weekend event planner
Here are the top 8 things to do in Houston this weekend
Thanksgiving weekend is upon us, and. if you're getting together with family and/or friends, it's going to be a very hectic holiday weekend, indeed. (You can also just stay at home, cook yourself a Turducken breast and watch, let's say, A Texas Holiday Tradition — The Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market, playing on IVOX TV beginning Thanksgiving Day.)
Once you've stuffed yourself on your Thanksgiving feast, enjoy these weekend offerings, which include art, music, an animal-free circus, and Christmas (yes, it's here) happenings.
Thursday, November 26
Thanksgiving Brunch at the Woodlands Resort
If you don't have loved ones you can hang out and chow down with, the folks at the Woodlands Resort and Conference Center has you covered. This year’s brunch menu will combine family-style starters and sides at tables with buffet favorites, served by their culinary staff. Tables will be set with social distancing in mind, and are available both indoors and outdoors. Private dining with a premium menu is also available for large families of 15 to 35. 10 am.
Venardos Circus
After you're done eating and arguing with your fam, spend the rest of Thanksgiving with a touring, Broadway-style, animal-free production, presented in a brand-new, livestream production. Performers will include Guinness World Record holder Brad Weston (golf juggling and sword walking), Derileisy Ramos (aerialist), Manuel and Ilenay Acosta (duo rola bola and duo straps), Chase Culp (comedy), and Rachel Bell (foot juggling and Roman rings). 11 am and 6 pm.
Friday, November 27
"Space Age Christmas Trees" at 1940 Air Terminal Museum
This temporary exhibit, curated by the authors of The Evergleam Book, alights again at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum in a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition billed as the “World’s Biggest Mega-Show!” Never before, and quite possibly never again, have over 100 vintage, aluminum Christmas trees been showcased under one roof in all of their gleaming and glimmering glory. Brand new for this year is an interactive, Mid-Century Modern Holiday Pad where visitors can take and post holiday selfies. Runs through January 3. 10 am.
Santa's MAGI-SPHERE at Sugar Land Town Square
If you really want your Kris Kringle fix immediately after downing turkey and stuffing, swing by Sugar Land Town Square and hang with Ol' St. Nick through a magical holographic snow globe housed in a giant, wrapped gift. This approximately 9,000-square-foot installation will offer an immersive and interactive adventure, merging fantastical physical sets and digital technologies like projection mapping, augmented reality, 3D animation, etc. Runs through December 24. 3 pm (noon Friday; 10 am Saturday and Sunday; closed Monday).
Saturday, November 28
Jack Rabbit Gallery Market
For Small Business Saturday, go hang around Jack Rabbit Gallery and see what people are selling over at this nifty, little market. This market will feature unique handmade goods and gifts by the wonderful artisans, makers and creatives of Houston, including Sweet Honey Goods, Wyatt Vannin Designs, and many more. This is the perfect opportunity to knock out that holiday shopping list —or to simply treat yourself to something one-of-a-kind. 11 am.
The Band of Heathens at Heights Theater
There are still some musicians ready and willing to come to these parts and entertain those bold, adventurous, and (hopefully) mask-wearing music lovers. Take this Austin rock band, for example. They've been around for 15 years and they're doing a few live shows to promote their sixth and latest record Stranger. A testimonial of the “strangers” who make up the band’s devoted fan base, this album appears to be their most engaging release to date. 6 and 8:45 pm.
Sunday, November 29
Holiday Lighting Celebration at CityPlace Plaza
One-of-a-kind attractions will be unveiled during a lighting ceremony at CityPlace Plaza, with help from Santa Claus and his main boo, Mrs. Claus. We're talking about a 35-foot Christmas tree rising from the main pond, as well as a path dotted with oversized candy canes, lollipops and gumdrops, and a cross under an entrance guarded by two gingerbread men. This is all before guests arrive at a raised clearing featuring cookie trees, a 16-foot-high house and 12-foot windmill. 4 pm.
The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Drive-In at Sawyer Yards
The Drive-In at Sawyer Yards is closing up shop for the rest of the year, and they're going out on a holly, jolly note. There's a community screening of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation at 9:30 pm, but that's already sold out. But you and your loved ones can still get in on The Nightmare Before Christmas, the Tim Burton-produced, Henry Selick-directed, stop-motion-animated fright fest from 1993 that has become both a Christmas and Halloween favorite. 7:15 pm.
