weekend event planner

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

Urban South brews up some fun this weekend.

Film fans can expect a horde of film-related things popping off this weekend.

The first Houston Horror Film Fest will be happening at Houston Marriott South. Pride 2021, Houston Cinema Arts Society and Goethe Pop Up Houston will present a backyard screening of the 1989 German film Coming Out. At 14 Pews, there will be Bunny Lady's Crash Film Series on Friday and the Houston Underwater Film Festival on Saturday and Sunday.

And remember when we hollered at one of the filmmakers of the movie Drunk Bus last month? They will be having a Sunday-night screening of the movie at Moonstruck Drive-In, followed by a Q & A.

Non-cinephiles can enjoy these fun, weekend offerings.

Thursday, June 24

Ars Lyrica presents A Bach Keyboard Extravaganza
Ars Lyrica Houston’s harpsichordist and conductor Matthew Dirst will collaborate with The Baroque Music Festival, Corona del Mar, and the San Francisco Early Music Society to offer an immersive concert experience to an international audience through an online program. The performances and commentary were captured in May at Rienzi, the MFAH House Museum for European Decorative Arts and at St. Philip Presbyterian Church, Houston, where Dirst serves as organist. 7 pm.

Shenandoah and Collin Raye in concert
Fueled by Marty Raybon’s distinctive vocals and the band’s skilled musicianship, Shenandoah became well known for delivering such hits as “Two Dozen Roses,” “Church on Cumberland Road,” and the Grammy-winning “Somewhere in the Vicinity of the Heart” duet with Alison Krauss. For this show, they'll be joined by '90s hitmaker Collin Raye, who continues to crank out soulful, heartfelt material with the honesty and richness that is signature to his vocals alone. 8:30 pm.

Friday, June 25

Regent Square presents Market Days
Kick off the last weekend of Pride month at this pop-up evening art market, in partnership with The Art Center of Houston. There will be food trucks and beer from 8th Wonder Brewery as guests peruse local artisans selling jewelry and accessories, artwork, candles, apothecary, and culinary treats. The first 50 attendees will receive complimentary, tie-dye T-shirt art kits. Additional tie-dye art kits will be available for purchase for the remainder of the evening. 5 pm.

Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts presents Texas Music Festival: Jazz Institute Concert
The Texas Music Festival presents an all-star high school jazz orchestra, directed by Noe Marmolejo. This event will be presented live and in person. Live events will be performed without intermission and seating will be assigned by ushers upon arrival to ensure proper social distancing between parties during the performance. The performance will also be livestreamed for patrons and supporters who prefer to enjoy the concert from the comfort and safety of their homes. 7 pm.

Improv Houston presents Christopher Titus
Christopher Titus is a prolific stand-up comedian, writer, actor, producer and podcaster. He is currently performing his ninth, 90-minute special Stories I Shouldn't Tell, while his most recent hit special Amerigeddon, is available on Amazon. Most recently, Chris wrote, produced, directed and starred in the feature Special Unit, about a team of special-needs people who form an undercover police unit. 7:30 and 9:45 pm (7 and 9:30 pm Saturday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, June 26

"Jagdeep Raina: Bonds" at Blaffer Art Museum
Jagdeep Raina illustrates and reimagines stories and scenes from across the Kashmiri and Punjabi Sikh diasporas. Through drawings, writings, paintings, weavings and videos, Raina examines diverse histories of transnational migration and mobility and their effects on contemporary life. The exhibition marks Raina’s first solo museum presentation in the United States, featuring a selection of artworks made over the last six years. Through Sunday, October 24. Noon.

Urban South HTX presents Boom Shaka Lager Fest
Urban South HTX will present a new beer festival showcasing lager beers from more than 15 different craft breweries. The event will feature unique lagers from Texas breweries, including Urban South HTX, Great Heights Brewing Co., Celestial Beerworks, Holler Brewing Co., Ingenious Brewing Co. and oh-so-much-more. Tickets are priced at $25 each, come with a commemorative seven-ounce Urban South tasting glass and include five pours during the event. 2 pm.

Hennything HTX at Bayou Event Center
Are you a fan of all things Hennessy? Well, check out this celebration of the world's most popular cognac, along with food, culture and entertainment. Come thirsty with friends and the fam to a Henny function for the books. Enjoy live entertainment including local bands, DJ's, vendors and interactive games. They will be pouring beer, spirits and, of course, all your favorite Henny concoctions. And let's not forget about the twerk contest! 3 pm.

