weekend event planner

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

Sip and stroll at the Houston Zoo's 21-and-up Brew Lights.

Photo by Stephanie Adams

This Saturday, art lovers can expect the 29th annual ArtCrawl Houston. Visitors will have the opportunity to participate in the live/work/show spaces of these neighborhood "urban pioneers." Also on Saturday, Levy Park’s first Prelude Family Concert (which was originally scheduled for last month) will be on for a fun, festive time.

With the holidays here, it's time to light it up — check out our guide to the best holiday lights here. Look for lighting events around town, plus art shows, a fab fashion happening, a celebration of the beloved River Oaks Theatre, a wine sale, and more. Here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, November 18

Brew Lights at Houston Zoo
The Houston Zoo is giving the 21-and-up crowd a chance to see the holiday spectacular in a different light — without kids! Guests will get to enjoy Saint Arnold brews, hard seltzer, and spiked hot chocolate as they stroll through the beloved holiday event. Food and holiday items will also be available for purchase along the TXU Energy Presents Zoo Lights path. Ticket prices are $45 for general admission and include two drink tickets. 5:30 pm.

City Lights at Avenida Houston
Houston First Corporation will kick off the holiday season with a bit of magical wonder at this second annual event. There will be lots of photographic and visual opportunities, from designer decorated trees to elves on skates. Special guests will include Mayor Sylvester Turner and directors from some of the Theater District's performing arts groups (Houston Ballet and Alley Theatre). This event is open to the public and a number of activities are free. 6 pm.

Jewish Family Service of Houston presents JFS Live! A Sparkling Stars Evening
Jewish Family Service Houston presents this evening of glitz, glamour, entertainment, and doing good. 2021 honorees include Sandi and Steven Wolf (Joan Alexander Chesed Award), Aileen Weycer and Jamie Wolf (Shirley and Allen Becker Leadership Award), and H-E-B (Community Investment Award). The event will feature performances by Kodi Lee, winner of Season 14 of America’s Got Talent, an online silent auction, and a live auction. 6 pm.

Friday, November 19

Dolphin Promotions presents Houston Antiques + Art + Design Show
All this weekend, the Houston Antiques + Art + Design Show will feature 45 premier exhibitors from across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America offering fine antique furniture, decorative and fine arts including silver, bronzes, paintings, porcelain, antique and estate jewelry and watches, rugs, books, lighting, maps and prints, cut glass, vintage handbags, and accessories. All objects presented are offered for sale. A HAADS cafe and bar will be hosted by Heirloom Experience. 11 am.

Czech Center Museum Houston presents The Bartered Bride
The Czech Center Museum of Houston will present Bedrich Smetana’s opera, one of the most influential pieces of Czech musical history. Often defined by its quintessential Czech spirit, this comic opera was one of the first Czech-originated musical productions to reach audiences worldwide. This tour is in conjunction with the 4th International Czech Festival. It will feature UNT performers, led by Dr. Thomas Sovik of the UNT College of Music. 7 pm.

ROCO Connections: A Dust in Time
Structured similarly to a Tibetan sand mandala, Huang Ruo’s 60-minute, uninterrupted musical meditation is slowly created live from the central essence point, expanding outward into colored fullness, then to be subtracted back to its origination. The cycle fulfills the spiritual journey of traveling from nothing (emptiness), to something (fullness), and back to nothing (emptiness). The concert will also be livestreamed at ROCO.org, Facebook, and YouTube. 7 pm.

Saturday, November 20

CELEB8TION 8 at 8th Wonder Brewery
8th Wonder Brewery will toast 8 years of award-winning brews and signature Houston vibes with its annual day-long party. More than 20 different beers will be on tap for, including several specialty offerings. Staged at the 8th Wonder Brewery headquarters in EaDo, this will feature live music, delicious food vendors, and more, in the one-acre WonderWorld backyard. There is no cover charge, and all ages are welcome. Noon.

Magpies & Peacocks presents “After Dark in the Park”
Magpies & Peacocks, the nation's only 501(c)3 non-profit design house, turns 10 this year and will be celebrating in a major way with our fundraising event at Discovery Green. This event will feature the premiere of a 10-minute docu-mation short film Interrupted by Blink Studios (L.A. | HTX| Dubai), a live runway show featuring the house’s upcycled zero waste collection, a curated auction, and a marketplace where to shop the runway. 6:30 pm.

