weekend event planner

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

Take a stroll down Discovery Green and celebrate some Houston heroes .

Courtesy photo

The summer movie season officially starts this weekend with Avengers: Infinity War, where all your fave superheroes from the Marvel Cinematic Universe join forces to defeat some purple, Bruce Willis-looking dude intent on destroying the world. It might be exciting but enjoyable, but it also might be noisy and chaotic — just like every other superhero movie that comes out these days.

If you prefer to take part in some superhero-less events this weekend, here are a few that might get you soaring:

Thursday, April 26

Kristen Johnston stars in Recovery’s Spring Luncheon
For its 35th-annual spring luncheon, the Council on Recovery and the Waggoners Foundation Speaker Series found a keynote speaker who’ll most likely have some harrowing tales about dealing with drugs and alcohol — and still be hella funny. Most people know Kristen Johnston as the Emmy-winning star of the wacky sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. But anyone who’s read her bestselling memoir, Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster, knows she’s had her own hellish battles with addiction. It starts at 11:15 am.

Fishbone rocks “Party on the Plaza”
We can say, without any certainty, that Avenida Houston’s latest “Party on the Plaza” show will be all kinds of rockin’. How do we know this? Because the headliners are going to be Fishbone, the ska/funk/punk band of brothas who’ve been raising a ruckus — musically — for nearly 40 years. (No Doubt, Smash Mouth and every other ’90s skacore band also owes them a debt of gratitude, but that’s for another time.) Opening up for them will be local DJ crew The Waxaholics, who we’re sure will be just as rockin’ as the headliners. It starts at 6 pm.

Ride a Latin Wave at the MFAH
It’s time once again for Houstonian cinephiles to get a taste of what Latin America has to offer — in terms of challenging, innovative cinema — with this year’s Latin Wave 13 program. Not only will there be a fine selection of eight recently released Latin American films that’ll be screened Thursday through Sunday, but several of the filmmakers will be in attendance for the screenings, as well as available for selfies, chitchat and what not for a “Meet the Filmmakers Brunch” on Saturday at 11 am at Under the Volcano. The whole thing starts at 7 pm.

Friday, April 27

Enjoy tea with Mario Lopez
Tea on the Lawn invites guests to don fancy attire and enjoy a benefit for New Danville, a community that enriches the lives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and we find that lovely and worthy. However, the big news about this event is the keynote speaker, and that speaker is a dashing hunk of man by the name of Mario Lopez. We’re not saying we have on crush on Lopez, the former star of Saved by the Bell and currently the host of Extra. We’re just saying he’s an attractive man and Mark-Paul Gosselaar ain’t got nothin’ on him. It starts at 10 am.

Celebrate Houston Harvey heroes
Hurricane Harvey may be a thing of the past, but it’s a thing that people are still trying to recover from. It’s also a thing where many people stepped up and selflessly took action. Discovery Green will be saluting people with Harvey Heroes: Discovery Discussion, which will feature several Houstonians who aided in rescuing, assisting, feeding, clothing, and sheltering those affected by Harvey. There will also be a presentation by Dr. Stephen Klineberg about Harvey’s impact on Houstonians, as reflected in the 37th annual Kinder Houston Area Survey. It starts at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, April 28

“Yoga on the Meadow” at the Houstonian
Look, we all need some yoga in our life. A lot of us need to stretch out and do some downward dog or whatever and try to alleviate some of the stress that gets locked in our muscles and bones from time to time. With all the yoga events that pop up in this city every weekend, how about attending one that’s for a good cause? “Yoga on the Meadow” is a family-friendly event hosted by Nora’s Home, which helps out organ failure and transplant patients at Texas Medical Center. This event will also educate guests on the needs of organ failure and transplant patients. It starts at 10 am.

Take in a pleasant Heights art stroll
When was the last time you went for a stroll, huh? And when was the last time you looked at art while you were going on said stroll, hmmm? If you would like to check out some vivid visuals while gaining some steps on your FitBit, the Sawyer Yards Spring Biannual Art Stroll will be open for both browsing and moseying. More than 300 local artists will open their studios so visitors can hang with the artists and even pick up a piece or two. Artists will donate a portion of proceeds to establish a student scholarship at the Glassell School of Art. It starts at 4 pm.

