It's really too bad that May the Fourth be With You comes before Cinco de Mayo. After a heavy party circuit that extended all week, "the force" is what social butterflies needed to sober up, clean up and get back to Houston business. That and lots of coconut water, kombucha, green juice and the latest health cocktail sans alcohol promising to perk us up.

Anyone tired of margaritas? Is that even possible?

(In case you want to know, I like mine with salt, on the rocks — none of this frozen bs).

There's nothing better on a hot steamy day than chilly frosty suds. That's what the crew of Friends of DePelchin thought when organizing their south-of-the-border bash at Brixx on Washington Ave. Bottles of Modelo Especial were in vogue as the comfy patio was thronged by more than 85 supporters in themed fiesta duds — and fancy shades.

Just as popular as the sizzling fajita spread was the silent auction, where guests tried their luck at items from Boxwood Interiors, Ripe Cuisine and many others.

Seen with a margarita in hand were Chase Budinger of the Houston Rockets, Sarah Wasaff, Sergio Leal, Adrea Chow, Eliza Wright, Ashley Powell, Will Pendleton, Anne Hoppe and Tripp Fried. Sombreros off to these young professionals, the membership drive exceeded its goal.

Cinco de Mayo wasn't the only weekend highlight receiving love. The RedBuds, the young troupe which supports Trees for Houston, thought it was appropriate to pay homage to the Kentucky Derby at the Fourth Annual "El Derby" fete at Jackson's Watering Hole.

Striking a pose for the photo booth, Sarah Bluemel and Kevin Moody's themed fiesta and seersucker threads scooped up the title of Best Dressed Senor and Senorita. Chelsea Kemmerer stole some of that thunder with a big win on the races.

On the green scene were Lauren Levicki, James Sivco, Carrie Carson, Liz Gorman and Stephen Jones, James Glassman, Susan Oehl and Maidie Ryan.

While the groovy and wild whooped it up at Flock's "Dinosaur Disco" at Houston Zoo and Scrubs' "Cinco de Bingo" at Christian's Tailgate in The Heights, the drop-dead gorgeous George Clooney enchanted audiences as the featured speaker in the Brilliant Lecture Series at Wortham Theater Center.

On deck this week are a melange of indoors and al fresco social gatherings — some suitable for Mother's Day — multi-sensory and participatory installations, an introspective concert and a celebrity who was made to sport a most horrible hairdo.

Pink Ribbons Project "Pink at the Brown" at Wortham Theater Center

Real men wear pink, and real men support any effort to spread awareness about a disease that just affects too many people — men included.

Blend that with my love for performing arts and Pink Ribbons Project's "Pink at the Brown" makes the list for this week's not-to-be-missed events. Chaired by S. Shawn Stephens alongside artistic chair Shelly Power, the gathering honors C.C. Conner, Dr. Ronald DePinho, Cora Sue Mach and the Scurlock Foundation while fighting breast cancer.

And how about this for a coincidence? The artsy fundraiser is on Wortham's Center's 25th anniversary to the date. I can't think of a better way to honor the venue than with back-to-back performances by the Alley Theatre, Da Camera, Gexa Energy Broadway Series, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony and Society of Performing Arts.

That there's a champagne social is icing on the cake. Mother's Day celebration approved.

Thursday at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $45.

Hermann Park Conservancy's "Come Sail Away" with Urban Green

There's a rumor going around that Hermann Park Conservancy head honchos have endorsed the operation of pedal boats for this young professionals gathering, though I was sold before I confirmed that indeed that's on tap for "Come Sail Way." Urban Green groupies will delight on a spring evening on the banks of McGovern Lake, bid at a silent auction and nibble at nautical-themed cocktails and fare.

Chairs Catherine Bradley, Amy and David Doherty, Mary and Ben Patton and Sarahbeth Pipkin know how to put on a party, but without forgetting the nonprofit's efforts to improve and maintain the reserve's facilities.

Thrusday at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for Urban Green members and $35 for non-members.

Interactive Art Installation: "Give-away Project IV" by Molly Gochman at Molly Gochman's Studio

Molly Gochman's work can't be categorized in any one type of genre. She isn't just a sculptor, photographer, painter, performer or conceptual doyen — she's a bit of everything. But through it all, she strives to connect people with objects that are part of our everyday reality.