River Oaks Theatre 83rd Birthday Celebration Outdoor Screening
The doors may be closed for now, pending new property owner Kimco Realty’s potential tenant. But that won’t stop its support group Friends of River Oaks Theatre from celebrating out back, behind the theater. The free event will feature clips of theater fans’ favorite films projected from Mister McKinney’s Houston History bus. Folks can come as they are, wear a birthday hat (or any crazy hat), or in costume. 7:40 pm.

Sunday, November 21

Houston Museum of Natural Science presents "Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs"
This all-new multisensory museum experience will allow guests a window into the life and accomplishments of Ramses II, more commonly known as Ramses the Great. Visitors will come face-to-face with over 181 priceless artifacts, including Egyptian treasures and one-of-a-kind relics, many representing the exceptional pharaoh himself. This is set to the stage of remarkable Egyptian landmarks through never-before-seen drone footage, acquired through unprecedented access to many of Egypt’s most iconic locations. On display through February 8. 9 am.

The Annual Camerata Retail Wine Sale
Every year, the neighborhood wine bar Camerata joins up with Houston wine distributors for one massive retail sale just before the holidays, and every year, people do indeed wine about it. (See what we did there?) This Sunday, more than 50 different wines from ten area distributors will be available for free sips and purchasing at retail prices in the Paulie’s parking lot next to Camerata. Noon.

Main Street Theater presents A Little House Christmas
Remember the TV show Little House on the Prairie, starring Michael Landon and all those kids he had? Midtown Arts and Theatre Center Houston (MATCH) will be taking you back with this stage show. A Little House Christmas features the beloved Ingalls family, who have captured the hearts of children for generations, sharing their struggles and joys of pioneer life. Audiences can join Mary and Laura in this holiday classic about family, friendship, and the Christmas spirit. Runs through Saturday, December 18. 12:30 and 3:30 pm.

event-planner

Movie Review

Sheriff Bob Odenkirk is back in over-the-top new action movie 'Normal'

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Bob Odenkirk in Normal.

Screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first three John Wick movies, has essentially had a blank check to do what he wants in the movie landscape since 2014. In recent years that has meant writing the action series Nobody for Bob Odenkirk, who has turned from a comedian into an unlikely action star in his sixties. Kolstad and Odenkirk are teaming up again in Normal.

A film that tries to evoke Fargo in multiple ways, Normal finds Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk) serving as a temporary sheriff for the small town of Normal, Minnesota after the previous sheriff died. Knowing he’s just a steward until a new sheriff is elected, Ulysses takes a live-and-let-live approach to the job, letting the deputies (Ryan Allen and Billy MacLellan) do the grunt work and trying to stay out of everyone’s way, including Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler).

A bank robbery attempt by two non-citizens upsets his best-laid plans in more ways than he can imagine. Not only is he forced to confront a crime not often seen in a town like Normal, but the robbery uncovers secrets that turn the film into an all-out bloodbath. Soon, almost everyone in town becomes involved in what comes to resemble a war, along with — you guessed it — Yakuza henchmen from Japan.

Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Kolstad, the film is a slight twist on the everyman-turned-hero character Odenkirk played in the two Nobody films. While Ulysses is in law enforcement, he prefers to use words instead of weapons, and it’s only when he’s pushed to the brink that he crosses that line. Naturally, his skills are beyond what anyone would expect of him, allowing him to match up well with people half his age.

The film is not a comedy in the traditional sense, but instead aims for laughs by catching the audience off-guard with its ultraviolence. Some characters are dispatched in shockingly unexpected ways, with one of the only natural reactions to the jarring nature of their deaths being laughter. That’s not necessarily the case for other killings, which range from blasé to sadistic, and the only reason they count as entertainment is because the filmmakers have primed the audience to accept them as such.

After a relatively solid setup, where Wheatley and Kolstad seem to take their time getting to know the main characters, the second half of the film is pure action that dispenses with good storytelling. Like many action movies, there are double crosses, surprise revelations, and more, but the filmmakers don’t seem to care about making sense of any character arcs. All they care about is delivering mayhem, and they succeed on that front.

Odenkirk has perfected the mild-yet-intimidating nature of his action characters, and it is satisfying to see him get the better of those who have done him wrong. He doesn’t run or jump like fellow 63-year-old Tom Cruise, but — with the help of fast-paced editing — he still makes for a credible action hero. The only other actors of any note in the film are Winkler, who’s a nice presence with his sardonic personality, and Lena Headey, whose small role doesn't match up with her experience.

You have to have a certain mindset to enjoy a film like Normal, but if you can abide its over-the-top bloodiness, it’s a serviceable action film. Few would have expected Odenkirk to take on these kinds of roles at this late stage of his career, but he’s making the most of his opportunities.

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Normal opens in theaters on April 17.

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