weekend event planner

Here are the top 17 things to do in Houston this weekend

Shake up your weekend with cocktail classes at La Colombe d’Or.

lacolombedor.com [https://www.lacolombedor.com/bar-no-3]

This weekend features a host of cultural celebrations, from Latino performing arts, a popular NPR political podcast, a milestone moment for the symphony, Hispanic heritage, jazz, and more.

Meanwhile, movie fans who want to also enjoy the weather can enjoy outdoor screenings downtown, while music fans can take in cool jazz and a meaningful Ukrainian benefit show. A local sports bar hosts a purr-fect pet and animal fundraiser, and a famed boutique hotel mixes in some cocktail classes.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, September 15

The Alliance presents United We Dine
The Alliance will host an international food and culture celebration that will highlight Houston’s diversity, while highlighting the important work the organization does to help refugees and underserved individuals in the community. Local restaurants will provide food sampling to give attendees the opportunity to virtually transport themselves to the countries and regions. During the event, attendees will also have the opportunity to watch live performances from the finest artists, representing various cultures from around the globe. 6 pm.

Arte Publico Press presents Showcase of Latino Performing Arts
Arte Público Press is celebrating 40 years of promoting literacy and reading through publishing excellence. In honor of the 40th anniversary, the nonprofit will host a showcase of Latino performing artists. This show will be a collaborative effort bringing together outstanding artists from the opera, symphony, ballet, and other performing groups to highlight the vibrant influence of Latin-American and Latino cultures. 6:30 pm.

NPR Politics Podcast Live
After a two year hiatus, the NPR Politics Podcast is headed back to the stage, featuring a panel of your favorite NPR voices: Ashley Lopez, Asma Khalid, Domenico Montanaro, Susan Davis and Tamara Keith. This all-star cast will dig into local and national midterm races, the big political news and issues in Texas and what they just cannot let go of. Join them for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how the podcast is made, and a chance to put your questions to the pod squad. 8 pm.

Friday, September 16

Houston Art Gallery Association presents Fall Art Gallery Celebration
Join Foto Relevance and the Houston Art Gallery Association (HAGA) for this two-day, city-wide inaugural celebration. HAGA is composed of the finest art galleries in Houston, each with their own distinct programming, representing the most outstanding artists in Texas and around the world. This weekend, enjoy extended hours at many participating galleries across town. Foto Relevance will be open late on Friday. Admission is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. 11 am.

Alley Theatre presents Lend Me A Soprano
Ken Ludwig (The Three Musketeers, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express), America’s preeminent comedic playwright, debuts a “revisal” of his classic hit with women in the leading roles. This play is set in 1934 as Mrs. Lucille Wiley, General Manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, is ready to welcome world-famous soprano Elena Firenzi for her one-night only starring role in Carmen. Through Sunday, October 9. 8 pm (2:30 and 7:30 pm).

Houston Symphony presents Juraj Valčuha Inaugural Weekend: Verdi Requiem
For his first concerts as Music Director Designate, Juraj Valčuha shares a towering masterpiece from Italian opera master Giuseppe Verdi. Traversing a sweeping emotional arc from fiery anguish and grief to radiant joy and ultimate peace, this live performance is moving and cathartic, captivating and euphoric, poignant and profound. The concert will feature the Houston Symphony Chorus and vocalists Ana María Martínez, Marina Prudenskaya, Jonathan Tetelman, and Dmitry Belosselskiy. 8 pm (2:30 pm Sunday)

The Rustic presents Jungle Fire
The Rustic is kicking off Hispanic Heritage Month with the Los Angeles-based TropiFunk juggernaut Jungle Fire, for a night of dancing and live music. With a focus on Afro-Caribbean and West African rhythms, the diverse, musical and cultural backgrounds of Jungle Fire’s members reflect LA's unique international and multicultural mix of beats, sounds and flavors. The event is free with an RSVP, but guests are encouraged to arrive early as the event is majority standing room only. 8 pm.

Saturday, September 17

10th Annual Anita Sabedra Team Hope Walk
The Huntington's Disease Society of America's (HDSA) Greater Houston Area Affiliate will be hosting this annual walk, at Middlebrook Greenbelt Park. Team Hope is HDSA’s largest, national grassroots fundraising event, which takes place in over 100 cities across the U.S. and has raised more than $20 million for Huntington's disease. Thousands of families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and communities walk together each year to support HDSA’s mission to improve the lives of people affected by Huntington's disease and their families. 9 am.

