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Your weekly guide to Houston: Five (plus) don't-miss events — with young professional parties

Don't be complaining about how hot and humid it will be if you don't take advantage of the city's most wonderful time of the year — right now. Sun is smiling, light breezes are fluttering, birds are doing it — and you should be sporting vernal fashions to the happenings below.

On the agenda this week are a handful of Cinco de Mayo affairs, al fresco parties, a fresh film binge and a tangy citywide drink fest.

I can be more helpful if you click on the links below each event suggestion. You'll find a page with nifty intel — like where to eat, drink, shop and crash for the night around your final destination — as well as the ability to copy the deets to your electronic calendar.

Fourth Annual Friends of DePelchin Cinco de Mayo Fiesta

While fabulously themed events with over-the-top decorations thronged by celebs du jour have Houston's upper echelon party hopping, sometimes a good cause, great folks and a lovely ambiance is all you need to turn an informal locale into a young professionals hot spot.

With frosty Cinco de Mayo cervezas, music and a silent auction, Friends of DePelchin helps an influential organization that supports children's mental health, foster care and adoption services.

The skinny: Thursday, 6 p.m.; OTC Patio Bar; tickets start at $15.

Scrubs Young Supporters' Third Annual "Cinco de Bingo"

How do you get an elderly person to holler the F Word? Simple. Get another one to yell bingo.

The third annual "Cinco de Bingo" has little in common with notions of this geriatric game of chance. Rather, the gathering, which raises cash for the Harris County Hospital District Foundation, is a lively melange of Cinco de Mayo and dauber fun.

Chairs Whitney Crenshaw and Mary Wakefield keep this Scrubs tradition going strong with fajita tacos, chips and dips — and bingo.

The skinny: Thursday, 6 p.m.; Pete's Dueling Piano Bar; tickets start at $40.

Latin Wave 8

Blink for too long and you'll miss this south-of-the-border film festival, an eight-year tradition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in partnership with La Fundación PROA in Buenos Aires. Diana Sanchez, programmer of Latin Wave 8's lineup, curates a four-day series that showcases many film debuts, new stars in Latin American cinema and welcomes special guests to introduce the screenings, including Estefanía Ortiz, producer of 7 cajas (7 Boxes); Carlos Sorin, director of Días de pesca (Gone Fishing); and Victor Prada, leading actor in El limpiador (The Cleaner).

The skinny: Thursday through Sunday; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; general admission tickets are $10, $8 for MFAH members, seniors and students.

MFAH's Mixed Media Designed by IKEA Bash

With Saturday's forecast calling for delightful springtime temps, it's a good thing that the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston resolved to move the monthly Mixed Media Designed by IKEA Bashen plein air. Set in the artsy Cullen Sculpture Garden, this al fresco party features Austin's Xander Harris, DJ Joe B, DJ Cubagoodingjr and resident DJ Eric Castillo/Ceeplus Bad Knives — alongside surprise pop up appearances.

The skinny: Saturday, 8 p.m.; Cullen Sculpture Garden; tickets start at $6.

Lemonade Day Houston 2013

Don't be surprised if your neighborhood is suddenly occupied by young, adorable entrepreneurs doing what they can to earn a buck and sell you a glass of refreshing lemonade. To prepare for Lemonade Day, a nationwide initiative, kids are required to study the basic tenets of running a successful business. So get in the spirit, carry some cash and splurge in more than your share of the zesty bev.

The skinny: Sunday, all day; in your neighborhood; free event.

Arts smarty pants and in-the-Loop happy gal Nancy Wozny's pick: Shambhala by Paul Fleming at Barbara Davis Gallery

Nancy says: "I wasn't the first person to gaze at Paul Fleming's exhibit Shambhala at Barbara Davis Gallery and announce, 'I could eat this work.' There's something delectable about Fleming's site specific wall installations as they lure our eye into their dreamy pools of pigment and both highly structured and emergent patterns.

"Inspired by found objects and crafted hydrocal plaster and pigmented resin, the work has a maker wonkishness to it. Yet its no-nonsense beauty, human sized scale and essential formality combine to make us want to hang around a little longer."

The skinny: Through June 1; Barbara Davis Gallery; free admission.

To prepare for Lemonade Day, a nationwide initiative, kids are required to study the basic tenets of running a successful business.

Photo by Joel Luks

To prepare for Lemonade Day, a nationwide initiative, kids are required to study the basic tenets of running a successful business.

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taking it to the streets

Houston charity's gifts 66 wheelchair-accessible vans to needy families

Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Houston Children’s Charity President and CEO Laura S. Ward, and Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott in front of a gifted wheelchair accessible vans.

Photo provided by Houston Children's Charity

A fleet of wheelchair accessible vans were handed out Tuesday at the Post Oak Hotel

More than 60 underprivileged children will now have wheelchair-accessible vans thanks to a nearly $4 million giveaway by the Houston Children's Charity on Tuesday.

“Our mission is to provide life-altering programs and support to underserved children across Houston,” said Laura S. Ward, Houston Children’s Charity President and CEO, “We are honored to be able to empower these families facing daunting challenges by providing them the transportation necessary to not only attend medical and physical therapy appointments but go on road trips, the parks, or on other adventures with their entire family.”

The 66 vans (known as Chariots), allow users to easily enter and exit the vehicles, making transportation much easier. Many families struggle to afford such vans, which can cost up to $80,000. Often, families resort to crowdfunding to acquire one. The vans can vastly improve the quality of life for wheelchair users, thanks to increased travel options.

The gift is the largest the Houston Children's Charity has ever coordinated. To date, they have handed out 438 Chariots. The Fant Foundation, a Houston-based organization founded in 1994 to improve living conditions for disadvantaged people, provided 30 of the vehicles.

The Gift of Mobility event featured a who's who of Texas political powerhouses, including Mayor John Whitmire, Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, and Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott, whose husband, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, is a wheelchair user himself.

Houston Children's Charity is one of the city's largest non-profits, serving 3.5 million children since it was founded in 1996. Its programs include A Better Night’s Sleep, which provides new beds and mattresses to children whose families cannot afford them; Back2School, a partnership with the Rod Ryan Show that distributes school supplies; and Family Emergency Fund at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. In 2023, they spent $5.1 million on their various outreach programs and charity work for children in Houston.

Families in need of a van are placed on a waiting list by the Houston Children's Charity until they become available. The next giveaway in 2026 will be funded at HCC’s 28th Annual Gala on October 18. Tickets can be purchased here.

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