weekend event planner

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

Garth is back in Houston this weekend.

Photo by J. Thomas Ford

This weekend, NRG Stadium will welcome country titan Garth Brooks, which promises to be a massive sellout. Speaking of massive, giant dinosaurs take over Houston; folks can get up close and personal with their favorites.

Folks can also get up close and personal with an astronaut this weekend. The symphony celebrates 75 years of India, and a hysterical movie star/comedian comes to town. Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, August 4

Astronaut Days 2022 at Space Center Houston
This weekend, spot a space explorer, get an autograph, have lunch with an astronaut and more at Space Center Houston’s summer event. Astronaut Days provide multiple opportunities to spot a space explorer, from Astronaut Mission Memories and Q&A sessions to bingo and book signings. Hear stories from a space explorer on a tour at NASA Johnson Space Center, and celebrate the space pioneers who have risked everything and made sacrifices to explore the cosmos to further our knowledge of the universe. 9 am.

Jurassic Quest
This weekend, families can walk among the nation’s biggest herd of photorealistic dinosaurs. This event features life-like dinosaurs; some of the largest rideable dinosaurs in North America; live dinosaur shows; interactive science and art activities including a fossil dig and real fossils like T-Rex teeth, a triceratops horn and life-size dino skull; a "Triceratots" soft play area for the littlest explorers; bounce houses and inflatable attractions; photo opportunities, and more. 1 pm (9 am Friday-Sunday).

Kevin Hart: Reality Check Tour
This Thursday and Friday, Kevin Hart comes to Houston with his first major tour in over four years. Hart is one of the most popular comedians working today, regularly filling up arenas and stadiums around the world. And when the dude is not promoting movies he starred in with BFF Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (like he recently did with DC League of Super Pets), he's interviewing/getting drunk with celebs on his Peacock chat show Hart to Heart. 7 pm.

Friday, August 5

Wally Workman Gallery presents Julie Marin: "Spacious" opening day
Wally Workman Gallery presents this solo exhibition of Julie Maren’s work. Maren expands upon her use of negative space for this show, exploring boundaries and ideas of infinity. These works are heavily layered and at the same time heavily redacted, with actual physical pieces of the canvas cut away. She is interested in the space in between, where transitions happen and where light comes through. Through Sunday, September 4. 10 am.

The Menil Collection presents "Samuel Fosso: African Spirits" opening day
The Menil Collection presents this exhibition of the 14 large-scale, gelatin silver prints from Fosso’s African Spirits series. In this series of self-portraits, completed in 2008, Fosso portrays himself as Angela Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Malcolm X, and other prominent figures from 20th century, Black liberation movements. Through Sunday, January 15. 11 am.

On the Verge Theatre presents Runaways
Created from interviews with homeless children, this show takes a hard look at the lives of children who have had to grow up too fast. The production is a collection of songs, dances, and spoken word pieces about personal struggle and the world at large as seen through the eyes of children in New York City in the ’70s. Their heartfelt stories focus on personal struggles and raise the question: Why can't children remain children? Through Sunday, August 21. 7:30 pm (2 & 7:30 pm Saturday; 3 pm Sunday).

Saturday, August 6

15th Annual Back-to-School Drive at PlazAmericas Mall
The Alliance is partnering with PlazAmericas Mall to host this annual school drive. The event is the largest community service project of the year, providing school supplies, books, and other essential items to 3,000 students and their families. Houston Health Department will provide free COVID-19 vaccines to any interested community member ages 6 months and up. The Health Department is also offering $25 gift cards for those receiving a COVID-19 booster dose. 10 am.

“Yoga, Artz and Brunch for Educator’s Empowerment” at RISE Rooftop
Join the Puranik Foundation for this mindfulness event. It is curated for educators and features all levels of yoga practice, a three-course plant-based organic brunch, booths from local artists, mindfulness activities, and live music. Unwind, bring awareness to the now, and give yourself the love you so often give out. This event is free for educators. Non-educator tickets are $44. 11:30 am.

Garth Brooks in concert
Yes, Garth Brooks is back, and he'll be performing all the hits that made him one of the most iconic country artists of all time. But there's a bigger issue we need to address here: When is he going to re-release that Chris Gaines album he did dang near 25 years ago? His first (and last) detour into crossover pop territory — where he assumed the role of a brooding, Australian rock star — is not on any streaming platform. It might've been a flop back then, but there are still fans who wanna hear "Lost in You" again. 7 pm.

Houston Symphony presents India 75th Anniversary Concert
The audience will experience the artistry of India’s violin icon, Dr. L. Subramaniam, in this special performance celebrating the 75th year of India’s independence. Joined by both the Houston Symphony and an Indian ensemble, Dr. Subramaniam will share Indian classical music, perform his own Violin Concerto, and unveil the world premiere of his Mahatma Symphony, which was written specially for this historic celebration, and features well-known Indian vocalist Kavita Krishnamurthy. 7:30 pm.

Monica's Bidi Bidi Tribute at Fireside
Celebrate the queen of Tejano as The Moran CITYCENTRE hosts this tribute. Houston-born and raised, Monica has been performing in live bands since 12 years of age. Her start was in Tex-Mex music, but the first tunes rehearsed at home were mariachi songs and Motown hits. The evening will also feature an a la carte menu of light bites and craft cocktails from Moran Hotel mixologists. 9 pm.

Sunday, August 7

The Market at City Place presents Cars & Coffee
Open to the public and free of charge, this monthly, family-friendly series integrates four, three and two-wheel motor bikes, cars and trucks in a lively automobile showcase. Each event features a DJ, a variety of supporting auto vendors, plus special guest groups. The emphasis is on European and American muscle cars and is now open to electric vehicles. Visitors can enjoy a variety of food and beverage options within City Place including delicious coffee, tea, breakfast and brunch options at Noe’s Café. 10 am.

Improv Houston presents HaHa Davis
Detroit-born and bred Haha Davis found his passion as a comedian/internet sensation in 2013 by creating funny Vine videos and Instagram clips. His hilarious characters soon caught the eye of several celebrities, including Chance the Rapper, and he was featured on his album Coloring Book. In 2017, Haha’s "Dis finna be a breeze” catchphrase became a pop culture sensation that was adopted by celebrities and athletes on social media, from Snoop Dogg to Tom Brady. 7 pm.

Comedy Bang! Bang! Live
Comedy Bang! Bang! is a comedy fixture, a forefather of the podcast boom, and a weekly institution since its inception over 13 years ago. A high-spirited get-together between host Scott Aukerman and his funny friends, "CBB" (as it's known to its fans) is a strange combination of interviews with both real people and improvisational comedians performing as fake characters. Every episode is as different as it is unplanned. 7 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