weekend event planner

Here are the top 12 things to do in Houston this weekend

Galleria Houston Christmas tree lighting ice spectacular

The Galleria lights its 55-foot tree this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Uptown Houston

As Veteran’s Day approaches, several spots are honoring our heroes.

Lone Star Flight Museum will waive veterans and active military admission fees. All veterans will also receive a free patriotic pin. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille will be giving away one complimentary dinner pork chop to active or former military members when they’re accompanied by a guest that purchases a dinner entrée while dining in.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit will have a free pulled pork sandwich to veterans who use the code VETFREE. Willie’s Grill & Icehouse will honor veterans and active military by inviting them to try the icehouse’s brand new sandwiches for free.

And the Original Ninfa’s will salute the nation’s veterans and active-duty military with free chili con queso.

We thank our members of the armed forces. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, November 11

Blossom Hotel Houston presents A Night Under the Stars
Blossom Hotel Houston will host their first “Lunar Evening” in partnership with the Houston Astronomical Society. Attendees will be invited to view the moon through the high-powered telescopes as well as various stars and planets visible at the time. The event will include a welcomed reception with food and beverages followed by an “Introduction to Moon Watching” discussion provided by representatives of the Houston Astronomical Society. The event is free to attend and open to guests and the public. 6:30 pm.

American Cancer Society presents Fork Cancer
American Cancer Society's inaugural party with a purpose will showcase small bites from top restaurants, cocktails, a silent auction, and live entertainment. Hosted by the Society’s Associate Board of Ambassadors, the event will honor 12 "Tastemaker" nominees and award the ACS Tastemaker of the Year. Proceeds will fund the lifesaving work of the American Cancer Society including transportation grants to assist Central Texans in getting to and from their life saving cancer treatments. 7 pm.

Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company presents El Huracán
Cuban-American playwright Charise Castro Smith’s play honors four generations of Cuban-American women who navigate life’s tempests together. Valeria drifts as dementia floods her mind. Ximena sinks as unforgiveness surges inside her. Miranda wades through the torrential mistakes of her past. And Val searches through the rubble to piece together her identity. Their family may be adrift in time and history, but they are bolstered by their memories and magic, and their eternal connection to each other. Through Sunday, November 21. 8 pm (2:30 pm Sunday).

Friday, November 12

The Houston Seminar presents Under the Radar: Tracing Houston’s Music History: The Houston Hip Hop Collection
Houston hip-hop has a unique sound that has influenced contemporary artists such as Beyoncé, Drake, and Solange Knowles. Among the riches of the Houston Hip Hop Research Collection are original mixtapes created by DJ Screw (1971–2000), notebooks of rap lyrics by the late rapper HAWK, promotional photographs, fliers, T-shirts, and recordings. Julie Grob, the founder and curator of the collection, will present materials that capture the creativity and drive of the musicians, producers, visual artists, and entrepreneurs who built an independent music scene of global influence. 10 am.

Creative Learning Society presents A Clueless Christmas
Creative Learning Society presents a murder mystery dinner theater that will feature the audience playing an interactive role with the actors to tell the story and solve the crime. The audience will complete goofy challenges to win clues and discover hidden evidence, and some audience members even become characters in the story. It's the perfect evening for those who like to solve crimes and those who love to participate in some seriously bad acting. Through Saturday, December 18. 7 pm.

DJ Pauly D at Sekai Night and Day
This weekend, Sekai Night and Day will host DJ Pauly D, with an opening set by Mr Ease. Located in EaDo at 1505 Saint Emanuel St., Sekai Night and Day is Houston's newest night club. The 26,000-square-foot, luxury mega club is the largest indoor/outdoor space of its kind in the city, complete with cutting-edge and immersive technologies, plus a 1,000-square-foot, resort-style pool surrounded by two floors of cabanas. Tickets for DJ Pauly D start at $30, with VIP tables available.

Saturday, November 13

The Galleria presents 32nd Annual Ice Spectacular and Tree Lighting
The Galleria's 32nd Annual Ice Spectacular will kick off the holiday season with the lighting of its 55-foot Christmas tree, featuring 450,000 twinkling lights and 5,000 ornaments in a variety of colors and shapes. The 45-minute tree-lighting show will feature a performance by Houstonian Dana Monique, a fan favorite and top finalist from Season 20 of The Voice. The event will culminate with the lighting of the tree by Skating Santa and a fireworks display. Noon.

Zine Fest Houston
Zine Fest Houston is an annual, all-ages festival dedicated to promoting zines (self-published magazines), mini-comics, and other forms of small press, alternative, and underground DIY media and art. Zine Fest is the sole event in Houston that specifically provides a platform for emerging and established regional and national zine makers in the DIY community to exchange new work and create meaningful relationships that lead to productive collaboration. Noon.