This participatory art installation is her last hurrah before Aurora Picture Show takes over the space in June. This "Give-away Project IV" may feel more like a free-for-all, but in her eyes, it opens conversation on what attracts people to someone else's personal objects. I'm intrigued.

Friday at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Frame Dance Productions presents CONTEXT at Winter Street Studios

I am not sure what to make of this Frame Dance Productions work. But what I have learned from my informal chit chats with artistic director Lydia Hance is that she thinks about a complete immersive experience for the viewer and performer. And that's a good, a very good, thing — and a welcome change from the fourth wall that usually exists between audience and artists.

CONTEXT melds music, photography, choreography and film into a multi-sensory escapade with the ultimate goal being to explore the human body as it moves in both 2D and 3D, with contributions from Sil Azevedo, Courtney Piper, Lorie Garcia and Charles Halka.

Friday through Sunday. Tickets are $15.

The 25th Annual Art Car Parade

After 25 years, we can safely say that the fashion show-on-wheels is here to stay. The first time I saw an art car I thought the drivers had a screwy connection up top. But through my 10 years living in Houston I have come to love the colorful wheels that represent the spirit of this unhinged city.

Two Houston Texans hunks will lead the pageant as grand marshals: J.J. Watt and Connor Barwin. And Mayor Annise Parker is slated to ride a giant yellow banana. Now, how can you miss that?

For mom, splurge on VIP tickets for the VIPit shaded viewing area, which includes food and drinks.

Saturday. Admission is free. The parade gets rolling at 1 p.m. but the party begins at 9 a.m.

Aperio, Music of the Americas presents "Awakenings: Musical Evocations of Nature and Spirit" at Rothko Chapel

If there's one venue in Houston that has inspired many to composer and curate programs in alignment with its principles, feel and aesthetic, it's the Rothko Chapel. When Aperio, Music of the Americas brings to the Rothko Chapel contemporary chamber works by George Crumb, John Luther Adams and Thomas Osborne performed by soprano Tracy Rhodus Satterfield, percussionists Craig Hauschildt and Luke Hubley and pianists Rodney Waters and Michael Zuraw, it will do so with sounds that bring to mind ancient times and the avant garde.

The concert begins with the world premiere of Osborne's Dreams of Sky and Sea, set to the verses of Korean poet Kim Sowol. Timely but not a cliche, Crumb's Music for a Summer Evening (Makrokosmos III) grounds the musical evening.

Saturday at 7 p.m. Admission is free.

Staff writer, art and architecture savant and Phil Collins' new bud Tyler Rudick's pick: Perspectives 178 CINEPLEX screening: Martin Arnold: Pièces Touchées at CAMH

Tyler says: "Known for his obsessive compulsive re-appropriation of found footage, Austrian experimental filmmaker Martin Arnold works along that narrow, hazy distinction between cinema and video art by manipulating iconic movie classics, like the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, to offer a range of new narratives.

"The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston will screen six of the artist's pieces to offer a wonderful overview of Arnold's two decades of work."

Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Staff writer and most adorable Houston explorer Whitney Radley's pick: Towers and Trees Downtown Walking Tour

Whitney says: "The way that a city grows and evolves is endlessly fascinating to me, and Architecture Center Houston's Towers and Trees Downtown Walking Tour offers a guided look at the way Houston has changed — from the era of historic Main Street to the skyscrapers of the '70s and '80s to Discovery Green, a different focus for the city's continued growth. The tour begins at Hermann Park's reflecting pool."

Saturday at 10 a.m. Tickets are $20 per person, $10 for Architecture Center Houston and AIA Houston members.

Arts smarty pants and lovable in-the-loop dance maven Nancy Wozny's pick: Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking presented by Gexa Energy Broadway at the Hobby Center

Nancy says: "Carrie Fisher may be best known for having to sport the worst hairdo ever in a movie, those pastries on either side of her head as Princess Leia in Star Wars. She grew up, wrote a couple of best selling books, Postcards from the Edge being my favorite, and ran into a lot of life troubles, all of which are chronicled in her one-woman award-winning show, Wishful Drinking, running on the Gexa Energy stage.

"She's become the poster child for Hollywood dysfunction. It can't be easy to be the daughter of Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, and apparently it was a hot funny mess. That said, it must be a great source of material, because she still lives right next to door to her mom."

May 15 through 20 at the Hobby Center. Tickets start at $20.