weekend event planner

Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend

Sunday Funday comes courtesy of Second Sunday Revival at Market Square Park.

Photo by Morris Malakoff

Thursday is the International Day of Charity. So, if you've been looking to donate to a charity or nonprofit, or do some volunteer work, Houston has many charities you can help out.

As for the weekend, look for a divine drag show, a Spice Girls tribute, and a vintage market. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, September 5

Katya: Help Me I'm Dying at Cullen Performance Hall
Fans of RuPaul's Drag Race know that Katya Zamolodchikova is a prominent figure on that show. The drag goddess (aka Brian McCook) was a contestant on the seventh season, as well as the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. It turns out that Katya will be in town for a wild evening of entertainment. Known for doing funny personas and characters (including everybody’s favorite dumpster-living hairdresser Trish), her show promises to be one hilarious night. 8 pm.

Spice Girls Rad City Tribute at Present Company
On the first Thursday of every month, Present Company's Rad City Thursdays (organized by One Night Stand Events, the men behind RTB Event Group) will pay tribute to different iconic artists and moments in their career. (Selena and Madonna will be later this year.) First up, the Spice Girls and their 1996 debut album Spice will be saluted. Come dressed as you are, in Spice Girl glamour or any '90s attire, as DJ Fredster will be jamming all of the '90s guilty pleasures and many more hidden gems. 9 pm to 2 am.

Friday, September 6

Eric Roberson at Henke & Pillot
Eric Roberson is one of the most independent R&B artists out there. For nearly two decades, the man has been dropping music on his own label, Blue Erro Soul, collaborating with such artists as Lalah Hathaway, Marsha Ambrosius and rapper/singer Phonte. He also tours frequently, hitting spots here and abroad. He's currently on tour celebrating the 10th anniversary release of Music Fan First, his sixth studio album. The album was made as a reward to his fans and as a personal reminder that, he too, is a fan of music first. 7-11 pm.

Giselle at Wortham Theater Center
In 1967, Giselle was the first full-length ballet performed by Houston Ballet Foundation, and Houston Ballet is fittingly bringing it back to kick off the 50th anniversary season. Artistic Director Stanton Welch’s version of this iconic ballet has 61 company dancers vying for coveted roles in a production that cost more than $1 million to build. The two-act ballet is filled with stunning creations by Italian designer Roberta Guidi di Bagno, and the music will be brought to life by the Houston Ballet Orchestra. 7 pm (7:30 pm Saturday; 2 pm Sunday).

Saturday, September 7

Zine Fest Houston 2019: Zine Cuisine at Lawndale Art Center
Zine Fest Houston is upon us, and this year brings a culinary theme. This annual event of zine exhibitors in Houston will have two spaces — project and classroom — where you can learn such things as community food and civic activism, youth zine-making, and crafting culinary dyes. There will also be a screening of the short film Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers. Featured food vendors this year include Moon Rooster Food Truck and Somos Semillas Vegan Kitchen. Noon to 6 pm.

Game Theory Expo 2019 at Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake Hotel
Get ready for two days of exciting tabletop gaming, featured guests, panel discussions, local game masters, and company-sponsored, demo groups events at this gathering. (A Friday-night preview begins at 8 pm, kicking off 24-hour gaming for weekend badge holders.) This expo is out to promote tabletop gaming in all its diversity through hosting of local game conventions. And this year’s featured charity is Gnosis Project, which provides economic benefits to partner museums. 9 pm.

Sunday, September 8

Second Sunday Revival: Vintage Vida at Market Square Park
Downtown District closes out its monthly, Second Sunday Revival series this weekend, and they're going out with a vintage bang. For this one, Vida Antigua Vintage and Yoko Vintage present Got Vintage Market, the ultimate retro market. DJ MLE will provide the music as event-goers sip and shop in the all-day shopping extravaganza. OLI.Style will also present a fashion show featuring fabulous vintage looks. Lots of other fun activities will be happening throughout the day. Noon to 5 pm.

BERT at 14 Pews
Bert Long Jr. was a Houston artist who was known as one of the art world's most compelling, creative, and talented artists. In this documentary, director (and Houston Museum of African-American Culture CEO) John Guess tells Long's story, beginning from the cotton fields of Crabb Switch, Texas, and ending up in Rome and Spain. Long's quest for success becomes that of the quintessential American. After this screening, Guess and art chronicler Peter Gershon will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. 3-4:30 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

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