weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Riel is hosting a pop-up at the always popular East End Backyard.

The Inauguration Day festivities are behind us — time to throttle forward.

Speaking of throttles, gearheads and speed junkies might want to take in two events on Saturday: West Houston Muscle's All American Throwdown, where old-school muscle meets new-school power at Houston Raceway Park; and the Monster Energy AMA Supercross at NRG Stadium, marking the first time in the sport’s 47-year history that the season opener has been in Texas.

Also look for a wine room celebration, a tasty pop-up, a rockin' garage sale, and more. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, January 21

Mutiny Wine Room presents First Anniversary Celebration
Mutiny Wine Room, the wine country-inspired tasting room that showed up in The Heights early last year, will celebrate its one-year anniversary by offering free wine flights. Sommelier Ben Harris will lead globally inspired tastings that include “A Taste of Northern Italy - Valpolicella” and “Around the World with Pinot.” Reservations are required for the 30-minute tasting experience and can be made via phone or on Resy. 4 pm.

Camp For All presents A Night with the Stars Gala
Camp For All will present A Night with the Stars Gala, its annual Washington County fundraiser, as a virtual event for the first time. The fundraiser is open to the public and can be viewed through the Camp For All YouTube page. Attendees can make a general donation to the event, purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a $2,000 Visa gift card, or participate in the virtual auction and bid on items such as a crawfish boil for 30, a three-night vacation in Port O’Conner, and more.

Friday, January 22

The Village School presents Innovation Day 2021
The Village School in Houston will be virtually hosting its annual Innovation Day event this weekend. It's here where you'll get to witness student ideas, groundbreaking products and radical creativity. This is also a wonderful way for families and prospective families to see how students are empowered and challenged as they bring their experiences to life. It’s a celebration of ideas and solutions created by students to tackle today’s most pressing problems. 9 am.

Houston Grand Opera presents HGO Digital: Giving Voice
Don't ever say people don't dig a dude hitting audiences with some opera. Giving Voice: Lawrence Brownlee and Friends Sing Opera, Gospel and Standards was a triumphant, sold-out concert that went down at the Wortham Theater Center last year. This weekend, internationally renowned tenor Brownlee returns with an all-Black group of opera stars for a second, digital installment of this wonderful celebration of diverse voices. 7:30 pm.

Saturday, January 23

Blondie & Bling presents TEXFest
Rosenberg boutique store Blondie & Bling has a special event geared up this weekend — you just gotta go to Conroe to check it out. The TEXFest will, of course, have shopping, but it will also have a big, Texas truck contest, a chili cook-off, line dancing, and the 'best beer in Texas." All of this sounds like this will be one crap-kicking, authentically Texan shindig. So, for those who always wanted to star in their own version of Urban Cowboy, this event is here for you. Noon.

Evil Dead with Live Commentary by Bruce Campbell
For horror mavens who have never seen Evil Dead, Sam Raimi's iconic, low-budget, 1981 horror flick, you can watch it this weekend with the star of the movie. Bruce Campbell — Ash himself! — will host a worldwide virtual viewing, with live commentary throughout by Campbell himself. Viewers can watch with Campbell as he shares memories, stories and anecdotes from the film. And, for a few lucky viewers, Campbell will even answer questions from the chat. 8 pm.

Sunday, January 24

Riel Pop-Up with Chef Peter Nguyen
This weekend, East End Backyard (with its 16,000-square-foot patio with heaters and outdoor tent installed earlier this month) will host a pop-up with chef Peter Nguyen, who was recently introduced as the new executive sous chef at Riel. Nguyen, a Boston native who worked under James Beard Award-winning chefs Ken Oringer and Jamie Bissonnette at Little Donkey in Cambridge, will be preparing a New England-inspired menu with clam chowder, mini-lobster rolls, and more. 1 pm.

