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Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events — with the Golden Pig Trophy

On the itinerary this week are stylish homes, international festivals, an al fresco bash and a hot hog competition.

Try this: Click on the links below each event to find a page teeming with helpful intel, like places to eat, drink and shop near your final destination, and the ability to download the deets to your online calendar. Capish?

Prestige Builders Nantucket Showcase Open House

Contemporary residential design has a reputation for being cold, sterile and museum like. Monsour Taghdisi, president of Prestige Builders, and designer Lucinda Loya are on a quest to set the record straight about a style that, when done right, can be opulent, rich and comfortable — even you could say suitable to embrace heirlooms passed down through generations.

The 5,000-square-foot townhouse in Tanglewood is the luxury builder's first showcase home. An over-the-top opening party on Thursday introduces Taghdisi's and Loya's brainchild, with proceeds benefiting Legacy Community Services. Cash raised on tour days will be donated to the Art Institute of Houston.

The deets: Open on selected days from Friday to April 21; 1310 Nantucket Dr.; tour admission is $20; opening party tariff is $200.

43rd Annual Houston International Festival (iFest) "Brazil" Kick‐Off

Travel to sultry, sexy Brazil without leaving your hometown. The tropical destination is the theme of this year's iFest, set for the weekends of April 20 and 27.

Are we there yet? Actually, yes. The kickoff musicale at the Hobby Center welcomes Grammy Award winner Sergio Mendes alongside Casa Samba, a New Orleans-based ensemble.

The deets: Friday, 8 p.m.; Hobby Center for the Performing Arts; tickets start at $45.

20th Annual Japan Festival

Too much Brazil? How about some Asian lore? Contemporary and traditional Japanese music, martial arts demos, food, yukata (a summer kimono of sorts) try-on booths, anime costume contests, kawaii (meaning cute) fashion show and hands-on activities will occupy the grounds of Hermann Park.

Here's what to look for: Performances by Kaminari Taiko, Houston Grand Opera's premiere of The Memory Stone and an appearance by Takane Kochihira, an Okinawan pop singer who melds a bit of this and a bit of that for his unique sound.

The deets: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Hermann Park; free event

Buffalo Bayou Partnership's "Bayou Bash"

Forecast calls for lovely springtime temps on Saturday, just what you want for this young professionals party. Bayou Buddies, the hip troupe that supports the efforts of Buffalo Bayou Partnership, will gather at the Sabine to Bagby Promenade for live music by Electric Attitude and The Journey Agents, crawfish, pontoon boat rides, lawn games and Saint Arnold Brewing Company suds.

The deets: Saturday, 1 p.m.; Sabine to Bagby Promenade; tickets start at $25.

Second Annual Suckling Pig Throwdown "Go Pig! or Go Home!" benefiting OKRA

At any other occasion, being crowned with the title of swine king (or queen) doesn't go over well. But the Golden Pig Trophy is what more than 23 toques of repute will vie for at the Suckling Pig Throwdown. Oink.

Returning to defend his People's Choice award is Ronnie Killen. Those keeping an eye on the hog include big name chefs Chris Shepherd, Ryan Hildebrand, Terrence Gallivan, Seth Siegel-Gardner, Monica Pope, Randy Evans, Justin Yu . . . and the list goes on and on — and on.

The deets: Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m.; Kata Robata; tickets are $75.

Arts smarty pants and in-the-know happy gal Nancy Wozny's pick: Stages Repertory Theatre presents Dollhouse

Nancy says: "Money has such a way of messing with a marriage. Theater's most disturbing house frau is back. Imagine Henrik Ibsen's diabolical heroine, Nora, loose in 2004 amidst the fall of Enron and the impending collapse of the economy. With Dollhouse, now running at Stages Repertory Theatre, Rebecca Gilman has re-imagined Ibsen's A Dolls House, his seminal critique of middle class angst.

"This is a marvelous production, directed by Eva LaPorte, and featuring strong performances by David Matranga and Rachael Logue."

The deets: Playing through April 28; Stages Repertory Theatre; tickets start at $19.

Contemporary and traditional Japanese music, martial arts demos, food and hands-on activities will occupy the grounds of Hermann Park for the 20th Annual Japan Festival.

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Stretching the budget

A $100,000 salary in 2026 goes further in Houston than it did last year

Photo by Leo Yao on Unsplash

$100,000 stretches a little further in 2026.

A 2026 income study has good news for big earners in Houston: A six-figure salary goes further than it did last year.

A Houston resident's $100,000 salary is worth $84,840 after taxes and adjusted for the local cost of living, according to the new financial analysis from SmartAsset. That's about $1,500 more than Houstonians were bringing home last year.

The 2026 take-home pay is about eight percent higher than it was in 2024, when the same salary had an adjusted value of $78,089.

SmartAsset used its paycheck calculator to apply federal, state and local taxes to an annual salary of $100,000 in 69 of the largest American cities. The figure was then adjusted for the local cost of living (which included average costs for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, and miscellaneous goods and services). Cities were then ranked based on where a six-figure salary is worth the least after applicable taxes and cost of living adjustments.

Houston ranked No. 60 in the overall ranking of U.S. cities where $100,000 is worth the least. If the rankings were flipped and the cities were ranked based on where $100,000 goes the furthest, that places Houston in the No. 10 spot nationwide.

Manhattan, New York remains the No. 1 city where a six-figure salary is worth the least. A Manhattan resident's take-home pay is only worth $29,420 after taxes and adjusted for the cost of living, which is 3.10 percent lower than it was in 2025.

SmartAsset determined Manhattan has a 29.7 percent effective tax rate on six-figure salaries. Meanwhile, the effective tax rate on a $100,000 salary in Texas (based on the eight cities examined in the report) is 21.1 percent. It's worth highlighting that New York implements a statewide graduated-rate income tax from 4-10.90 percent, whereas Texas is one of only eight states that don't tax residents' income.

Oklahoma City, No. 69, is the U.S. city in the report where a $100,000 salary stretches the furthest. A six-figure salary is worth $91,868 in 2026, up from $89,989 last year.

This is the post-tax value of a $100,000 salary in other Texas cities, and their ranking in the report:

Plano (No. 27): $72,653
Dallas (No. 47): $80,103
Austin (No. 53): $82,446
Lubbock (No. 59): $84,567
San Antonio (No. 62): $86,419
El Paso (No. 67): $90,276
Corpus Christi (No. 68): $91,110

According to the report, getting some "financial breathing room" by making six-figures really depends on where someone lives and what their lifestyle is. For residents living in the 42 states that levy some amount of income tax, their take-home pay dwindles further.

"And depending on how taxes are filed, reaching a $100,000 income may push a household from the 22 percent to 24 percent marginal tax bracket," the report's author wrote. "Meanwhile, locations with high costs across housing and everyday essentials may be less forgiving to a $100,000 income."

smartasset income finance six figures