• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    don't get burned

    Talented performers fire up new store and training facility in Houston

    Jef Rouner
    Jan 14, 2025 | 10:37 am
    Supplies for fire performances to open in Houston in 2025.

    Kira Bailey performs with fire fingers.

    Photo by Matt Hellman

    Have you ever wanted to juggle, swallow, or dance with fire? Houston will soon be home for a place that sells the gear and offers lessons in that art.

    Chris and Kira Bailey of the Solar Rain Performance Troupe have been firebending for audiences for more than a decade, as well as running their own online store for tools of the trade, TheOddPropShop. In 2025, they plan to open a combination storefront and workshop for Houstonians to enter and practice the fiery arts.

    "Having a physical location allows us to connect with our customers on a more personal level that can’t be replicated online — which is especially important for building props that performers must trust with their lives," the Baileys wrote in an email. "Because of that, we’re building this workshop to become a space to create and test products, and invite our customers in when they want custom-made props. We go through a long trial-and-error with each of our new ideas, often using affordable items from Temu to build our prototypes, and then improve our designs until they’re ready to sell."

    The space will be located in Kemah and is scheduled to open in the second half of the year. It will be a combination storefront, living space, and workshop area that will serve aspiring fire performers in a variety of ways. The Baileys will sell their signature fire bubblers, fire jump ropes, and sun wheels that are perfect for both professionals and hobbyists.

    The brick-and-mortar OddPropShop will serve as a hub for greater Houston's performance community. Interested first timers will be able to take classes, while established performers can try out new routines and equipment. According to the couple, Houston is home to a significant community of fire artists.

    "We wanted to be in a city that not only has a great arts scene and supportive creative community, but is also in a location where we could quickly and easily get the materials we needed to build our props," the Baileys wrote. "Houston was the only place that checked all those boxes. We were also personally drawn to Houston because many of our friends and fellow performers live in the city. In many ways, Houston already felt like home."

    In addition to the tools of the fire trade, TheOddPropShop will sell costumes and accessories such as leather and stone jewelry. These small pieces of flair help add to the pagan ambience of the overall fire package.

    performing-artsshoppingfire performers
    news/city-life
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.

    Is Houston worth it?

    Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds

    John Egan
    Jul 8, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Houston Downtown modern business city with skyscraper city scape with park view from Buffalo Bayou center of Houston city, Texas, United States of America, US at sunset time
    Getty Images
    undefined

    In what may come as a surprise to some local residents, a new study ranks Houston among the 10 most overpriced cities in America.

    The study, conducted by Highland Cabinetry, compares cities across key metrics, including cost of living, real estate prices, income, safety, traffic, pollution, and unemployment. After crunching the data, researchers assigned a score to each city, with 100 being the worst score.

    Houston ranks eighth in the study with a score of 87.1.

    “Real estate is more affordable here at $3,467 per square foot, but the city struggles with heavy pollution and underwhelming income levels,” the study says of Houston. “Safety here beats Detroit and Chicago, but it’s still lower than in NYC or Los Angeles.”

    Newark, New Jersey, comes in at No. 1, followed by New York City and Los Angeles. Rankings weren’t available for Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, or San Antonio.

    “Cost of living alone doesn’t define the value of a city. What our data shows is that several high-cost urban areas come with serious trade-offs, whether it’s long commutes, safety issues, or environmental stress,” according to Highland Cabinetry. “For many residents, the price tag isn’t the only consideration; it’s what that money gets you. And in many cases, the return on investment just isn’t there.”

    Here's the full list:

    1. Newark, New Jersey
    2. New York, New York
    3. Los Angeles, California
    4. Detroit, Michigan
    5. Wilmington, Delaware
    6. Washington, D.C.
    7. Chicago, Illinois
    8. Houston, Texas
    9. San Francisco, California
    10. Miami, Florida
    studycost of livingreports
    news/city-life
    Loading...