts, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

In the Houston metro area, it pays to work from home.

Data published recently by the U.S. Census Bureau shows remote workers in the Houston metro earn 40 percent more than their commuting counterparts. For remote workers in the Houston area, median earnings stood at $67,500 in 2023, compared with $48,200 for other workers.

Federal data cited by Visual Capitalist indicates 11.8 percent of the Houston area’s labor pool, or nearly 460,000 people, were remote workers in 2023.

In the Dallas metro area, the difference in median earnings between remote workers and non-remote workers is even more stark. According to Census Bureau data, remote workers there earned $77,000 in 2023 — 50.7 percent more than the $51,100 for traditional workers.

Why the wide gap in pay? The Census Bureau says remote workers are more likely to be older, more likely to be white, and less likely to live below the poverty line. All of these traits contribute to higher income.

Among home-based workers in the country’s five biggest metros, median earnings for remote workers were highest in the New York and Chicago areas (over $80,000) and lowest in the Houston area (under $70,000), according to the Census Bureau.

The five-metro comparison also reveals that the Houston area had the highest share (6.8 percent) of all workers, both remote and non-remote, living below the federal poverty level.

In a recent Substack post, urban planner Bill Fulton notes that remote workers in major cities typically earn 50 percent to 80 percent more than other workers do. He declares that “remote workers are far more affluent than everybody else. They are, of course, office workers, not blue-collar or service workers, and they tend to be more highly educated.”

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This story originally appeared on our sister site, InnovationMap.

remote work houston dallas census bureau