Things may get a bit damp this weekend.
It’s been projected to rain throughout the weekend, which means a lot of outside events (like the annual Houston Art Car Parade and the Tacos & Tequila Festival, both happening on Saturday) might require a raincoat.
As long as the weather cooperates, this weekend has lots to offer, including a barbecue festival, a couple of ballet shows, and a three-day event focusing on wellness – which we all need right about now.
Thursday, April 9
Fresh Arts presents "Our Road Home: Gallery As Instrument" opening reception
The opening reception of Fresh Arts' "Our Road Home: Gallery As Instrument" launches an eight-week residency with a celebration that is equal parts art opening, community gathering, and party. Guests are invited into a gallery space already alive with visual works, costume pieces, video installations, and projection art drawn directly from the stage worlds of "Our Road Home" and "Shout!," giving visitors an intimate glimpse of the productions. Through Friday, May 29. 7 pm.
Blue Man Group: Bluevolution
From those days doing weird stuff on MTV to serving as a storyline on the sitcom Arrested Development, Blue Man Group has been one of the more fascinating entertainers of the past 40 years. Blending art, invention and mind-bending curiosity, Blue Man Group is a euphoric celebration of human connection. On the new World Tour, audiences will be introduced to “The Musician,” a new character who will showcase her drumming and percussion skills throughout the show. 7:30 pm (2 & 7:30 pm Saturday; 1 & 6:30 pm Sunday).
Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Six
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. From Tudor queens to pop icons, the six wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix 50 years of historical heartbreak into a euphoric celebration of 21st-century girl power. Originally debuted at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, this musical comedy has won 23 awards in the 2021/22 Broadway season, including the Tony for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. 7:30 pm (7:30 pm Friday; 2 & 7:30 pm Saturday; 1:30 & 7 pm Sunday).
Friday, April 10
Blessings Apothecary and da Gama in the Heights present Spring Reset Wellness Weekend
Fresh from returning from a recent wellness journey to India, former Houston Ballet star-turned-wellness advisor Anne Tyler Harshbarger returns to Houston as host of an immersive three-day event designed to nourish the body, mind and soul. In an exclusive collaboration with Michelin-recognized restaurant da Gama in the Heights and the wellness boutique Blessings Apothecary, the weekend festivities will offer an uplifting set of ancient traditions for modern Houston life. 7 pm (5:30 pm Saturday; 10 am Sunday).
Rice Cinema presents Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea
Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea is a 3D documentary film that chronicles the story of a marine veteran who navigated the profound traumas of war by making art, becoming a hero to generations of artists, including his friends Ed Ruscha and Frank Gehry, among others interviewed in this immersive film. The film features actor Ed Harris as the voice of H.C. Westermann. Stay for a Q&A with director Leslie Buchbinder and art professor/Department of Art chair John Sparagana. 7 pm.
Asia Society Texas and Houston Ballet present Sons de L’âme
For two nights, Asia Society Texas and the Houston Ballet are presenting Sons de L’âme (Sounds of the Soul), making its U.S. debut. The work will be performed in its entirety for only the second time, with music accompanied live by award-winning pianist George Li. Set to piano pieces by Frédéric Chopin, the intimate and elegant Sons de L’âme was created by Houston Ballet artistic director Stanton Welch AM and premiered in 2013 with renowned concert pianist Lang Lang at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. 7:30 pm.
Improv Houston presents Mo Amer
Houston’s own Mo Amer had a great 2025. He wrapped up his second and final season of his critically acclaimed Netflix show Mo, and he also dropped a new Netflix special, Mo Amer: Wild World, in October. The Houston Chronicle also called him Houstonian of the Year. Now, Amer is back at it, doing new standup material over at Improv Houston. But don’t get it twisted; he still continues to give audiences observational comedy, political satire, and race-related material in his unique, conversational style. 7:30 & 9:45 pm. (7 & 9:30 pm Saturday).
