Weekend Event Planner

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

Catch Joe Rogan at the Bayou Music Center.

Photo by James Law

While we will unfortunately be going another year without the Houston Art Car Parade, the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art will still show a lot of festive vehicles this weekend during the Houston Art Car Experience.

Some 80 cars will be on display during the day, along with nighttime, live-music performances and an illuminated Art Car Walk.

More fun awaits this weekend, such as:

Thursday, May 13

Moore Vision Entertainment presents Godspell
All this weekend at the DeLuxe Theater, Moore Vision Entertainment will present the forever-heavenly, Tony-nominated musical. In this tale of building a community, friendship, loyalty and love, a small group of disciples helps Jesus tell a variety of parables through song, dance, and a heaping dose of humor.

The musical boasts a score with chart-topping songs by Stephen Schwartz. 7:30 pm (10:30 am, 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm Saturday; 2:30 pm Sunday).

Improv Houston presents Whitney Cummings
Whitney Cummings is finally coming to Houston to perform some stand-up. Anyone who follows her on Instagram knows some medical issues made her cancel shows she scheduled for January.

But, she is fully recuperated and back to being her bold, brash, uninhibited self. If her Insta-stories are any indication, there is a strong possibility that Cummings will doff her top and dance to “WAP” during her shows, so look out for that. 7:30 and 9:45 pm (7 and 9:30 Saturday).

Friday, May 14

A Cowboy Steak Dinner at Central Market Houston
Capture the flavors of Texas in a meal that would satisfy any hard-working ranch hand.

The Central Market cooking staff will show you how to cook a USDA Prime Texas steak to perfection; create a salad and a side dish that highlight local flavors; and discover how baking in cast iron adds a new dimension to your desserts. Ages 18 & up and $75 per person. Participants who are 21 years and older will enjoy Texas wines paired with their meal. 6:30 pm.

Revue Prevue Party Hosted by Dandy Wellington
Kick-off the 13th Annual Galveston Island Beach Revue (happening this Friday and Saturday) with a special night under the stars. The party also features one-night-only performances by New York City's Gin Minsky and Austin’s Amelia Foxtrot.

Ticket holders will receive a complimentary drink ticket for a special cocktail from DTO Galveston, complimentary craft beer and wine and bonus admission to Saturday's Beach Revue. 6:30 pm.

Joe Rogan in concert
In case you haven’t heard, Joe Rogan is a Texas boy now. The comedian, UFC commentator and beloved podcaster moved his family and his whole, Joe Rogan Experience podcasting operation to Austin last summer.

Now, he’s getting ready for his upcoming summer stand-up tour by testing out some material on us Houston folk, as he performs at Bayou Music Center this weekend. Maybe you’ll see him and new Houston resident 50 Cent together. 8 pm.

Saturday, May 15

Dream Festival Tribute Concert at Big Rivers Waterpark and Adventures
This weekend, the New Caney waterpark will be taking you back to the good ol’ days of hair metal with this festival concert, featuring the area’s greatest tributes to KISS, Motley Crue, Poison and AC/DC.

The bands that will be playing include Kidd Sixx, Poison IV, TNT, Motley Crew, and KISS Alike. The concert is included in park admission, so you can also enjoy the park attractions, which includes more than a dozen waterslides, wave pool, lazy river, etc. 1 pm.

2021 OMG Food Fest at Bayou City Event Center
It looks like we have the world’s first hip-hop food festival happening this weekend. Not only will this fest have delicious food — BBQ, tacos, boudin, turkey legs, etc. — coming from all directions, there will also be the city’s best DJs and bands playing hip-hop, rap and everything else that will keep you moving.

More than 60 vendors will be in attendance. Kids 8 and under can get it free, but keep in mind the music may not be kid-friendly. 2 pm.

Tatemo and Underground Creamery present A Night Market
The final, Montrose-based Night Market will be happening this weekend. Started by Tatemó and Underground Creamery in collaboration with their teams and other small businesses, this open-air market features live music, multifarious food experiences, desserts and zero-proof cocktails all celebrating the city’s diverse roots.