Punk Rock Garage Sale at Brash Brewing
It's time once again for local punk fans to converge on this market (brought to us by the folks at Insomnia Gallery), where you can buy records, 'zines, videos, vintage clothing, original art, and whatever else is in this mosh pit of a garage sale. After the great job Brash Brewing did holding the sale last month, the beer company will once again host the event. Vendors will be spaced out to allow for proper social distancing and masks are required to enter and when approaching vendors. 1 pm.

event-planner

Time to Tailgate

Houston sports fans score great food and fun at CultureMap's Tailgate

Photo by Daniel Fernandez

Chris Lueking, Bailey Murphy

It's rare to get a Houston evening with low humidity, crisp air, and cool breezes, but the stars aligned for The Tailgate presented by Verizon, CultureMap's third annual signature event, on November 11. The weather was absolutely perfect.

Held at 8th Wonder Brewing, the (mostly) outdoor event offered about 500 guests plenty of space to mingle, eat, and enjoy the laid-back vibe of sports-themed fun. Houston pride shone brightly with attendees donning their best Astros, Texans, Rockets, and Dynamo gear.

VIP admission gave guests access to a special meet-and-greet with two of the Houston Texans' most popular alumni — defensive stars Brian Cushing and Travis Johnson, courtesy of presenting sponsor Verizon. The players handed out their autographs and snapped photos with fans to kick off the evening.

Of course, no tailgate is complete without delicious food. Guests gobbled up generous samples from some of Houston's favorite restaurants, including:

Adobo beef tacos from 1891 American Eatery & Bar
White wings, gold fever wings, crawdaddy and mango habanero wings, and signature onion rings from Big City Wings
Comfort Foodies' signature empanadas in four flavors: oxtail, beef and cheese, chicken and cheese, and spinach and cheese
Shrimp ceviche shooters and brisket on a croissant from The Halal Guys
St. Louis ribs with Comeback Sauce from Josephine's Gulf Coast Tradition
Spicy and regular Layne's chicken fingers with dipping sauce
Smoked salmon handroll from Kokoro
Loro's smoked brisket tostadas with shishito salsa
Ramen Frito pie from Ramen Tatsu-Ya
Lobster rolls, corn and crab bisque, lobster bisque, and whoopie pies from Mainely Sandwiches
Smoked pulled pork bahn mi pizza from Pizarro's Pizza
House made bratwurst on a challah roll with sauerkraut and amber ale mustard from Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Jerk lamb chops from Southern Jerks
Spicy ranch wings from Taste Kitchen + Bar
Laab chicken sandwiches with tortilla chips from Thai Tail
The Waffle Bus' Hot Mess Fries: seasoned waffle fries topped with spicy buttermilk fried chicken bites, white cheddar mac and cheese, and Thunder Sauce
72-hour sous vide wagyu short rib from Uchi
Wagyu meatballs and edamame fritters from Uchiko Houston

With virtually no wait time for drinks, the bars served up signature cocktails by Jameson Irish Whiskey and Weber Ranch Vodka. Guests sipped memorable espresso martinis made with Shipley Do-Nuts cold brew, along with THC seltzers from Howdy and 8th Wonder beers.

Big City Wings beat out 15 other competitors in a bracket-style tournament to take home the title as winner of the Ultimate Wing Showdown. And The Waffle Bus scored a repeat win as attendees' favorite dish of the night; they also took home the title in 2023.

Sponsor East River 9 offered more delicious food at their booth.

Local sports organizations were well represented, with the Texans raffling off a coveted CJ Stroud-signed White Panel Football. The Astros showed off their Shooting Stars dancers, plus the 2017 and 2022 World Series Trophies. And Houston soccer stars the Dynamo and Dash raffled off team-signed jerseys.

Julia Morales showcased with her custom apparel line, Shop Baseball, Y'all. Attendees could also shop the great apparel selection from Mizzen + Main.

No sports-themed event would be complete without some friendly competition and awards to take home. Guests could putt putt for prizes, courtesy of Holey Moley. And the night wound down with a spirited kolache-eating contest sponsored by Shipley Do-Nuts; the lucky winner received free doughnuts for a year.

At the end of the night, there was only one complaint to be made for The Tailgate: It had to come to an end for another season.

The Tailgate was presented by Verizon and sponsored by 8th Wonder, HOWDY, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Houston Powder Coaters, Holey Moley Golf Club, Mizzen + Main, Shipley Do-nuts, and East River 9.

Photo by Daniel Fernandez

Chris Lueking, Bailey Murphy