weekend event planner

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

Uncovers clues at a true-crime walking show in downtown.

Photo courtesy of SPA/Art Heist

Expect a green ol’ time this weekend, as various spots around the city celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Enjoy a scavenger hunt, an art heist, a shamrock shindig, and an Irish stew-off. Film buffs, don’t forget to check out a movie at the endangered Landmark River Oaks Theatre while you’re at it.

Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, March 11

Rothko in Jazz with Maris Briežkalns Quintet
Get ready for this virtual livestream, courtesy of The Rothko Chapel. In honor of Mark Rothko’s Latvian heritage, Latvian jazz ensemble the Māris Briežkalns Quintet commissioned ten Latvian composers to each create an original jazz composition, arranged and performed by the Quintet. Each composition is created to illustrate the moods and atmosphere evoked by an iconic Rothko painting selected by the composer. 6 pm.

Aaron Lewis at Bayou Music Center
Don’t act like you weren’t chilling in your bedroom back in the day listening to Staind, that hella emo-rock band discovered by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst that gave us such moody classics as “It’s Been Awhile” and “Outside?” Lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis is out here doing his own thing, performing country tunes he’s been dropping for the past decade. Face coverings are mandatory and must be worn at all times except while eating and drinking. 7 pm.

Friday, March 12

The Hunt at CITYCENTRE
Throughout this 10-day scavenger hunt, beginning Friday through Sunday, March 21, participants will be asked to complete tasks as they venture throughout CITYCENTRE and its retailers, to earn points using the Scavify app. The first 500 participants will receive a free tumbler. At the end of the event, the top 10 participants will receive an extra gift card prize from their choice of retailers. All participants must download the Scavify app in order to join. 9 am.

Society for the Performing Arts presents Art Heist
Based on a true story of the world’s biggest art caper, this is a true-crime walking show where socially distanced groups will walk to multiple locations to gather clues. Actors, through conversation, will reveal clues to the detective audience — but then again, a red herring or two might present itself. Shows will depart every 30 minutes. It will run through Sunday, March 28. 6 pm (2 and 5:30 pm Saturday and Sunday).

Saturday, March 13

Abu Omar Halal Signature Grand Opening
Abu Omar Halal will present the grand opening of their new brick & mortar location, where visitors can enjoy a free dessert, side salad or fresh juice with purchase of any meal. Guests can experience the new signature menu with rotating traditional favorites like Mansaf with Lamb Shank, Kabseh, Chicken Musakhan and more. They are also showcasing a new fresh juice, smoothie and salad menu, along with favorites like shawarma, gyro, and falafel options. 11 am.

St. Patrick’s Brunch & Crawfish Boil at B.B. Lemon
It’s time to don some green attire and join B.B. Lemon for a festive St. Patrick's brunch and crawfish boil. Enjoy tunes by DJ G-Funk along with Irish-inspired food and drink specials. Also, Berg Hospitality Group's very own New Orleans native, Jeff Baron, will be cookin' up mudbugs with his special recipe. Reservations are recommended. Complimentary valet and street parking will be available. 11 am.

Sunday, March 14

Sugar Land Town Square presents Shake Your Shamrock Shindig
The Shake Your Shamrock Shindig will include food and drink specials, extended brunches, live music, raffles, and more. Visitors can check-in at Bar Louie, where they will present their ticket to receive a themed punch card. They will then spend the next couple of hours getting jolly and green at Baker Street, Bar Louie, Fish City Grill, Flying Saucer, The Rouxpour, and Sweet Paris. Proceeds will benefit East Fort Bend Human Needs Ministry. Noon.

Irish Stew-Off at Penny Whistle Pub
Penny Whistle Pub will be opening up early for a St. Patrick’s Day-themed cookoff. Cash prizes will be awarded to the judge’s choice and people’s choice winners. For $5, you can sample unlimited amounts of stews and vote on your favorite one. The proceeds from the $5 will go to help victims from Winter Storm Uri. There will be bagpipers and live music by Ruckus Music. Green beers and jello shots will be available along with specials on Irish drinks. 1 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Heartfelt animal adventure Hoppers is another Pixar classic

Photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar

Mabel (Piper Kurda) and King George (Bobby Moynihan) in Hoppers.

For the first 15 years of their history, animation studio Pixar delivered one classic film after another, an astonishing streak that included their first 11 movies. Things got bumpy starting with Cars 2 in 2011, and even though the majority of their output has been good-to-great ever since, their releases are no longer considered slam dunks like they once were.

They’re back with an original film, Hoppers, trying to return to form by going back to the animal world. The film centers on Mabel (Piper Kurda), a 19-year-old environmentalist who’s trying to stop a new highway being built by Mayor Jerry (Jon Hamm) in the fictional city of Beaverton. Her activism has as much to do with helping displaced local animals as it does with being nostalgic for her youth, in which she spent years observing nature with her Grandma Tanaka (Karen Huie).

She finds an unlikely possible solution when she discovers that her college professors have created a system that allows them to transfer — or hop — their consciousness into animal-like robots. Hijacking a beaver robot, Mabel joins up with the local wildlife, including beaver King George (Bobby Moynihan) to try to convince them to help her execute her plan. But with the highway almost complete and Mayor Jerry willing to do anything to make it happen, Mabel might be too late.

Directed by Daniel Chong and written by Jesse Andrews from a story by Chong, the film cycles through a variety of genres in its 105-minute running time, including comedy, drama, thriller, and even a touch of Pixar-style horror. When Pixar has been at its best, it seamlessly goes back and forth between genres, trusting that audiences will go along with them for the ride, and Hoppers feels like a return to form in that respect.

Humor rules the day as Mabel adjusts to being part of the animal world while her professors desperately try to get her and their robot back. Mabel encounters not only wildly confusing things like “pond rules” (if a predator catches you, you don’t fight it), but also the existence of a hierarchy within the world that involves kings or queens from various animal classes like reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish, and insects. Her one-track mind and the way of the world she is invading clash in a variety of funny ways.

As the film goes along, Chong, Andrews, and the rest of the filmmaking team also find a way to burrow into the audience’s heart. There are many elements that threaten to tip into eye-rolling territory, but the filmmakers consistently pull back before that happens. The number of fun characters on both the human and animal side helps in that regard, as does the simple yet profound message they’re trying to convey.

Pixar has assembled one of the best voice casts in recent memory for this film, including such big names as Meryl Streep, Dave Franco, Melissa Villaseñor, Vanessa Bayer, and the late Isiah Whitlock, Jr. However, due to the sheer number of characters, only Kurda, Moynihan, and Hamm truly stand out. Still, they all fit together well and give the always-stellar animation even more life.

Since the pandemic, Pixar has only released one truly great film (Inside Out 2), but with Hoppers and the seemingly bulletproof Toy Story 5 coming within a few months of each other, they might go back-to-back on that front. Like the classic films from the studio, it has goofy, heartfelt, and exciting parts, mixing together for an enthralling time at the theater.

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Hoppers opens in theaters on March 6.

movies film