Calendar Closeup

Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events, including azaleas and Zombies

On the itinerary this weekend are an edgy art opening, a sassy south-of-the-border dance performance, springtime fun, a sporty water race and a parade in green.

Do this: Click on the link below each event to access helpful information and features, like the ability to download the intel to your electronic calendar and to find places to eat, drink and shop around your final destination.

Art opening reception: Made in Iran by Iranian Street Artists ICY & SOT

Whether it's the raw, unbridled affect of street art or the message conveyed by Iranian-born brothers ICY and SOT — perhaps a combination of the two — the stencils that comprise the exhibition Made in Iran stop viewers dead on their tracks. In the middle a four-city national tour that began in San Francisco, the collection makes a 24-hour stopover in Houston's Aerosol Warfare Gallery.

Through a melange of East and West aesthetic movements, strong, polarizing subjects — such as love and hate, war and peace, and hope and despair — are imprinted in the edgy, fiery works. Post punk Iranian band Yellow Dogs, which tours along with the artist duo, adds a dash of cross-artistic stimulation.

The deets: Thursday, 7 p.m.; Aerosol Warfare Gallery; free event.

Society for the Performing Arts presents Grupo Corpo

If the love child of Stomp and Riverdance were to be born out of a lustful romp somewhere in the Amazon, it would grow up to be something like Grupo Corpo, a Brazilian contemporary dance troupe grounded in the tradition of Afro-Brazilian movements mixed with urban, popular, ballet and modern genres. Society for the Performing Arts hosts the 22-member ensemble for its Houston debut.

If the love child of Stomp and Riverdance were to be born out of a lustful romp somewhere in the Amazon, it would grow up to be something like Grupo Corpo.

The deets: Thursday and Friday, 8 p.m.; Wortham Theater Center; tickets start at $35.

Spring House and Gardens Days at Rienzi and Bayou Bend

The most wonderful time of the year is supposed to be Christmas, but at Bayou Bend and Rienzi, both satellite collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, that time is right now. The formal gardens are awash with the bright colors of springtime and fume with delightful aromas as azaleas, tulips and a miscellanea of flora are at their peak.

For ease of transportation, park at Bayou Bend. A shuttle hauls visitors between the two homes. Refreshments will be provided.

The deets: Saturday and Sunday; Bayou Bend and Rienzi; $15 includes admission to both locations.

Buffalo Bayou Regatta

It's not too late to join in the 15-mile, USCA-sanctioned race atop the currents of Houston's urban waterway. Though if you are not the type to paddle, watching and cheering those who row, row, row their boat is as much a part of the experience as it is getting wet and wild on Buffalo Bayou.

Seeing friends and family off at the starting line, on San Felipe Street just west off Voss, is a festive affair. And so is the the final party at Sesquicentennial Park, which includes live music, activities, food, drinks and the awards ceremony.

The deets: Saturday, 7:30 a.m.; intersection of San Felipe and Voss; $45 per person to participate, free to spectate.

54th Annual Houston St. Patrick's Parade

No need to be Irish, just wear anything viridescent and drink plenty of beer to fit in among the thousands of amicable townsfolk that hit the streets for this yearly al fresco event. Donna McKenzie, whose voice has rippled through the city's radio airwaves for more than two decades, takes the reins as the 2013 grand marshal.

The parade begins at the Clock Tower entrance of Minute Maid Park, travels down Texas Avenue, up San Jacinto and back through Preston Street.

The deets: Saturday, noon; Downtown Houston; free for spectators.

Arts smarty pants and in-the-loop dance maven Nancy Wozny's pick: "The Suppression of the Powerful Feminine" by Dominic Walsh

Nancy says: "It's terrifically exciting to see Dominic Walsh back at the Jung Center with his program 'The Suppression of the Feminine.' Walsh will be speaking about the compelling, tragic life of sculptor Camille Claudel, and why he was drawn to translate her story into movement for Dominic Walsh Dance Theater's riveting production. More than a decade ago, as coordinator of the expressive arts, I brought Walsh in to speak about his provocative work."

The deets: Thursday, 6:30 p.m.; Jung Center Houston; tickets are $20 general admission; $15 for Jung Center members.

Staff writer and savvy Houston explorer Whitney Radley' pick: RodeoHouston Concert with George Strait, Martina McBride and the Randy Rogers Band

Whitney says: "George Strait's crooning voice served as the soundtrack of my youth, his rugged good looks and his sculpted ten-gallon the quintessential qualities of a true Texas man. So I'll be damned if I miss his performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Sunday evening — allegedly his last."

