easter 2022

14 best Easter weekend events in Houston, from egg hunts to keg hunts

The hunt is on!

Photo courtesy of ABC13

For those who observe, Easter is a holy and vibrant celebration of renewal. And for those who don't, but still look forward to the holiday, Easter means brunches and for kids, Easter egg hunts, usually starring a certain bunny.

This year offers plenty of fun for kids ready to search for eggs — and adults ready to search for Easter kegs (read on), or get their Easter yoga on. From Kemah to Simonton to downtown, here are your best bets for Easter weekend.

Friday

Blessington Farms in Simonton will have a two-day "Easter EGG-stravaganza." Enjoy picking your own strawberries and fun in Farm Funland, with hayrides, barrel trains, giant slides, animal encounters and much more. There will also be an Easter egg hunt where children will hunt for eggs with candy and treats. 10 am.

The Woodlands Children's Museum will invite kids to indulge in two-day "EggTivites." Children will delight in egg dyeing, creating a bunny mask, and embellishing egg carton baskets or a bunny box to carry eggs. Plus, there will be photos with the Easter Bunny. 10 am.

Kemah Boardwalk in Kemah will host a three-day Easter Weekend complete with an egg hunt, an Easter egg/cookie-decorating workshop, performers, and the Easter Bunny. On Sunday morning, there will be a special sunrise service at 7:30 am. Noon.

Saturday

Downtown Aquarium Houston will be open for kids and toddlers to enjoy a delicious breakfast buffet and, then, get a picture taken with the Easter Bunny. On Easter Sunday, there will be a buffet, an Easter Bunny meet-and-greet and crafts. Reservations are required. 9 am.

George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond will have a colossal egg hunt and relaxing family picnic. Bring a blanket and your own lunch to picnic under a 150-year-old oak or stake your claim at a picnic table near the Line Camp or Ranch House. There will be eggs galore and historical fun all around. 9 am.

Lone Star Flight Museum will open its doors for little aviators to join their age group and hunt for Easter eggs around the aircraft. There will be golden eggs filled with special prizes, like a museum membership or a surprise gift from the gift shop. 9 am.

7 Acre Wood is looking for people to have an egg-cellent Saturday with some barnyard pals. Go on an egg hunt, play in a Western town, zoom down the zip-line, putt away at mini-golf, snap pictures with the Easter Bunny, and more. 10 am.

Children's Museum Houston will have a meet-and-greet with the bunny of the hour -- the famous Easter Bunny (or whoever will be in that suit). Kids and adults can make some colorful bunny ears to wear at the Junktion table too. 10 am.

P-G Farms in Montgomery will throw two days of of outdoor Easter fun, including an egg hunt and meet-and-greet with, yes, the Easter Bunny himself. The farm also offers activities including vintage amusement rides, farm fun attractions, duck races, games, and more. 10 am.

SpindleTap Brewery will hold an Easter Festival x Artisan Market. This free event will have 40+ local artisan vendors, delicious craft beer, free photos with the Easter Bunny, a giant Easter egg hunt, live music and food trucks. Kids and dogs are welcome. 11 am.

Eureka Heights Brew Co. will have its first-ever, Buckle Bunny Bar Hop. Head over there the day before Easter for an adult version of an Easter egg hunt, which will consist of swapping the eggs for kegs and finding as many EH brews at various bars along the 19th and 20th streets. 1 pm.

The Food Court Food Truck Park will be doubling up with two Easter egg hunts, happening around the food trucks. Enjoy face painting, a bounce house, photo opportunities with the Easter bunny, food, drinks, a dj and shopping from the multiple food trucks and vendors. 1 pm.

ROSE Therapeutic Farm & Goat Yoga in Brookshire will have a two-day, Easter egg hunt with some guest animals on hand. Meet goats, chicken, pigs, rabbits, mini horses, and Daryl the Cow, then feed and groom them while you learn about what makes each one unique. 1:30 pm.

Sunday

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium celebrates Easter with its seventh-annual, Easter Keg Scavenger Hunt. A family-friendly tradition, teams with the highest scores win prizes from local businesses. All scavenger locations are located within 1.5 miles and most within four blocks of the Flying Saucer. 1 pm.

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Movie Review

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie serves fans with Easter Eggs galore

Photo courtesy of Nintendo and Illumination

Yoshi, Mario, and Luigi in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.

When The Super Mario Bros. Movie came out in 2023, it had two big things going for it. Audiences had little experience with a fully-animated video game adaptation, and certainly not from a property as revered as Super Mario Bros. And coming from Illumination Entertainment and featuring an all-star cast, the massive budget for the film was on the screen, showing how much effort the filmmakers put into at least the visuals.

Three years later comes the sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, passing over a massive number of Mario games to go straight to 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy, originally put out for Nintendo’s Wii system. This time, the returning Mario (Chris Pratt), Luigi (Charlie Day), Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), and Toad (Keegan-Michael Key), now joined by Yoshi (Donald Glover), are sent on a mission to save Princess Rosalina (Brie Larson) from the evil clutches of Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), who’s trying to prove his worth to his dad, Bowser (Jack Black).

And that is about as much actual story there is to be found in a film that feels like a slog even at a brief 98 minutes. The filmmakers — directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, co-directors Pierre Leduc and Fabien Polack, and writer Matthew Fogel — have lots of fun inserting references from a bunch of different Mario games, but they pay little attention to giving the characters anything to do that makes sense.

Instead, small groups are shuttled around different points in the galaxy — sometimes using game mechanics, sometimes not — to accomplish minor goals that are forgotten almost as soon as they’re named. Nothing they do rises to the level of exciting or even interesting; everything is merely an excuse to showcase another part of Mario lore for the masses.

It’s impossible to call the filmmaking lazy, as the visuals remain top notch and it’s clear the entire crew put a lot of effort into making every scene as appealing as possible. But the film is certainly cynical, throwing out empty treats like Fox McCloud (Glen Powell) or Bowser Jr.’s magic paintbrush to give Nintendo mega-fans a rush of serotonin without attaching those elements to anything substantial.

This critic has long railed against using big-name actors in voiceover roles, arguing that few people know or care whose voice they’re hearing in animated films. Somehow, this film makes the idea worse, as the voices of people like Key, Glover, and Safdie are changed so that you would never know it’s them, something that’s especially strange for Glover since Yoshi only says one word — “Yoshi.”

Even stranger is that, after making a joke in the first film about Mario not having an Italian accent, Pratt goes in and out of an accent in this film. At least he and Day feel like they’re having fun. Bowser is sidelined for a good amount of this film, giving Black not much to do overall. Taylor-Joy and Larson might as well be anonymous actors for all the impact they make on their roles.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the worst kind of fan service, delivering a shiny product that might make some people feel good in the moment, but something that is forgotten the second they step out of the theater. If Nintendo is to continue adapting their properties, they’d do well to give their fans a film they want to see more than once.

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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is now playing in theaters.

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