Lewis Black brings his rage to Houston
Comedian/The Daily Show commentator Lewis Black has a special relationship with the city of Houston. In his act, he used to talk about how Houston is the “end of the universe” because of those two Starbucks across the street from each other on West Gray and Shepherd. (We wonder if he knows about the Starbucks café located inside the Barnes & Noble that’s just a few feet away.) We know Black will have a lot to say about our current president, but let’s hope he brings up those twin Starbucks — and asks how they treat certain folks in there. The show starts at 8 pm.

Sunday, April 29

Celebrate Children’s Day
How many of y’all know about Children’s Day? It’s been around since 1856, when a pastor in Massachusetts decided to hold a special service dedicated to the kiddos. (It wasn’t celebrated nationally until 1923.) Over here in H-Town, the Children’s Museum of Houston gives it up to the young ones with its annual Dia del Nino Celebration. Now in its 16th year, the event will feature a live performance by reggaeton rising star Miguelito, backed up by Mariachi Imperial de America. There will also be giveaways, story time, face painting — the works. It starts at noon.

Blues, Brews, and Barbecue (what more could you want?)
As the name implies, you can get your Blues, Brews, and Barbecue on at Picnic for Parkinson's benefiting Houston Area Parkinson Society (HAPS). The cookoff is chaired by acclaimed Houston chef Brandi Key of Lasco Enterprises (Max’s Wine Dive, The Tasting Room, and The Boiler House), so you can bet the food will be on point. You can also enjoy tunes from High Tech Rednecks, Bluestown Shakedown, Road Gang, and The Steve Krase Band. The event takes place at chill Heights bar Wicklow Heights, and runs from noon to 5 pm, with VIP entry at 11 am.

event-planner

Movie Review

Reminders of Him taps into grief, grace, and the power of moving on

Photo by Michelle Faye / Universal Pictures

Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers in Reminders of HIm.

Texas author Colleen Hoover has gone from being a popular writer to a full-on celebrity in the 2020s. The new film Reminders of Him marks the third adaptation of her books in just 19 months (a fourth, Verity, is scheduled for release in October 2026). All of her books that have been adapted so far — most notably It Ends With Us — are female-led stories that feature elements of romance and trauma, catnip for studios looking to appeal to the underserved demographic of women.

Leading the way in this film is Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe), who returns to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming after spending years in prison for killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow), in a car accident. That relationship resulted in a daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), whom Kenna gave birth to while imprisoned and is now being raised by her grandparents, Patrick (Bradley Whitford) and Grace (Lauren Graham).

Yearning to be a part of Diem’s life, Kenna tries to reconnect with Patrick and Grace, only to be rebuffed by Scotty’s best friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers), a former NFL player who now owns a local bar. In running interference, Ledger starts to become closer to Kenna, discovering that her tragic mistake shouldn’t be the only thing that defines her.

Directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Lauren Levine, the film features mostly surface level examinations of its themes and average performances, yet it winds up being effective thanks to a willingness not to rush through its storytelling beats. The filmmakers take the slow and steady approach toward the coupling of Kenna and Ledger, setting up their bond through a series of heart-to-heart conversations that makes any romance feel earned.

The majority of the focus is on Kenna reclaiming her place in the world, and on Ledger coming to terms with the fact that the person who killed his best friend is not inherently a bad person. The film definitely could have gone deeper in its explorations of grief and anger, but the sheer amount of time it takes in addressing the characters’ doubts and fears turns out to be sufficient for a film that’s not aiming to be considered a dramatic masterpiece.

It also helps that Caswill and Levine do a solid job of establishing the variety of characters that inhabit the film. Kenna and Ledger don’t always feel like fully-formed people, but they become so through their interactions with each other and the other townspeople. Lady Diana (Monika Myers), a girl with Down syndrome who lives in Kenna’s apartment complex, and Roman (Nicholas Duvernay), Ledger’s co-worker at his bar, help to broaden the appeal of the two leads.

Monroe has, to this point, been best known for starring roles in horror films like It Follows and Longlegs. While she does somewhat well in this role, her delivery is often more flat than you’d expect for a character going through what she does. Withers thankfully doesn’t remind viewers of his recent bomb Him, demonstrating a crossover appeal that should serve him well in the future. Whitford and Graham don’t get to do much, but their combined experience gives their roles exactly what is needed.

It may sound like damning with faint praise, but Reminders of Him is a competently made film that knows how to serve its core audience without insulting anyone who may not automatically be all-in for such a story. The filmmakers don’t try to force any of the key moments down the audience’s throat, and that stands out in a genre that’s not always known for its subtlety.

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Reminders of Him opens in theaters on March 13.

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