Where to drink right now

Raise a glass to this month-long drink fest that benefits the Astrodome

There are fewer things in Houston as beloved as the Astrodome. And while Houstonians may disagree on what should become of the 8th Wonder of the World, there's no doubt about the iconic structure's place in history.

That's why the Astrodome Conservancy has made it its mission to save the Dome and ensure its bright future as one of Houston’s indelible landmarks.

Dome enthusiasts can help the cause. October launched the conservancy's month-long fundraiser, Drink Out the Dome. Houstonians can purchase an Astrodome-themed libation from one of 12 bars across the city, with $1 going to the Astrodome Conservancy and its efforts.

Here's a list of participating bars and their drinks:

8th Wonder Brewery
Cosmic Dome, made with with vodka, Blue Curaçao, coconut syrup, and lemonade.
Space Spritz mocktail, a blend of Ocho Verde THC, cranberry, and sparking water.

Ale & Ivy
The Biggio Buck, made with Tito’s Vodka, blood orange, orange juice, ginger beer, and blueberries.

Drift
Luv Ya Blue! made with Deep Eddy lemon vodka, coconut, and Red Bull.

Home Run Dugout
Yordan Mojito, a combination of Cruzan Rum, scratch-made blackberry syrup, lime, mint.

Kanpai Club
The Astrodomo, made wih Shōchū, Falernum, miso orgeat, passion fruit, and lemon.

Patterson Park
Wonder Dome, a blend of Empress cucumber gin, lemon juice, rosemary infused simple syrup, cucumber, and Angostura bitters.

The Railyard
#34 Old Fashioned crafted with Skrewball peanut butter whiskey, The Railyard Bar single barrel Buffalo Trace, caramel simple syrup, and chocolate bitters, and garnished with a toy.

Senate Avenue Brewing Company 16
Golden Dome, an English-style golden ale.

The Pit Room
Faux’m Party with blanco tequila, triple sec, lemon juice, lime juice, light agave, Dome Faux’m cream ale and TPR smoked salt.

Walking Stick Brewing Co.
Golden Dome, an English-style golden ale.

Wicklow Heights
AstroTurf cocktail made with Blue Chair Bay Rum, lime juice, Ancho Reyes Chile Poblano Liqueur, mint leaves, and melon liqueur.

Woodland Social
Clutch City Marg crafted from Milagro Silver Tequila, mango, lime, and hibiscus.

The Cosmic Dome cocktail 8th Wonder's Cosmic Dome cocktail is made from vodka, Blue Curaçao, coconut syrup, and lemonade. Alex Montoya

Alex Montoya

The AstroTurf cocktail is made with Blue Chair Bay Rum, lime juice, Ancho Reyes Chile Poblano Liqueur, mint leaves, and melon liquor, and is available at Wicklow Heights

To kick off the fundraiser, 8th Wonder Brewery hosted a community event on September 21. Festivities included a market organized by KDA Markets featuring vendors with Astros and other Houston-themed apparel and merchandise, as well as additional vendors with confectionery and food items, home goods, and other fun finds. Additionally, attendees had the first opportunity to purchase 8th Wonder’s Drink Out for the Dome beverages, the Cosmic Dome cocktail and the Space Spritz mocktail.

Astrodome Conservancy Executive Director Beth Jackson and several Conservancy board members were in attendance, as was event sponsor Propel Air Fans founder Joseph Kho, who brought out the company’s new Model 2 standing fan to keep attendees cool outside.

Come back to Tailgate
Fans of local sports, food, and cocktails can plan to return to 8th Wonder on Monday, November 11 for The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit.

The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm, and tickets are already on sale.

Attendees can look forward to sports-inspired bites from some of their favorite Houston restaurants, premium cocktails, memorabilia from Texas legends, and plenty more game-day fun.

Popular Houston restaurants and chefs will create tailgate-inspired dishes for attendees to sample and vote for their favorite. The event will also shine a spotlight on local sports organizations, including the Astros, who will show off their Shooting Stars dancers as well as the 2017 and 2022 World Series Trophies.

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $35 for general admission (regularly $50) and $60 for VIP (regularly $75).

For more information about the event, check out this story.

astrodome conservancy astros cocktails fundraisers

THE FUTURE IS HERE

Amazon primes Houston suburbs for expanded drone delivery service

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Prime Air is expanding to almost 500 U.S. cities.

By the end of 2026, more Texans will be able to get ultrafast deliveries through Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery service. On Wednesday, August 19, the company announced a major expansion to nearly 500 cities and towns in the U.S., a sixfold increase from its current footprint.

Although Amazon did not release the cities it is targeting in its expansion plans, it almost certainly includes Texas. The state, which ranks among the biggest states for ecommerce activity, is currently home to four of the nation’s 11 Prime Air sites, including San Antonio, Waco, Richardson, and Houston suburb Richmond.

For drone deliveries, the company tends to target areas unencumbered by skyscrapers and major airports, which could mean area suburbs like New Braunfels and San Marcos will join the mix. Each facility covers a delivery area of approximately 175 square miles.

Prime Air deliveries must be five pounds or less and fit into a large shoebox, but Amazon says more than 60 percent of its most ordered items are eligible. The list includes groceries, cosmetics, medications, clothing, and small electronics like Apple AirPods and Ring doorbells. There are plenty of niche items, too, such as guitar strings and juice for fog machines.

Orders arrive as quickly as 30 minutes, with most packages dropped around 60 minutes after checkout. Prime members will enjoy free delivery on orders $50 or more and a $2.99 fee for orders under $50. Non-members pay $4.99.

According to Amazon, customers should have little worries about orders being damaged or drones being entangled in trees. Shoppers see and confirm their delivery point when placing their first drone delivery order and can select a new area at any time. More fragile items — like eggs — are not available through the service.

Amazon also sends a notification to customers if there is no safe delivery space and does not fly at night or under severe weather conditions. The retail giant says noise is minimal with sound levels similar to idling delivery trucks.

Amazon did not give a timeline for the expansion, but Texas will not be in its first stage. Georgia, Ohio, Illinois, Idaho, and New York will be the next states on its list. All future sites will be subject to regulatory hurdles like zoning changes, but the company is confident it will be serving tens of millions of new customers by year-end.

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