Memorial Trail Ice House Octobeerfest 2022
It’s Octobeerfest time over MTIH, with several breweries participating in this event. Also, Cortlandt & 9th will be serving up pretzels, bratwursts with sauerkraut, and schnitzels. Bayou City Horn Band will perform; more fun comes with a brief break for a stein holding competition. Wristbands for this event can be purchased for $25 (day of event), $20 (pre-order). Each wristband purchase guarantees 10 beer sample tokens, as well as tokens to vote for “Best Brewery” and “Best Octobeerfest Beer.” 11 am.

Second Annual Pitmaster Party Wildgame Edition
Dozier’s BBQ in Fulshear will host this event devoted to making dishes with smoked wild game. Pitmaster Jim Buchanan has invited 14 top Texas pitmasters, starting with two of the top five in Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s 50 best barbecue joints: John Bates of Interstellar BBQ (Austin) and Ernest Servantes of Burnt Bean Co. (Seguin). A portion of proceeds benefits the Fulshear Police Foundation. Tickets are $75 and include samples from the participants and live music by Morgan Obenhaus (beverages purchased separately). 11 am.

Craft Cocktail Class at La Colombe d'Or
Raise a glass to end summer and enjoy happy hour on the 10th floor of the La Colombe d’Or Tower, with hors d'oeuvres and refreshments, followed by a private cocktail masterclass with Bar No. 3 chief bartender Patrick Dougherty. At the cocktail workshop experience, you will learn the fundamentals and expert tips & tricks of cocktail making. Work closely alongside Dougherty with carefully curated ingredients and hand-selected bitters, seasonings and mixers. Tickets are $90 per person. There will also be a pop-up, open-air cinema screening of The Breakfast Club (including a three-course dinner with dishes from celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme) at 8 pm on Sunday. 4 pm.

Be a 9th Wonder Foundation presents Lucky9 Casino Royale
Ex-professional basketball player and entrepreneur Remi Yusuf, the founder and global director of Be A 9th Wonder Foundation, presents this inaugural event of glitz and gambling. All proceeds benefit the Foundation’s future 9th Wonder Community Center, which will feature a gym and weight room that supports adaptive fitness for individuals with special needs, and other Houston-area events. Projected events will be hosted for individuals within the special needs community, youth in underserved communities, and adolescents transitioning to career and college readiness programs. 6 pm.

Discovery Green presents Screen on the Green
Discovery Green recently announced the fall schedule of Bank of America’s Screen on the Green. As part of the 15th anniversary programming, this season’s monthly lineup celebrates the diverse ages, interests, and cultures of visitors with family-friendly movies Selena, Monster House, and The Mitchells vs. The Machines. First up, it's that 1939 Judy Garland classic The Wizard of Oz. Blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics are encouraged. 7 pm.

The Houston Jazz Collective presents The Houston Jazz Festival
As part of the Houston Jazz Festival, the Houston Jazz Collective presents The American Masters Series, featuring the hardbop supergroup The Cookers, who will perform from their new record, Look Out!. Opening for the Cookers will be Nellie McKay, a soulful jazz musician, pianist, vocalist, composer and arranger who will perform from her album, Sister Orchid. The evening will also include the artwork of acclaimed artist Jack Whitten. 8 pm.

Sunday, September 18

Pet-a-Palooza at George Country Sports Bar
Join The Diana Foundation for fun, festivities, a selection of gourmet lunches (prepared by Picnic On The Green), and cocktails. Show your support through a variety of one or more options. Purchase a purple "Pet-A-Palooza Dog Tag Pendant" for $25, buy raffle tickets for an opportunity to win one of the multiple prizes, or bring a donation of essentials such as kitty litter, dog and/or cat food. All proceeds will benefit two fantastic pet charities: Friends For Life Animal Shelter & The Pet Patrol. Friendly, leashed pets are welcome. 11 am.

Mid Main Micro Marathon
The Mid Main Micro Marathon has taken the “run” out of running and left little more than the start and finish. The course, measuring a grueling 0.26 miles, can be hard on the system, so obviously participants will need a break or two (with breakfast tacos, dance parties, coffee, and more) to refuel as they make their way around the Mid Main complex. Finishers along with family and friends will be treated to beer and music by Allen Oldies Band, Brooklyn Twang, and more. The event benefits Animal Justice League. Noon.

Candlelight x UNHCR Presents Ukrainian Benefit Concert For Peace Fundraiser
Candlelight presents a two-show series of benefit concerts in favor of refugees by collaborating with UNHCR, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with the objective of benefiting Ukrainian citizens affected by the humanitarian crisis, and the refugees who were forced to flee their country as a result of the war. All proceeds from this Candlelight series will be allocated to help refugees affected by this conflict. 6:30 and 9 pm.

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Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

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