Weekend event planner

Here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend

It’s never too early to start planning for the weekend. We’ve rounded up some of the best entertainment, arts and food events in town, including festivals, concerts and pop-up dinners. Read on for our guide on what to do this weekend in Houston.

For more options, check out the full CultureMap Events Calendar.

Well-wishes
Thursday, March 23: Owner of music management and promotions company, The Convoy Group, Mark C. Austin celebrates turning 40 with a blowout birthday-bash-slash-charity-concert at The Heights Theater (6 pm-11:30 pm; tickets: $14-$59 per person). Proceeds from the event, which boasts an entertainment lineup of mega-talent from The Tontons to Say Girl Say, benefit nonprofit Donate Life Texas, which supports organ donation.
339 W. 19th St.; 214-272-8346

Rockin' rodeo
Thursday, March 23: RodeoHouston welcomes Blink-182 to NRG Stadium (6:45 pm; tickets: $18-$300 per person). The band rose to fame in the '90s with witty punk-rock tunes like "She’s Out of Her Mind,” "All the Small Things,” "What’s My Age Again?, “Bored to Death,” and “I Miss You.”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Three-day art fest
Friday, March 24-Sunday, March 26: Bayou City Art Festival at Memorial Park offers three days of fun (10 am-6 pm; tickets: $12-$15 per person; $5 per child ages 6-12). Shop works from over 300 global artists including headliner Amanda Bennett, a mixed media artist from New Orleans. The festival, which benefits several local nonprofits including Fresh Arts, Lawndale Art Center, and The Arc of Greater Houston, also boasts food truck fare (think Cousins Maine Lobster and The Burger Joint), activities for the kids, and more.
6501 Memorial Dr.; 713-521-0133

Country star
Friday, March 24: Country singer-songwriter Dierks Bentley performs at RodeoHouston (6:45 pm; tickets: $18-$300 per person). Named the Academy of Country Music’s Best New Artist in 2005 and inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008, Bentley’s hit songs include “Drunk on a Plane,” “Black,” “I Hold On,” “Different for Girls,” and “Somewhere on a Beach.”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Art galore— and more
Saturday, March 25: From painters of all mediums and sewistas to vintage clothing vendors and candle makers, there’s something for everyone at the Art-Is-An Outdoor Market at the Energy Corridor’s Republic Square (11 am-6 pm; free to enter). What’s more, you can also expect a kid’s craft area, plus eats, beer and wine from Foodies Gourmet, Rouge Wine Bar and Le Mistral.
Republic Square, 13501 Katy Fwy; 713-777-7368

Paisley power
Saturday, March 25: Brad Paisley makes his eleventh appearance at RodeoHouston (3:45 pm; tickets: $16 per person, standing room only). Throughout his career, Paisley has had a number of hit songs including “Today,” “Without a Fight,” “She’s Everything,” “Then,” “Whiskey Lullaby,” “Alcohol,” and “I’m Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin’ Song).”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Go fly a kite
Sunday, March 26: Bring your own kite or buy one there and cut loose at the fourth annual Hermann Park Conservancy Kite Festival at Miller Hill/ Jones Reflection Pool near Miller Outdoor Theatre (10 am-5 pm; tickets: free). Kite making lessons, face painting, and food trucks are also part of the program.
6100 Fannin St.; 713-524-5876

More rodeo fun
Sunday, March 26: We can’t get enough of RodeoHouston or the Zac Brown Band, scheduled to perform onstage at NRG Stadium (3:45 pm; tickets: $16 per person, standing room only) in the last performance in this season's lineup. Hit singles from the Grammy Award-winning country stars include “Chicken Fried,” “Colder Weather,” “Toes,” “Loving You Easy,” “Whatever It Is,” and “Homegrown.”
NRG Stadium, 8400 Kirby Dr.; 832-667-1400

Sunday funday
Sunday, March 26: It’s showtime at Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge (6 pm-2 am). The downtown cocktail bar celebrates four years of business with drink specials inspired by cult classic TV show, Twin Peaks.
308 Main St.; 718-387-6962

Pop-up supper
Sunday, March 26: CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Rising Star Chef of the Year finalist Kenten Marin launches his BIFI (by industry for industry) pop-up series this Sunday at Southern Goods restaurant (5:45 pm-8:30 pm). For only $20, score five plates of delectable Southern fare. Hurry and get your tickets now, before they sell out.
632 W 19th St.; 346-980-8152

Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge celebrates four years of business with drink specials.

Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge interior with people

Photo by © Julie Soefer/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge celebrates four years of business with drink specials.

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Movie Review

Star-filled pickleball comedy The Dink aces on Apple TV+

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Mary Steenburgen and Jake Johnson in The Dink.

While the sport of pickleball was invented way back in the 1960s, it has exploded in popularity in the 2020s. It was only a matter of time before someone figured out a way to make a movie about the craze, and a comedy like the new Apple TV+ film The Dink provides the best way to honor and make fun of the divisive sport at the same time.

Dusty Boyd (Jake Johnson), aka The Hammer, is a former tennis phenom who’s now working as an instructor at a club owned by his dad, Chuck (Ed Harris). While the two don’t always see eye-to-eye, they have a mutual hatred for pickleball, which they have begrudgingly allowed on the property by giving it the worst court.

Dusty is hoping to stop all future pickleball expansion by winning a one-on-one grudge match, but when he injures his wrist, he’s given a prescription of pickleball as a form of rehab. Older women like Candace (Mary Steenburgen) are the only people he can find to play with, and despite his disdain for the sport, he soon falls prey to its low-key charms.

Directed by Josh Greenbaum (Will & Harper) and written by Sean Clements, the film is probably the best advertisement pickleball will ever have. Dusty’s introduction to the sport serves as a lighthearted tutorial for the uninitiated while still getting in some nice digs at its expense. The other players — Candace, Gail (Cleo King), and Judy (Lynn Marie Stewart) — are equally welcoming and critical of Dusty, who initially has trouble adjusting to the game’s different rules.

The film’s approach to the story is silly but never stupid. Dusty is a blowhard, but he’s also able to admit when he’s wrong, especially when Candace introduces him to multiple things he had never considered before. A long-standing feud between Dusty and Andy Roddick provides more than just a goofy cameo for the real-life tennis star. The film also pushes right to the edge of being over-the-top before pulling back, allowing it to keep a semblance of reality to it.

Clements’ story follows a tried-and-true formula, making the film very predictable but enjoyably so. Where it earns its comedy credentials is in its finer details, like Dusty’s love for his 1999 Buick LeSabre with under 200,000 miles on it, his trunk full of old VHS tapes, or his interactions with his assistant PJ (Aaron Chen), who manages to be the comic relief in an already funny film.

Johnson, probably best known for starring in the sitcom New Girl in the 2010s, has the right amount of smarm and niceness to pull off the role, letting viewers laugh at and root for him at the same time. The film is full of comedy all-stars in small roles like Oswalt, Chris Parnell, and Ben Stiller, but Harris steals everyone’s thunder. The line readings by the four-time Oscar nominee give an extra punch to his character’s jokes, especially one that hints at the sordid history of the tennis club.

It’s a shame that The Dink is only playing on a streaming service as there’s a dearth of good comedies like this in movie theaters. With a solid joke-telling approach, a respect for its subject matter, and a cast who all play off each other well, this is a film that deserves to be seen by more than just those with an Apple TV+ subscription.

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The Dink is now streaming on Apple TV+.

movies sports pickleball film