weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this weekend

The Art Bike Festival rolls into town this weekend.

Photo by Danitza Ladwig

Change lanes, Art Car Parade, a new fest celebrating decked out rides is rolling into town. The Art Bike Festival celebrates cool bikes and artistry as it makes its way from MacGregor Park to Smither Park. Roll up or line up for this one.

Meanwhile, local rapper Paul Wall jazzes it up downtown, New Kids on the Block show us the right stuff, and Romeo and Juliet spread the love in the park.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, May 19

Brazos Bookstore presents Janet Key
When Janet Key was 12, she sang and danced onstage, stayed up too late reading Shakespeare, and had a closet full of themed, handsewn vests. Her first novel, Twelfth, draws heavily on her time growing up in Houston as a Theater Under the Stars (TUTS) kid and, later, a student at HSPVA. She'll be at Brazos Bookstore this weekend, discussing and reading from this heartwarming mystery about finding your people and accepting others as they are. 6:30 pm.

Paul Wall featuring Doc Loc & the Swangers with DJ Mav
Rapper/DJ/entrepreneur Paul Wall is one of Texas's most successful independent musicians, with over 100 mixtapes and album releases. Led by Dr. Henry Darragh, Doc Loc and the Swangers is a big band that puts an unusual twist to famous Houston hip-hop by arranging it for big bands and small groups. Their first single released in 2018, “Sittin’ Sidewayz,” featuring updated verses by Wall and Big Pokey. This weekend, Wall & the Swangers do their thing live. 7 pm.

The MixTape Tour: New Kids on the Block
Who wants to go back to the 1980s this weekend? Luckily, five bad boys from Boston are ready to take you there. No, we're not talking about New Edition -- we're talking about the boy band New Kids on the Block. These now-middle-aged cats will perform all their Bush I-era hits. Female hip-hop legends Salt-N-Pepa, British crooner-turned-Internet meme Rick Astley and still-funky divas En Vogue will also be performing. 7:30 pm.

Friday, May 20

Such Marvelous Monsters 3/4 Birthday Bash with Psycho Jenni and The Hot and Heavies
Well, three of the four members of Such Marvelous Monsters, musicians that -- according to their Facebook page -- "really like you as a person, think you dress smart, and truly believe you can achieve your goals," will be celebrating their birthdays at this live bash. They will be joined by Psycho Jenni and The Hot and Heavies, a rock band that describes their sound as "a little funky, a little bluesy, and a whole lotta pent-up rage." Cover is $5. 7 pm.

Houston Grand Opera presents Romeo and Juliet
Featuring an opulent score, this is French opera at its finest, with soaring duets for the star-crossed lovers, beautiful choral harmonies, and sumptuous new sets and costumes. Radiant soprano Elena Villalón and outstanding tenor Ricardo Garcia, both current members of the prestigious HGO Studio, sing the titular lovers, with Grammy Award-winning baritone/HGO favorite Donnie Ray Albert as Lord Capulet. The Saturday performance will be live streamed. 8 pm.

Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company presents The Mother Project: A Collaboration to Honor Black Mothers and their Children
In collaboration with Esurient Arts and directed by Dabrina Sandifer, this show was created by a diverse group of six female artists in Mildred’s Umbrella and Esurient Arts. The show was created based on interviews from Black American mothers, midwives and doulas, illustrating the joy and heartbreak of being a Black mother in an America that still does not treat all people equally. Through Saturday, May 28. 8 pm (3 pm Sunday).

Extremely Shorts Film Festival 2022
Aurora Picture Show’s two-day film festival is an eclectic showcase of adventurous, new short films (3 minutes or shorter) of all kinds from around the world. The 25th annual festival's program features short films from 12 countries, including the United States (including several made in Texas), Canada, Brazil, United Kingdom, France and Iran. The program will also stream online next weekend. 8:30 pm.

Saturday, May 21

Houston Parks Board and the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art present Art Bike Festival
Building on the success of the iconic Art Car Parade, this festival will bring together Houstonians of all ages to celebrate Houston’s great parks and trails through art and creativity. The parade will roll with participants joining a parade of art bikes created by students from more than 100 HISD schools. An organized bike route along Brays Bayou Greenway, from MacGregor Park to the Orange Show campus, will invite everyone to cycle together to an afternoon of awards, activities, and art. 9 am.

GreenStreet 10th Anniversary Celebration
GreenStreet will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a day full of festivities featuring yoga on the lawn, a vendor market, live music, live art, and happy hour. The vendor market will feature over fifty vendors, artisans, and local makers on the second and third floors. Guests can end the day with happy hour at GreenStreet’s on-site restaurants and bars, including Guadalajara del Centro, House of Blues Restaurant and Bar, McCormick & Schmick’s, and The Palm. 10 am.

Czech Center Museum Houston presents May Fest
With the weather warming up, Czech Center Museum Houston is welcoming people to celebrate community and Czech culture with this festival. The event will feature bingo, live music, beer garden, Czech food and drink, and a Kolache eating contest. There will also be outdoor fun for kids, including chalk art, yard games, face painting, and crafting your own flower crowns. Admission is free. 11 am.

Center for the Healing of Racism presents The Myth of Equallity
Houston muralist Daniel Anguilu uses life itself as his subject matter. Painting abstract shapes, animal imagery, and vibrant color, his style is inspired by his Mexican heritage and the celebrated Mexican muralists.  His art has become increasingly more visible around the Bayou City as well as in other parts of the United States, Mexico, Peru, and Italy. Anguilu will discuss how his art reflects societies shaped by colonialism, religion and the caste system, all factors that have resulted in racial oppression. 2 pm.

Sunday, May 22

Atkinson Farms BBQ Benefit
Atkinson Farms in Spring was devastated by a barn fire in early March, and now the community is pulling together to help them rebuild. Chef Brandi Key of Dish Society will join Dylan Murray of Local Foods and Chris Shepherd of Underbelly Hospitality to prepare dishes for the event. Money raised will go toward replacing lost equipment and other materials that insurance didn’t cover. Tickets are $100 per person, and children age 5 and under are included with adult tickets. 2 pm.

Paid in Full May B-Day Party Jam at Cafe 4212
The Paid in Full crew is back, ready to play old school hip-hop/soul, rare grooves and whatever feels good. DJ Nimbus and DJ Burb (along with some special guests) will be spinning the joints, with Mistagoodbar on the mic. Both Nimbus and Mistagoodbar will be celebrating their b-days at this day party. So, if anyone got a May birthday they wanna celebrate, come on down and get your it's-yo-birthday on! 3 pm.

Performing Arts Houston presents Neil Gaiman
As one of the most celebrated writers of our time, Neil Gaiman's popular and critically acclaimed works, including Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), Coraline, American Gods, and the Sandman comics, bend genres and reach audiences of all ages. (Don't forget he also did the English dialogue for the Studio Ghibli classic Princess Mononoke.) A limited number of books pre-signed by Gaiman will be available for purchase in the lobby, in partnership with bookselling partner Brazos Bookstore. 8 pm.

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Movie Review

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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