Saturday, April 11
FLATS and FotoFest Biennial 2026 present Uncle Bob’s Photo Zine & Book Market
An official part of the FotoFest Biennial 2026, Uncle Bob’s Photo Zine & Book Market is a free, two-day fair celebrating regional photography through small publishers and self-published zines and books. 50+ artists and publishers from across the South will be in attendance, along with special guests like Houston Aura Photography and Houston Camera Exchange. Expect stacks of photo books, handmade zines, prints, and plenty of conversations with the artists who made them. 11 am.
Orange Show Center for Visionary Art presents 39th Annual Art Car Parade
For the 39th year, 250 rolling works of art will take over Houston’s streets as more than 300,000 fans cheer them on from the sidelines. The parade begins at Dallas and Bagby Streets on Allen Parkway, heads into downtown, circles City Hall, and returns outbound on Allen Parkway before dispersing at Waugh Drive. For the ultimate viewing experience, VIPit offers reserved seating, private hospitality suites, family-friendly activities, and premium parade views, with proceeds supporting year-round programming at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. 2 pm.
Tacos & Tequila Festival
The Tacos & Tequila Festival brings the biggest names in 2000s hip-hop to Houston for a day of nostalgia, flavor, and fun. The festival will also feature the area’s best tacos and street eats, craft margaritas, Lucha Libre wrestling matches, a chihuahua beauty pageant, an exotic car showcase, and more. Headlined by Three 6 Mafia and Fat Joe, the lineup will also include performances by Xzibit, Trina, Ying Yang Twins, Bubba Sparxxx, Mims, Murphy Lee, and DJ Ashton Martin. 2 pm.
Archway Gallery presents Fifty Forward opening reception
Archway Gallery, Texas’ longest-running artist-owned/operated gallery, proudly marks its 50th anniversary with this landmark exhibition titled Fifty Forward, which pays tribute to the artists who are continuing to build Archway Gallery’s legacy. A striking wall of self-portraits, featuring each of the current artists, honors the people whose creative energy and shared vision are carrying the gallery into the next half century. As part of the celebration, one guest submission will be selected to receive a $500 gift certificate. Through Thursday, April 30. 5 pm.
Sunday, April 12
Clark's presents First Annual Houston Crawfish Boil
The Montrose (by way of Austin) restaurant is holding an all-you-can-eat crawfish boil. Tickets ($52, gratuity included) provide access to crawfish and keg beer, plus DJ sets by Morgan Morgan and country music by Christopher Seymore. Cocktails and other drinks are available for an additional price. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Southern Smoke Foundation. 11 am.
13th Annual Houston Barbecue Festival
The Houston Barbecue Festival is back for its 13th year, celebrating everything that makes Houston barbecue unique. Fan favorites return alongside several new and up-and-coming barbecue joints making their festival debut. From established Houston institutions like Blood Bros BBQ and Roegels Barbecue Co. to newer standouts such as Eastbound Barbecue and Space City BBQ, the festival offers a rare opportunity to taste the past, present, and future of Houston barbecue in a single afternoon. 1 pm.
Houston Repertoire Ballet presents Celebration of Dance
Houston Repertoire Ballet celebrates its 30th season with Celebration of Dance, featuring a blend of classical and contemporary works. The performance begins with Sleeping Beauty, brought to life by HRB’s dancers alongside Kansas City Ballet guest artists Olivia Jacobus and Andrew Vecseri. Other selections will include Bolero, a contemporary ballet choreographed to the score of Maurice Ravel; Take Five, a jazz piece choreographed to the music of Dave Brubeck; and Rodeo, a story-ballet, set to the music of Aaron Copland. 1 & 4:30 pm.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East?
The first Korean feature to have U.S. theatrical distribution explores themes of consciousness, acceptance, and redemption. An old Zen master wishes to make the ceremony of his death his final lesson to his apprentice, who is struggling to come to terms with abandoning worldly ways. Meanwhile, a young boy has his own awakening to mortality as he attempts to nurse a bird he thoughtlessly injured with a stone. This film (shown in glorious 35mm!) complements the MFAH exhibition Buddha | Nature: Five Dialogues on Our Shared World. 2 pm.
The Houston BBQ Festival returns on Sunday.
Mario Williams dominated the Houston Texans' first preseason game.
Matt Leinart showed he still stinks.
Matt Schaub was as sure a thing as ever, completing 5 of 6 passes for 78 yards.