Sunday, June 27

Mr. Magoo's Sunday Sunday at Bayou Event Center
Get ready for an afternoon of fun, food and drinks, to raise money for the four-legged critters at Citizens for Animal Protection. We're talking a live and silent auction, vendor booths, a snow cone truck, a face painter and a caricature artist for the kiddos and, of course, mimosas, beer, and wine for the adults — along with some great food too. There will also be the announcement of the celebrity pet of the year candidates for this year's November gala. 2 pm.

Beer-Jam at Karbach Brewing Company
One of Houston's most popular breweries is hosting a country music jam starring Jason Allen, Sarah Hobbs, Clay Hollis, and Andrew Millsaps — plus some potential surprise guests. The free show also offers a VIP experience ($55) with heavy hors d'oeuvres, a meet & greet with featured talent, an exclusive beer-tasting experience with a special release, a private pre-show performance, swag bag, VIP seating, and club access that includes a private tent with covered seating for the main stage performance. Free; VIP is $55. 2 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Cookie Queens goes behind the scenes of Girl Scout Cookie season

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Girl Scouts in Cookie Queens.

Few people are strong enough to resist the lure of Girl Scout cookie season every year, with the cookies’ limited availability and unique flavors a strong incentive to indulge. But only the girls and their families who have sold the cookies know the joys and stresses of trying to get people to buy them, a process that is detailed in the new documentary, Cookie Queens.

The film by documentarian Alysa Nahmias uses the stories of four different girls to represent the nationwide ritual for the Girl Scouts. They include 12-year-old Olive in Charlotte, North Carolina, a longtime top seller; 8-year-old Shannon Elizabeth in El Paso, Texas, who wants to earn the reward of going to camp; 5-year-old Ara in San Diego, California, whose goal is modest compared to most other girls; and 9-year-old Nikki in Chino, California, who has to compete with her older sisters in the cookie-selling bonanza.

The girls represent a cross-section of both ages and backgrounds, with some girls coming from wealthy families and some girls dealing with more limited means. And how much money your family has makes a big difference, as not only does someone richer have more freedom with their time and supplies, but all scouts are required to reimburse the organization for every box they take in, regardless of whether they’re able to sell it or not.

That caveat makes the journeys of the four featured girls feel wildly different. It’s clear from the start that Olive and Nikki’s families don’t give a second thought to the personal economics of selling cookies, with each girl taking in thousands of boxes at the beginning of the six-week selling season. With both Olive and Nikki rightfully confident that they’ll have no problem offloading their supply, their stories turn to how selling is personally affecting them, with each trying to reconcile the fun of doing it with the pressure they feel from their family members.

Shannon Elizabeth’s story is more harrowing, as her parents feel a strong desire to help her accomplish her lofty goal, but worry that the cost might literally be too high for the family as a whole. More than once, the parents are shown fretting that they won’t have the money to pay back what they owe should they fall significantly short in their sales. Their selling approach, which includes walking through an empty swap meet and standing outside a chain restaurant at night, only adds to their stress.

The most fun story to watch is that of Ara, whose innocence is matched by her confidence. Her parents teach her how much money they’ll owe with her small goal of 55 boxes, but right away she takes on more responsibility than expected. She’s shown making sales pitches and tallying the total number of boxes she’s sold with little-to-no help from either her mom or dad. With her high voice, glasses, and a monitor on her arm to manage her diabetes, she becomes the cute and sympathetic part of the film.

There are times that the film starts to feel more than a little manipulative, however. While many of the moments documented come off as organic, some of them seem like Nahmias is actively guiding the participants in order to get a better story. This is especially evident with Shannon Elizabeth and her family, whose early struggles turn into a miraculous feel-good story by the end, a turnaround that seems implausible at best. Everything with them might have been aboveboard, but Nahmias and her team edit the family’s journey in a way that pushes a bit too hard for emotion.

Cookie Queens, which was produced by a company owned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, helps to give insight into the business of selling Girl Scout cookies for those who’ve only been on the purchasing end of the transaction. The dedication of each girl toward selling their allotted supply proves fun and interesting, even if the filmmaker tries to gild the lily on occasion.

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Cookie Queens is now playing in theaters,

movies girl scout cookie film