Weekend Event Planner

Fun happenings: Here are the top 13 things to do in Houston this weekend

Another week and the start of a new month offer a new set of fun events to check out around Houston. Whether you want to dance the night away with Sia, "Harvest the Block" in the historic Third Ward, or bid on original artwork from local Houston artists, there's something for everyone to do this weekend (Thursday through Sunday),

I've rounded up 13 fun happenings around the city, but our CultureMap Events Calendar is your full resource for Houston events.

Thursday, November 3

2016 International Quilt Festival

The International Quilt Festival features more than 1,700 spectacular quilts and dazzling pieces of fabric art on display; over 1,000 vendors from all over the world; and more than 425 classes on the timeless art of quilting and sewing. It's at the George R. Brown Convention Center November 3-6.

Art on The Avenue

Houston's largest silent auction charity celebrates its 25th year of benefiting low-income Houston families and neighborhoods through the Avenue Community Development Corporation. This year, Jailyn Marcel of PaperCity magazine has helped to curate art-inspired bites from local chefs and restaurateurs like Javani King and Lee Ellis for partygoers to enjoy while browsing and bidding on original artwork and jewelry from over 300 local artists.

Houston artist Patrick Renner will also construct an original installation for the preview party on November 3. The main auction and party is on November 5.

Donna Karan & Russell James Host NTWF Inaugural Fundraiser

Fashion mogul Donna Karan and fashion photographer Russell James co-host the Nomadic Two Worlds Foundation Inaugural Fundraiser with Native American and Australian Aboriginal as honored guests and performers.

Friday, November 4

Houston Black Restaurant Week presents: Harvest the Block

Houston Black Restaurant Week (HBRW) kicks off its first annual fall series, Harvest The Block, this weekend. This inaugural affair aims to stimulate growth between Texas' black-owned farms and the local Houston economy. The weekend of events include "Kitchen Konversations: Cooking Experience" with Chef Shakti Baum, a fall street festival and farmers market with local vendors, as well as a community family-style dinner in the historic Third Ward.

Houstonians will also be able to use UberEats to have produce baskets delivered directly to their homes from the farmers market.

Murrays and Le Bonne Vie presents The Cheese Fest

The Cheese Festival gives guests the opportunity to meet cheese producers from around the world while sampling various types of cheese, sipping on craft brews and wine, and being entertained by live local music. This is the first time this event will be happening in Houston, and it's sure to be a haven for the most discerning turophile.

Sia in Concert with Miguel & AlunaGeorge

Sing along with Sia as she hits the stage at the Toyota Center. Her hit "Chandelier" still makes me sing at the top of my lungs each time it comes on. The crowd will also be treated to the smooth R&B vocals of Miguel as well as the fun dance tunes of electronic duo AlunaGeorge; a great lineup of musical talent!

Saturday, November 5

15th Annual Rockets Run

Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital benefits from a host of activities, including a kids walk, 2 mile walk, and a 5K run. As a bonus for joining in on the charity run, participants receive a ticket to a Rockets home game, T-shirt, and entry to the post-race party.

Sanrio presents Hello Kitty Cafe Truck

Hello Kitty lovers will be excited to know that the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is making its way back to Houston. Fans can purchase Hello Kitty treats such as a 3-piece Hello Kitty cookie set, a rainbow macaron box set, a 4-pack of mini cakes, and bow-shaped bottles of water while the truck is at The Woodlands Mall. Haven't decided who to vote for yet? Not to worry; you can vote "Hello Kitty for President" and purchase a limited edition frosted cookie. Shes's a part of the "Friendship Party," so cast your vote.

2016 Houston Margarita Festival

Taste over 27 different margarita flavors made from 100 percent agave tequila, sample food from local restaurants, and join in on a salsa and limbo competiton at the 2016 Margarita Festival. Chula's Diablo Loco, Lupe Tortilla, and Top Golf will compete to see who will take home the title of the "Best Margarita." Do you and your partner have the best dance moves? The duo that receives the loudest applause from the crowd will be determined the winners, a very Apollo-style way of choosing the best.

Market on the Avenue

Dine, indulge, and dwell at the 3rd Annual Market on the Avenue taking place at West Ave. Shop an open-air marketplace with great local vendors and pop-ups from your favorite West Ave stores and services. Sample tasty bites from Armandos, Crú Wine Bar, Del Frisco's Grille, and The Pit Room.Vote for the Best Bite to win People's Choice! You'll have the opportunity to win door prizes every hour, kids can get their face painted (or adults too), and donations will benefit the Houston Food Bank.