The closing finale will feature the Texas contestants from season 18 of Top Chef: Dawn Burrell, Gabriel Erales, and Sasha Grumman. 6 pm.

Sunday, May 16

Bobcat Teddy’s 1st Annual Crawfish Cook-Off
Get ready for some mudbug madness as Bobcat Teddy’s holds its first-ever, crawfish cook-off. Come by and enjoy the day with live music on the lot from Good Time Muffin and plenty of crawfish to taste. $30 wristbands allow you to sample each booth and vote for your favorite crawfish.

During the event, Bobcat Teddy's will also be collecting food to benefit Kid's Meals Inc. Each donation will enter you a chance to win some fun prizes. 1 pm.

Houston Symphony Stream at Discovery Green
Enjoy an afternoon outdoors with a live performance of Houston Symphony, under Matthew Strauss and executive director John Mangum (stepping in for music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada), on the Anheuser-Busch stage.

Guests will be supplied a circle on the ground to ensure social distancing and are invited to bring blankets or lawn chairs. Drinks and snacks will be available for purchase at The Lake House. 2:30 and 6 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Cheesiness undermines Whalefall's intense survival story

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Austin Abrams in Whalefall.

Austin Abrams has been a professional actor for 15 years, but the 30-year-old seems to just now be getting his due. After years of mostly supporting roles in films like Paper Towns, Brad’s Status, and Weapons, he has been charged with leading two films in 2026 where he’s largely acting by himself: First Resident Evil and now Whalefall.

Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, who has returned home to California a year after the death of his hard-ass father, Mitt (Josh Brolin). The two had a tempestuous relationship, and while his mom (Elisabeth Shue) and sisters (Jane Levy and Emily Rudd) reminisce fondly about him, Jay finds it difficult to come up with good memories. The two did share a connection with the ocean, and Jay decides to honor him by going scuba diving.

Ignoring warnings of whale activity in the area, Jay makes his way out into a notoriously dangerous part of the ocean near their home. Soon after he starts swimming, he encounters a sperm whale chasing after a giant squid. Jay inadvertently gets sucked into the enormous creature’s mouth and, ultimately, inside its body. Faced with a seemingly inescapable situation, Jay’s only hope lies in the lessons his father taught him.

Directed by Brian Duffield and adapted by Duffield and Daniel Kraus from Kraus’ book of the same name, the film is at its best when it depicts Jay struggling to survive within the whale. The claustrophobic nature of the setting and the various obstacles (multiple contracting chambers, the squid, and more) he faces make every scene inside the whale feel as intense and cover-your-eyes scary as any great horror movie.

Naturally, the entire movie can’t be about his survival efforts, and so the filmmakers toggle back and forth between Jay’s ordeal in the whale to memories of times with his father. Not so coincidentally, these remembrances come with subtle or overt wisdom from Mitt that would serve Jay well in his current situation. More often than not, these flashback scenes are so on-the-nose that they come off as cheesy instead of inspirational.

It’s also difficult to derive any big emotions from the story other than revulsion at the way Jay’s body is brutalized while he’s inside the whale. None of the characters in the film receive a notable introduction to the audience before big events start happening. It’s next-to-impossible to be invested in their stories when their personalities are being revealed in bits and pieces throughout the movie.

Abrams does well enough in bringing out the terror Jay feels in the whale and the sullenness/anger he has toward his father in other scenes. But whether it’s because his lines in the whale are hard to understand (he’s often talking around a scuba mouthpiece) or the disconnect the character has with father, there’s just something missing in his performance. Brolin’s performance is one-note, and Shue, Levy, Rudd, and John Ortiz don’t appear enough to make a big impact.

With Kraus onboard as the co-writer of the film, it may be the case that Duffield was not given leeway to change the story of Whalefall too much. What might have worked in the book doesn’t seem to translate equally to the film, and while Jay’s nightmare in the whale is effective, the rest of his story doesn’t come across as successfully.

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Whalefall is now playing in theaters.

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