RodeoHouston 2020

The RodeoHouston 2020 guide to parking and transportation

Thousands will descend on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo each day.

Photo courtesy of RodeoHouston

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeois here, which means an annual journey of more than 2 million attendees who will flock to the various venues and events. For rodeo veterans and newbies, navigating the tens of thousands of daily visitors can be challenging. Here, then, are some parking and transportation options to help make enjoying RodeoHouston 2020 a boot-scootin’ success.

One tactic rodeo goers might consider is combining transportation options. Take the METRORail to Midtown or downtown to make a speedy exit from the Rodeo grounds, then use a ride sharing app to get home. This method will also help avoid any potential surge pricing in the immediate area (a common rodeo complaint).

METRORail
Attendees can catch a ride for $2.50 on the METRORail. Northbound Service runs Monday through Saturday until 1:40 am and Sunday until 11:20 pm. Southbound Service runs Monday through Saturday until 3:25 am and Sunday until 1:15 am.

Ride-sharing
Drop-offs and pick-ups are in the Miller Lite Yellow Lot 38. Entrance Gate 16B off Main Street from the north-bound lanes of Main Street is the only access to the lot. There is no left turn lane access allowed from the south bound lanes of Main Street.

Limousines
Arriving in style? High-rollers should plan for drop-offs and pick-ups at the southeast side of the Miller Lite Green Lot, Gate 13 off Lantern Point.

Public drop-off
Use Gate 9 off Kirby Drive. Kirby Drive is closed at 9 pm on weekdays and 6 pm on weekends. Take Main Street to Westridge, and head east to Gate 9.

On-site parking
Look for three parking lots near NRG Park: the Yellow Lot, the 610 Lot, and the OST 1 lot, located nearby. Parking is $20. The Yellow Lot opens daily at 6 am, the 610 Lot opens daily at 9 am, and the OST 1 opens weekdays from5 pm to 1 am and weekends 11 am to 2 am.

Park and Ride
The Rodeo Express Shuttles offer convenience; locations can be found on this map. Parking is free at all of the lots (except in the OST lot, which charges $20). Shuttle costs range from $4 to $7 per rider.

Midtown Park
Rodeo fans in the Midtown are can hit the parking garage at Midtown Park (2811 Travis St.), with a flat rate of just $5 on weekday evenings (beginning at 6 pm) and all day on weekends. The garage offers direct access to the METRORail McGowen stop at an additional rate of $1.25 each way.

South Main Innovation District parking, food, and fun
The Ion, the anchor of the future 16-acre South Main Innovation District, will be hosting free rodeo parking and fun weekend activations during the weekends of March 7-8, 14-15, and 21-22 — sponsored by Rice Management Company. The lot at 4203 Fannin St., at the future innovation district, will be open on a first-come, first-served basis from noon to midnight on those weekend dates. Look for food trucks and custom laser-engraved keychains from noon to 3 pm on each weekend.

After parking and grabbing grub and swag, take the adjacent METRORail Wheeler Station to head to the rodeo grounds.

Trams
Trams operated by rodeo committee members offer visitors free rides to and from parking lots and the grounds, as well as to and from NRG Center and NRG Arena. Click here for a tram map.

Woodland Express
This year, rodeo fans from The Woodlands can hop on the Woodlands Express, a new shuttle service. Woodlands riders should park at the Sawdust Park and Ride for drop-off at NRG Park. Return trips will depart from the METRO Rodeo Express pickup location at NRG. The service departs the Woodlands is 9 am; the last departure from the Rodeo is 11 pm. The Woodlands Express runs $13 for a round trip.

houston-rodeo

Movie Review

Daniel Craig shines in Queer, an unapologetic tale of love and loss

Photo courtesy of A24

Drew Starkey and Daniel Craig in Queer.

As recently as the late 2010s, if a movie was made about an LGBTQ+ character, it was more than likely about their coming out experience. Romance, if it existed, was typically chaste, and actual sex was almost completely out of the question. Things have changed dramatically in the 2020s, to the point that a major movie star has no issue starring in a film called Queer.

Based on the 1985 novella by William S. Burroughs, the film features William Lee (Daniel Craig), whom everyone calls just Lee, a writer living in 1950s-era Mexico City who spends most of his time haunting local bars with friends like fellow writer Joe Guidry (Jason Schwartzman) and hitting on younger men. His early interactions in the film seem to indicate that Lee has a bad reputation within the local gay community, as multiple people avoid him or give him odd looks.

Lee senses an opportunity when he encounters a newcomer, Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey). Despite some awkward interactions, the two of them start spending time together, although Lee has much more invested in the relationship than Eugene does. Their hit-and-miss bond continues until Lee, who’s starting to get into drugs in addition to the booze, convinces Eugene to accompany him on a trip to South America.

Directed by Luca Guadagnino and written by Justin Kuritzkes (making their second straight film together after Challengers), early on the film seems to be mostly about the divide between an older person who’s grown comfortable in his ways and a younger person who’s living a relatively carefree life. The introduction of drugs into the plot changes things, though, with Lee searching out more ways to open his eyes to what the world has to offer.

Guadagnino and his team use some interesting visual storytelling techniques to introduce ideas that may not be present in the actual script. The most successful, demonstrated in multiple scenes, is the superimposition of movements by Lee over what’s actually taking place in the scene. The subtle overlay gives the audience insight into Lee’s true feelings, showing what he can’t or won’t say out loud.

Music also plays a big part in how the plot is perceived, with the use of anachronistic songs from Nirvana and Prince serving to heighten certain moments. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is not as in-your-face as the one they did for Challengers, but it complements the film well, especially when the plot starts to get trippy in its final half hour.

Craig, who appears sweaty and disheveled for much of the film, is about as far from the suaveness of James Bond as you can get in this role. He takes multiple risks with his performance and almost all of them pay off. Starkey’s character is subdued by comparison, but still comes off well. Schwartzman and Lesley Manville are given showy roles, with both using altered appearances that make them nearly unrecognizable to deliver memorable performances.

Queer is not as accessible as Challengers was storytelling-wise, but the fact that it tells a story about gay men living their lives as they see fit with no interference or questions shows how far the film world has come in a short period of time. It also continues Guadagnino’s streak of making audacious films in a way that few other filmmakers are willing or able to approach.

---

Queer is now playing in theaters.

movies film