Sunday, November 6

Downtown District presents Bayou Bikers

Explore the Houston bayous from a different point of view as you join other bikers on a 25-to-40 mile ride with the Bayou Bikers. This informal group aims to show Houstonians and visitors the beauty of Houston's waterways, all while getting in a bit of exercise and meeting new people.

The Pass & Provisions presents Marcus Samuelsson: Rooster, The Cookbook

Marcus Samuelsson debuts his newest Red Rooster Cookbook at The Pass & Provisions. Samuelsson will serve up dishes inspired by his Harlem restaurant at the three-course brunch, signature cocktails and kolaches from The Pass & Provisions will be on the menu, and guests receive a signed copy of his book.

Southern Smoke

For the second year of his barbecue-themed MS fundraiser, Underbelly chef-owner Chris Shepherd has stepped things up considerably. In addition to returning pitmasters Aaron Franklin and Rodney Scott, Shepherd has recruited four of his fellow James Beard Award winners to serve food at the party — Ashley Christensen (seven acclaimed restaurants in Raleigh, North Carolina), Tandy Wilson (City House in Nashville), Ryan Prewitt (Peche in New Orleans), and Stephen Stryjewski (Cochon in New Orleans).

With Franklin, Shepherd, and Oxheart chef-owner Justin Yu, who appears as part of HOUBBQ Collective along with Terrence Gallivan and Seth Siegel-Gardner (The Pass & Provisions) and Ryan Pera (Coltivare, Revival Market, Eight Row Flint), the lineup includes seven James Beard Award winners. It’s certainly the most out-of-town culinary talent to grace a Houston food event in recent memory.

This is a fun-filled weekend with so many great events to choose from. Planning to check out any of the events above? Share your experience with us on social media!

Hello Kitty for President.

Photo courtesy of Sanrio

Hello Kitty for President.

event-planner

Movie Review

New Pixar film Elio is fun but falls short of Disney's top tier

Photo courtesy of Pixar

Elio (Yonas Kibreab) and Glordon (Remy Edgerly) in Elio.

Pixar has done a ton of different things in the 28 feature films they’ve released over the past 30 years, but the one they’d never done is deal with aliens (and, no, the alien toys in Toy Story don’t count). Now they’re going where many storytellers have gone before, but in their own unique way, in the new film Elio.

Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) is a space fanatic who has recently lost both of his parents in an unnamed event. His Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) is now his guardian, and because she happens to be a member of the U.S. Space Force, Elio finds himself tantalizingly close to communications from space. With a desire to be abducted by aliens for both curiosity and sentimental reasons, Elio sends a message into space, hoping for some kind of response.

He gets that and more when a ship full of multiple types of beings takes him into space, believing him to be a leader instead of a child. An encounter with a hostile force led by Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett) gives Elio both a new friend, Grigon’s son Glordon (Remy Edgerly), and responsibility for maintaining peace during an unexpected galactic crisis.

Pixar has not typically followed the route of many Disney movies of giving their child protagonist the trauma of dead parents, and doing so here is the first of a few minor missteps. Having Olga be his mom instead of his aunt would have altered their dynamic, but only slightly. While Elio is shown to miss his parents, his major focus is on making contact with aliens. Since the film only briefly deals with his grief, it would have been better served by excising it altogether.

For the most part, the film is goofy, with Elio’s enthusiasm for aliens matched by the oddness of the creatures he meets in space. The filmmakers - there are three credited directors and three credited writers - seem to have taken inspiration from sea creatures and Pixar’s own history, as the main bad guy emulates Mike and Sully’s boss from Monsters, Inc. Almost every character in the film is heightened to a degree that makes for funny situations, but not as much sentimentality as other Pixar offerings.

Surprisingly, especially since the film ends with a voiceover from notable astronomer Carl Sagan, the filmmakers play fast and loose with real-life science. Elio’s journeys to and from the alien spaceship are treated as close-to-instantaneous trips, even involving portals directly to Earth. The idea of the story doesn’t allow them to delve into things like relativistic time dilation, but there still could have been other scientific references to keep the story aboveboard.

There are very few stars to be found among the film’s voice cast other than Saldaña and Garrett, who are each fine if unmemorable. Kibreab and Edgerly are given many more scenes than anyone else, and they each do a great job of bringing out both the joy and naivete of their characters. Some lesser-known actors like Jameela Jamil, Atsuko Okatsuka, and Brendan Hunt show up in minor roles, but they don’t stand out in any way.

The story and characters in Elio are sweet and fun, but the film as a whole falls well short of the top tier Pixar movies. The filmmakers could have gone many different directions with a story about a boy who wants to be abducted by aliens, and the way they chose ended up being innocuous and less than compelling.

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Elio opens in theaters on June 20.

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