pride houston 2022

Show your pride with these 12 vibrant Houston events, from parades to parties

The fun lasts all month.

Photo by F. Carter Smith

June means Pride is in full swing, meaning month-long celebrations, parties, activities, and more. Look for music, fashion shows, hot parties, art exhibits, an annual run, the annual parade, and even a hangover "cure" for the day after the city's official celebration (often much-needed).

Here's a quick roundup of some fierce and fab events to celebrate with pride.

Wednesday, June 15

The Moody Center for the Arts will have a special performance from the Pride Chorus Houston, bookended by happy hour tunes from DJ GNDRBNDR. From Elton John to Lady Gaga, the Pride Chorus Houston's song selections will highlight queer artists and Pride anthems old and new. 5 pm.

Thursday, June 16

Walking Stick Brewing Company, known as "a Texas brewery with Rocky Mountain roots," will be throwing a Pride night in their establishment. There will be a vendor market, music from DJ Raqqcity, food from Fusion Confusion Food Truck, a photo booth with props and — we love this— free Mom hugs. 6 pm.

AvantGarden will host the official Grand Marshal reception for the Houston LGBT+ Pride Celebration Festival and Parade. Each year, the Grand Marshals perform ceremonial duties, lead the parade and serve as Pride ambassadors year-round, advancing the causes they hold dear. 7 pm.

Saturday, June 18

Houston Eagle will be having its annual Pride Bike Ride Bike Parade. Come and support the LGBTQ community by going on a social bike ride around the Montrose neighborhood. All methods of non-motorized vehicles are welcome to join. We're talking bikes, roller blades, skates, skate boards, etc. 2 pm.

Hardy & Nance Studios will have a Pride Art Show, featuring artists who created pieces of art as a positive form of expression against discrimination & violence. The pieces will also promote dignity and equality within the community, and celebrate social change through art. 5 pm.

Thursday, June 23

RISE Rooftop will host the annual Rock the Runway 2022 fashion show. Some of the hottest models in Houston will be walking the catwalk in this summer’s latest styles in casual wear, ladies' evening wear, and more. 6 pm.

Friday, June 24

GreenStreet will have a Pride Market, supporting local LGBTQ artists and vendors. Come out, support the Houston LGBTQ community, and even enjoy a yoga session on the green. 5 pm.

Discovery Green will present Rainbow on the Green, its annual, citywide LGBTQ celebration with electrifying entertainment. This year, the event will honor the courageous families who have spoken out against legislation meant to deny medical treatment to transgender children. 7 pm.

Saturday, June 25

The Pride Run will be going down for all the fitness-friendly folk. Houston's inclusive synchronized 5k/10k walk and run is dedicated to bringing people together, having fun, being active, and supporting the diverse community. 7 am.

The 44th Annual Official Houston LGBT+ Pride Celebration will take place downtown at Houston City Hall. This is Houston's premiere event of the Pride season, featuring outdoor concerts, various entertainment, DJs, and a Family Fun Zone, as well as exhibition and vendor booths. Noon.

Star Sailor HTX will have a day-long Pride extravaganza, benefitting the Montrose Center. Snag Records, Team Jemini, TX Brew Hopper, Backseat Love and Constellation Coffee will be some of the vendors on hand. Mermaid Mystik Leah will also be around to sink in the dunk tank. Noon.

Sunday, June 26

Buddy's Houston will have a Pride Survivor Party, a hangover cure for the previous day's Pride Celebration. DJ Easton will be spinning the music, while drink specials will be served. 4 pm.

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Movie Review

Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

Photo by Matt Grace

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

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Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

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pride houston 2022

Show your pride with these 12 vibrant Houston events, from parades to parties

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Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

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