Since 1994, Via Colori has been a street painting festival that has been held in several cities throughout the U.S., raising funds for non-profits. Hundreds of artists have gathered to create large-scale street art in such cities as Elizabeth, Kentucky; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Fredericksburg, Virginia; and, of course, Houston.
This Saturday, November 23, and Sunday, November 24, the Center for Hearing and Speech will hold its 14th annual, Houston Via Colori Street Painting Festival in downtown Houston. The event will feature two stages of live music, a family zone, food and beverage vendors from local favorites, and captivating artwork.
This year, more than 200 local, national, and international artists will create larger-than-life chalk murals celebrating iconic moments from “Sound and Cinema,” will highlight the work of famous actors, actresses, and creators from across the globe, on the streets of Houston.
Artists, sponsors, and entertainers will come together for an entire weekend of family fun celebrating this innovative industry. There will also be a VIP lounge that includes complimentary food, drinks, entertainment, and exclusive access to mini-events.
Via Colori has raised more than $4 million to help The Center, which helps serve more than 8,500 children each year. Proceeds provide health and educational services for children with hearing loss in Greater Houston with renowned audiologists, auditory-verbal teachers, and speech-language pathologists.
“Via Colori is a wonderful event that everyone will enjoy,” said Kyle Swift, CEO of The Center for Hearing and Speech, in a statement. “It’s a great way to enjoy the unique work of world-class artists while furthering The Center for Hearing and Speech’s mission to help children with hearing loss reach their full potential.”
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Via Colori runs from 10 am to 5 pm. General admission is $7 ($10 at the door) and VIP admission is $40. Attendees under 18 and students with a valid college ID receive free admission. For more information, visit the official site.
The annual Via Colori chalk art festival colors downtown streets.
Photo courtesy of Via Colori
The annual Via Colori chalk art festival colors downtown streets.
Toothless and Mason Thames in How to Train Your Dragon.
Let’s get it out of the way right at the top: The new live-action How to Train Your Dragon, coming a mere 15 years after the original animated film, serves no real purpose other than to make more money for Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Pictures. However, unlike Disney’s approach toward remaking their animated movies, this attempt manages to succeed on its own merits instead of being a half-baked vessel for nostalgia.
As fans will remember, Hiccup (Mason Thames) lives in Berk, a town on a remote island populated by Vikings who constantly have to defend themselves against rampaging dragons. Hiccup’s dad, Stoick (Gerard Butler), is the community’s vaunted leader, with a legacy that seems impossible for Hiccup to measure up to, especially since he’s stuck in the armory alongside Gobber (Nick Frost).
But Hiccup has a knack for inventions, and his use of one new weapon during a dragon attack takes down a feared Night Fury. Finding the wounded dragon deep in the forest, Hiccup decides against killing it, leading to an unexpected bond between the two of them. Most of the film shows Hiccup trying to prove himself to his townspeople, including the fierce Astrid (Nico Parker), while also nursing the dragon he dubs Toothless back to health with the help of another one of his ingenious creations.
Written and directed by Dean DeBlois (who’s had the same roles on all four HTTYD films), the film is most notable for how engaging it is despite it retelling a story many already know and love. The biggest reason for this is a pivot away from telling a story mainly for kids toward one that feels like an extremely light version of Game of Thrones. Almost right away, there are real stakes for the people in the film, and the way DeBlois and his team stage the scenes, the danger can be felt by the audience.
This sense of “realness” comes through especially well in the scenes between Hiccup and Toothless. The design of Toothless is faithful to the original, but the CGI makes the dragon feel amazingly believable. And when they start flying, the film literally and metaphorically takes off. At multiple points, the camera seems to have trouble keeping them in frame, a smart move toward verisimilitude when the filmmakers clearly could have made it an overly smooth watching experience.
Even though it’s more serious than the original, the film still has plenty of fun to offer. Characters like Gobber (who replaces his two missing limbs with odd contraptions) and the ragtag group of teenagers who come to be in awe of Hiccup’s skills at taming dragons provide more than a few laughs. Hiccup isn’t quite as goofy as he was when voiced by Jay Baruchel, which turns out to be a good thing as his sense of purpose amps up the drama of the story.
Thames’ performance gets better and better as the film goes along, as Hiccup goes from town whipping boy toward hero. He really shines in the last act when he’s given a few scenes that show off his acting range. Parker is equally good, demonstrating the girl power needed for the role, but also the softness of a potential love interest. Butler, the only actor reprising their voice role, is a great presence who sells the outsized personality of Stoick.
Against the odds, this new version of How to Train Your Dragon is equal to the success of the first film, accomplishing the goal of making it feel like you’re watching the story for the first time. If live-action remakes are going to continue to come out, future filmmakers should study this film for how to respect both the history of the franchise and the audience paying good money to be entertained.
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How to Train Your Dragon opens in theaters on June 13.