The deets: Sunday, 6 p.m.; Reliant Stadium; sold out, but available through brokers.

Staff writer and totally awesome guy Tyler Rudick's pick: Zombies in concert with special guests Elephant Stone

Tyler says: "Those kings of 1960s British psychedelic rock — the Zombies — are making their way to Fitzgerald's this Sunday. While I'd say it's a chance of a lifetime, the legendary act known for chart-toppers like 'Time of the Season' are touring regularly these days and have even released two full-lengths albums in the last decade.

"Expect plenty of tracks from the classic 1968 album Odessey & Oracle as well as iconic singles like "She's Not There." Canadian psych band Elephant Stone opens."

The deets: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.; Fitzgerald's; tickets start at $20.

Society for the Performing Arts hosts the 22-member Grupo Corpo ensemble for its Houston debut.

Photo courtesy of AT&T Performing Arts Center

Society for the Performing Arts hosts the 22-member Grupo Corpo ensemble for its Houston debut.

unspecified

Genie Is Out of The Bottle

Texas cannabis industry fires back at Dan Patrick's push to ban THC

The THC limit in medical cannabis products is also increasing.

Photo courtesy of TOCC

A ban on THC would not be popular.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is launching a quixotic quest to ban legal THC: According to a release, Patrick is pushing legislation that would ban all forms of consumable Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from being sold in Texas.

He's promoting Senate Bill 3, which would be carried by Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, and would ban all forms of THC.

Patrick is unhappy with House Bill 1325, introduced by Rep. Tracy King, D-Uvalde, to bolster agriculture in Texas. It was passed by the Texas Legislature in 2019.

Part of that bill allowed for the commercialization of hemp, which included un-removable non-intoxicating trace amounts of Delta 9 THC.

“Dangerously, retailers exploited the agriculture law to sell life-threatening, unregulated forms of THC to the public and made them easily accessible," Patrick says in his release. "These stores not only sold to adults, but they targeted Texas children and exposed them to dangerous levels of THC."

"Since 2023, thousands of stores selling hazardous THC products have popped up in communities across the state, and many sell products, including beverages, that have three to four times the THC content which might be found in marijuana purchased from a drug dealer," he says.

It seems like the genie is out of the bottle: According to the Baker Institute, hemp in Texas is booming: From 2020 to 2023, sales of hemp-derived cannabinoids increased by 1283 percent, reaching a value of $2.78 billion last year.

And efforts to reel it back in are basically doomed, they say.

"While prohibition may seem like the simplest response, it is almost certain to fail — both in eliminating widespread access to hemp-derived cannabinoids and in protecting the public," they say.

"As of April 2024, Texas had over 7,000 registered hemp dispensaries," they note. "More than 50,000 Texans are estimated to be employed through the hemp sector. A state ban would ruin this industry, but it would not reduce consumer demand for hemp-derived cannabinoids. Instead, consumers would turn to the illicit hemp market that would inevitably form in the wake of state prohibition. Products sold today in state-registered shops would still be available through underground supply networks that would reap billions in tax-free profits."

They say that "a broad ban, even a poorly enforced one, would harm consumers more than the state’s current system."

Meanwhile voters are supporting marijuana decriminalization efforts such as the one recently approved by the city of Dallas, as well as Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos.

Catina Voellinger, Executive Director of Ground Game Texas, a Texas group that has been advocating for decriminalization of marijuana, says in a statement that the legislation would turn back the clock to a more repressive time.

“Instead of banning THC, lawmakers should focus on legalizing marijuana statewide, which would allow for cannabis to be safely regulated, and would prevent countless residents from being harmed by unnecessary arrests and prosecutions for possessing something that is already legal in 24 states," Voellinger says. "We’ve seen repeatedly that this is what Texans want – our marijuana decriminalization ballot initiatives in Dallas, Lockhart, and Bastrop won overwhelmingly this November.”

Daryoush Austin Zamhariri, Executive Director of Texas Cannabis Collective, a group working to change cannabis laws, calls Patrick's endorsement of legislation that would ban all consumable THC products in Texas "tremendously out of step with the overwhelming majority of Texans."

"Poll after poll has shown the citizens of Texas support legalizing cannabis and ending the failed policy of cannabis prohibition," Zamhariri says. "These attitudes have manifested in several campaigns to progressively decriminalize marijuana possession in cities across the state with bipartisan super majority votes through local ballot initiatives. We oppose SB 3 and look forward to working with our coalition partners at the 89th Legislature to bring common sense cannabis reform to the entirety of Texas.”

marijuana politics dan patrick