weekend event planner

Here are the top 9 things to do in Houston this weekend

Tacos and music this weekend — what else do you need?

Photo by Getty Images

If you want to start off your weekend with a nice jolt, Thursday marks National Cappuccino Day. And we're sure several places around Houston will be serving steaming, frothy cups of classy java all day (order-app Ritual has a $1 cappuccino promotion, where several Houston spots will have the beverage for the low-low).

After you're done guzzling all that coffee, you can check out all these other things happening this weekend:

Thursday, November 8

Check out an exciting new art studio
Glassell Block XIX is a studio intensive program for emerging Houston artists with independent art practices in a wide array of media. All the artists in this program — 15 in total — will be showing off their work at a reception, located across the street from the Glassell School of Art. That's where the artists' studios will be, which will be open to the public for the first time. Light bites and refreshments will also be served. 6-8 pm.

Friday, November 9

The Animaniacs return
Remember Animaniacs? If you were a kid who grew up in the '90s, you gotta remember Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, the trio of zany cartoon characters who wreaked havoc wherever they went, all for your weekday-afternoon amusement. The show is making a comeback, as new episodes will hit streaming-video service Hulu in 2020. Until then, you can check out a concert where cast members will vocally recreate the characters and perform some memorable tunes. 7:30 pm.

Enjoy the music of Korea in a cross-cultural concert
For the fourth year in a row, Asia Society Texas Center will be hitting audiences with a cross-cultural, Asian music collaboration with Rice University's Shepherd School of Music. This year, it's about the musical traditions of Korea with a concert featuring two distinguished performers: Chan E. Park, who will present pansori, a genre of story-singing performed by a singer and drummer; and Sanghun Kim, who will be performing traditional and newly composed pieces on the ajaeng, or "elegant zither." 7:30 pm.

Saturday, November 10

Doggie Pictures with Santa gets you in the spirit
People looking for a cute photo for their annual Christmas card will most likely flock to Doggie Pictures with Santa, where your beloved pet can get the chance to take a pic with Kris Kringle (or someone who looks like ol' playa). It'll be held over at Rover Oaks Houston. There's no appointment necessary, as walk-ins will only be accepted, and they'll be accepting $20 donations. And please, do your best not to put an ugly sweater on your dog. 11 am-3 pm.

Dig into the Texas Taco Music Fest
So, there's this event called the Texas Taco Music Fest and — we had you at taco, didn't we? This street-taco free-for-all will have over a dozen vendors (Black Market Burrito, Taquera Licha, Korean St. Tacos, and La Catrina!) covering up those tortillas with beef, chicken, beans, cheddar, pico de gallo, etc. But, of course, there is also the other component, which is live music from such acts as El 43, DeSangre, Jessie Marie, Rebel Crew Music, and others. Noon-9:30 pm.

Salute local veterans with this unique show
For those who missed last weekend's Doomsday Wrestling anniversary show, Project Row Houses will be presenting some wrestling action during Third Ward Veterans Appreciation Day (TWVAD). In conjunction with the Houston Residency Artist Program, artist Phillip Pyle II is honoring veterans with the recreation of a 1944 wrestling match. The event is based on the 1944 war bond fundraiser held at the Houston City Auditorium, which featured Houston City Wrestling and the Houston Symphony. 1-3 pm.

Groove to alternative soul at The Lo Fi Music Fest
Now in its second year, the Lo Fi Music Fest will be bringing in alternative R&B/hip-hop acts for a day of progressive black music. Organized by local space-hop group The Hue (who will also be performing), this concert will also feature music from headliner Sy Smith (best known for her work with North Carolina band The Foreign Exchange), Tresa Jerell, The Afroknotts, Izzar Thomas, and others. DJ Nimbus will be manning the turntables. 3 pm.

Celebrate H-Town music with The Bayou Music Series
The Bayou City Music Series closes its collection of fall concerts — which have been at Buffalo Bayou Park and Emancipation Park — with a show at Discovery Green that celebrates Houston's blues, jazz, and soul heritage. Blues singer/songwriter Diunna Greenleaf and Blue Note jazz pianist James Francies, both Houston-born, will be providing the tunes. Just add some Crown Royal you and you'll be ready to groove. 7 pm.

Sunday, November 11

Fashion in the Fields Brunch & Fashion Show is your Sunday Funday
If you adore brunch and fashion, the Fashion in the Fields Brunch & Fashion Show is here to satisfy both your appetite and your sense of style. Happening at seven-acre urban farm Hope Farms, this event will kick off with craft cocktails and a Neiman Marcus fashion show in the farm's Gathering Barn. Throughout the event, the farm's Market Stand will have finds straight from Neiman Marcus racks, along with cookbooks, produce, and handmade foods. 12:30 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Reminders of Him taps into grief, grace, and the power of moving on

Photo by Michelle Faye / Universal Pictures

Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers in Reminders of HIm.

Texas author Colleen Hoover has gone from being a popular writer to a full-on celebrity in the 2020s. The new film Reminders of Him marks the third adaptation of her books in just 19 months (a fourth, Verity, is scheduled for release in October 2026). All of her books that have been adapted so far — most notably It Ends With Us — are female-led stories that feature elements of romance and trauma, catnip for studios looking to appeal to the underserved demographic of women.

Leading the way in this film is Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe), who returns to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming after spending years in prison for killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow), in a car accident. That relationship resulted in a daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), whom Kenna gave birth to while imprisoned and is now being raised by her grandparents, Patrick (Bradley Whitford) and Grace (Lauren Graham).

Yearning to be a part of Diem’s life, Kenna tries to reconnect with Patrick and Grace, only to be rebuffed by Scotty’s best friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers), a former NFL player who now owns a local bar. In running interference, Ledger starts to become closer to Kenna, discovering that her tragic mistake shouldn’t be the only thing that defines her.

Directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Lauren Levine, the film features mostly surface level examinations of its themes and average performances, yet it winds up being effective thanks to a willingness not to rush through its storytelling beats. The filmmakers take the slow and steady approach toward the coupling of Kenna and Ledger, setting up their bond through a series of heart-to-heart conversations that makes any romance feel earned.

The majority of the focus is on Kenna reclaiming her place in the world, and on Ledger coming to terms with the fact that the person who killed his best friend is not inherently a bad person. The film definitely could have gone deeper in its explorations of grief and anger, but the sheer amount of time it takes in addressing the characters’ doubts and fears turns out to be sufficient for a film that’s not aiming to be considered a dramatic masterpiece.

It also helps that Caswill and Levine do a solid job of establishing the variety of characters that inhabit the film. Kenna and Ledger don’t always feel like fully-formed people, but they become so through their interactions with each other and the other townspeople. Lady Diana (Monika Myers), a girl with Down syndrome who lives in Kenna’s apartment complex, and Roman (Nicholas Duvernay), Ledger’s co-worker at his bar, help to broaden the appeal of the two leads.

Monroe has, to this point, been best known for starring roles in horror films like It Follows and Longlegs. While she does somewhat well in this role, her delivery is often more flat than you’d expect for a character going through what she does. Withers thankfully doesn’t remind viewers of his recent bomb Him, demonstrating a crossover appeal that should serve him well in the future. Whitford and Graham don’t get to do much, but their combined experience gives their roles exactly what is needed.

It may sound like damning with faint praise, but Reminders of Him is a competently made film that knows how to serve its core audience without insulting anyone who may not automatically be all-in for such a story. The filmmakers don’t try to force any of the key moments down the audience’s throat, and that stands out in a genre that’s not always known for its subtlety.

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Reminders of Him opens in theaters on March 13.

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