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Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events, including a historic goodbye

On tap this week are Hans Graf's last performance as Houston Symphony's music director, a history boat tour, an artsy evening that raises awareness for breast cancer prevention, dance on water and a spicy food competition that supports health matters.

Pink Ribbons Project 2013 Gala "Pink at the Brown Unplugged"

Houstonians are as proud of their art scene as they are about their giving, philanthropic spirit. Think of "Pink at the Brown Unplugged" as an untamed monsoon of artsy prowess in support of Pink Ribbons Project, an organization founded by Jane Weiner that promotes breast cancer health through creative events.

Chaired by Jo Furr with Stanton Welch as the artistic chair, Alley Theatre, Da Camera of Houston, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Society for the Performing Arts, Writers in the School, Meta-Four Houston and Stages Repertory Theatre will offer performance vignettes that contribute to this celebration of survivorship.

The skinny: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.; Wortham Theater Center; tickets start at $25.

Houston Symphony presents "A Graf Farewell"

So they say that time flies when you are having fun. Hans Graf's 12-year tenure as music director with the Houston Symphony, an accomplishment that makes him the longest-running maestro of the city's premier orchestra, comes to a bittersweet end with a two-concert run of Mahler's mammoth magnum opus, his Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection."

If you are lucky enough to score a ticket, grab it and go. Mahler's positive, uplifting and spiritual tenor is a beautiful auf wiedersehen wish from this likable, wine-loving, Austrian dirigent.

The skinny: Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; Jones Hall; tickets start at $29.

2013 Buffalo Bayou Partnership Looking Back History Tours with Louis Aulbach

More than just a body of water that's experiencing a major beautification initiative, below the murky waters of the Buffalo Bayou is the creation tale of the city of Houston. Brush up on your hometown history with Louis F. Aulbach, a local savant with a penchant for Houston's past, during a two-hour tour aboard Buffalo Bayou Partnership's pontoon boat.

The skinny: Saturday, 10 a.m.; departs from Allen's Landing; tickets are $40, reservations required.

Recked Productions presents Up For Air

Call me dorky — I don't mind. I get tickled when artists draw inspiration from local, iconic landmarks. There was something about Hermann Park's Jones Reflection Pool that enticed Erin Reck of Recked Productions to choreograph a piece that deals with dualities — on concepts both extroverted and introverted.

Up for Air unites nature and movement to dialogue on what I like to describe as the force and its dark side, such as good versus evil, heaven and earth, birth and destruction, and peace and anarchy.

The skinny: Saturday, 2 and 6 p.m.; Jones Reflection Pool at Hermann Park; free event.

Second Annual Curry Crawl benefiting PULSE

When something works, rinse, lather — and repeat. Last year's inaugural curry crawl pitted chef against chef in a spiced food-a-thon that had guests' lips smacking. The event, which benefits St. Luke's Episcopal Health System's young professionals troupe, PULSE, returns to Straits with many fresh faces added to the coterie of toques who will battle it out for the title of Best Curry Dish and the people's Choice Award.

Inside this kitchen stadium you'll find Rik Patel of Ambrosia, Roberto Castre of Latin Bites, Neera Patidar of Nosh Bistro, Manish Chawla of Rasoi, Tony Le from RA Sushi, German Mosquera of Restaurant Cinq, Mark Gabriel Medina of Soma Sushi, Monica Pope of Sparrow Bar + Cookshop, John Sikhattana of Straits, Raymond Vandergaag of The Tasting Room and Oziel Reyes of The West End.

The skinny: Sunday, 4 p.m.; Straits; tickets are $55.

Arts smarty pants and in-the-loop dance maven Nancy Wozny's pick: Society for the Performing Arts presents Shen Wei Dance Arts

Nancy says: "Do you have room for one more Rite of Spring folks? I hope so, because Shen Wei Dance Arts, presented by Society for the Performing Arts, makes its first stop in Houston performing The Rite of Spring and Folding.

"Most known as the mastermind behind the Beijing Olympics where he orchestrated some 16,000 performers in the Birds Nest Theater, Shen Wei makes dances that draw from painting, Chinese opera, music and contemporary dance. But don't expect a sacrifice in this Rite. Shen Wei takes a different approach using a stunning floor grid and a riveting movement vocabulary."

The skinny: Saturday, 8 p.m.; Jones Hall; tickets start at $45.

Think of "Pink at the Brown Unplugged" as an untamed monsoon of artsy prowess in support of Pink Ribbons Project.

Pink at the Brown Houston umbrellas May 2013

Courtesy photo

Think of "Pink at the Brown Unplugged" as an untamed monsoon of artsy prowess in support of Pink Ribbons Project.

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international acclaim

Houston's iconic Rothko Chapel receives new grant to restore Beryl damage

Courtesy of the Rothko Chapel

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Houston's beloved Rothko Chapel is one step closer to recovery after Hurricane Beryl in 2024. A substantial new grant from Bank of America will fund the restoration of Mark Rothko pieces damaged by the storm.

“This grant comes at a pivotal moment – not only for the Rothko Chapel, but in the broader context of our changing climate and growing vulnerability to extreme weather events,” said David Leslie, executive director of the Chapel. “The conservation process will require extensive time, specialized materials, and expert technical support to stabilize and restore these works, ensuring they can once again inspire visitors within this sacred space. Bank of America’s support underscores the urgent need to preserve culturally significant artworks like these, especially as we face new environmental challenges that threaten our artistic legacy.”

The Bank of America Art Conservation Project has been used to fund the preservation and restoration of culturally significant artworks since 2010. In 2021, the project also funded the restoration of an 13th Century Incan textile housed at Houston's Menil Collection. This year's other recipients include the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Museo Nacional de San Carlos in Mexico City, Sir John Soane's Museum in London, and the Sydney Opera House.

Since 1971, Rothko Chapel has been one of the best meditative spaces in Houston. Commissioned by John and Dominique de Menil in 1964, Rothko designed the space and painted its famous black panels. Rothko himself did not live to see the completion, dying by suicide in New York in 1970. Now, the chapel stands as a non-denominational spiritual center, hosting concerts, mindfulness clinics, and other events designed to promote mental healing in visitors.

When Hurricane Beryl hit Houston on July 8, high winds and torrential hammered the chapel's roof. Water leakage damaged the walls and one of Rothko's black triptychs on the east side of the building. It took seven months of work before the chapel was reopened to the public in December, but the damaged art was still housed off site for restoration. Bank of America's grant should hopefully speed up the process of returning the iconic pieces back to public view.

“It is devastating to see the domino effects of an event like Hurricane Beryl, jeopardizing the storied institutions and culturally significant works that provide so much context into the Houston identity,” said Hong Ogle, President, Bank of America Houston. “I am very proud that Bank of America’s Art Conservation Project allows us to support the arts in a unique and impactful way and preserve the works that mean the most to our community.”

In addition to the restoration, Rothko Chapel recently broke ground on a $42 million campus expansion. Two new buildings to the north with house administrative services and an archive, and a meditation garden dedicated to Kathleen and Chuck Mullenweg. A new program center will follow after.