San Jacinto Museum of History presents Texas Memorial Illumination
San Jacinto Museum of History will present Texas Memorial Illumination, where volunteers will place and light 21,500 luminaires on the fields of San Jacinto Battleground in remembrance of those Texans who have given their lives in armed conflict from the Texas Revolution through Afghanistan. Participants will be led along a driving luminary lit path through the woods then around the San Jacinto Monument, which towers 567 feet and is the tallest column monument in the world. 6 pm.

Sunday, November 14

“Breaking Bread” Fundraiser at 8th Wonder Brewery
8th Wonder Brewery and its in-house food truck the Eatsie Boys will host a gathering of Houston’s favorite food trucks for a day of community and giving. Held in the brewery’s one-acre WonderWorld backyard, the coalition of eight chef-led mobile kitchens will raise funds for the families of those tragically affected by events last Friday at the AstroWorld Festival. A portion of Sunday’s sales from the 8th Wonder Brewery Taproom will also be set aside for that purpose. All donated funds will be given to verified GoFundMe fundraisers for the victims’ loved ones. 1 pm.

Revelry on Richmond 4th Annual Chili Cook-Off
This weekend, Revelry on Richmond will be hosting its fourth annual chili cook-off. For all participants, $50 will reserve your spot for your team. The $50 will go to your team's bar tab. All participants must bring their own supplies to set up for the event. The chili must also be cooked on-site and ready by 1 pm for the judges and guests to try. For all guests in attendance for $5 they will receive a wristband and ballot to be able to taste and vote for all their favorite chili. 1 pm.

International Risotto Festival
The 15th Annual International Risotto Festival will be an outdoor strolling event with Italian creations from top Houston chefs, wines, music, entertainment, exotic cars, a charity auction, designer showroom tours, and activities for kids. This year’s festival will benefit Second Servings of Houston, the city’s only prepared and perishable food rescue organization. The local non-profit is on a mission to fight hunger and end waste in the community by picking up unsold and unserved food from food businesses, such as distributors, retailers and manufacturers. 2 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg deliver comedy with depth in A Real Pain

Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain.

Comedy film duos have a long history, from Laurel and Hardy in the 1920s and ‘30s to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in movies like Baby Mama. But the majority of duos have either been friends or work partners, relationships that can be close, but not as close as family. The new film A Real Pain aims for the comedy that a great duo can bring, but hits deeper because the two lead characters are related to each other.

Benji (Kieran Culkin) and David (Jesse Eisenberg) are first cousins who decide to take a trip to Poland to visit the childhood home of their grandmother, who has recently passed. Their personalities could not be more different, with David buttoned-down and reserved and Benji extremely social, if a little wild. This contrast is on display from the moment they leave on their trip, affecting almost every aspect of their journey.

The two meet up with a diverse tour group in Poland, including guide James (Will Sharpe), recently divorced Marcia (Jennifer Grey), married couple Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovy), and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), an African man who has converted to Judaism. As the group visits various historical sites, David confronts contrasting feelings about Benji, who goes from charming to abrasive seemingly at the drop of a hat.

Written and directed by Eisenberg, the film is about both the family we have and the history of those who came before us. With Benji and David being Jewish and their grandmother having escaped from the Nazis in World War II, the themes hit harder than they might in other situations. Eisenberg takes care to honor his Jewish ancestors both in the way he has Benji and David talk about their grandmother and the places they visit.

But even though emotions are heightened due to the significance of the trip, the film is far from a dour affair. Benji keeps things interesting at almost all times with a series of impulsive decisions, many that are entertaining for both the tour group and the audience watching the film. He is one of those film characters that is great to watch on screen, but would likely be too much to handle if you were confronted with him in real life.

The relationship between Benji and David is a complicated one; the two obviously have love for each other, but they rarely see eye-to-eye on the best way to approach certain situations. This tension keeps the film grounded, and Eisenberg does a great job at showing the push-and-pull the two cousins have with each other. The little moments, especially when Benji and David go their separate ways, say a lot as the characters try to reconcile where each is at in their respective lives.

Eisenberg has always been an understated performer, so this role is almost perfect for him. Culkin, fresh off his Emmy-winning role in HBO’s Succession, is an ideal foil for Eisenberg, as he has a manic energy that he can control or not control at will. It’s also nice to see Grey in action again, as she brings just the right touch to her supporting role.

The drama in A Real Pain comes from the life experiences of its two main characters, which are on full display despite the story only doling out details in small doses. The film is subtle yet powerful, a testament to Eisenberg’s filmmaking ability and the actors never trying to make too much of their scenes.

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A Real Pain opens in theaters on November 15.

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