Weekend Event Planner

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

Wow, it's already December, can you believe it? The social scene in Houston is buzzing with activity this winter/holiday season. Whether looking to dance the night away with Mary J. Blige and Maxwell, take a bike tour through the historic Third Ward, or experience Da Camera's show featuring jazz singer Cecile McLorin Savlant, there's something for everyone to enjoy.

Here are 12 of the top events happening this weekend, but you can find a full list of events on our CultureMap Events Calendar.

Thursday, December 1

Ballroom Boxing

Boxing fans will delight in this new series presented by Savarese Productions. International boxers like Steed Woodall and Pablo Cruz as well as locals Raphael Igbokwe and Edgar Alarcon hit the ring for a knock-out evening featuring 10 rounds of boxing amid the plush surroundings of the new Ballroom at Bayou Place.

PartyNextDoor in Concert

Multi-talented hip-hop/R&B artists PartyNextDoor and Jeremih bring their tour to the Revention Center following a dust-up earlier this week when Jeremih stormed off the stage in Chicago, apparently in a dispute with the show's organizers. PartyNextDoor, who previously sang under his real name (Jahron Brathwaite), was the first artist signed to Drake's OVO sound imprint.

Friday, December 2

Heights Holiday Home Tour

Jingle Bell Block is the theme of the 2016 Houston Heights Holiday Home Tour. Participants can able tour six decorated homes on Cortland Street as well as view holiday-themed yards of other neighboring houses. There'll be local musicians and entertainment to keep festive spirits high.

Mayor's Tree Lighting

Former Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams headlines the Mayor's Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting with performances by electro hip hop violinist SVET and the SoReal Dance Cru. This free, family fun event features music, Santa, and fireworks along with the official lighting of the large holiday tree in front of Houston City Hall.

Gospel According to Christmas

Houston jazz great Kirk Whalum presents his annual A Gospel According to Jazz Christmas at Texas Southern University. Jazz artists Keiko Matsui and Norman Brown join Whalum for the unconventional musical approach to holiday favorites.

Saturday, December 3

Third Ward Bike Tour

Explore the Third Ward area with AIA Houston's Bike Tour through Emancipation Park, Project Row Houses, the Negro Hospital, and several other areas in this historic part of the city. Buildings designed by John Chase and Caudill Rowlett Scott' will be featured as the tour explores the neighborhood's character, history and future. It's also a great way to see parts of the city from a different vantage point.

Urban Dance Ballet

In 2Pac's song "Changes" he says, "We can never go nowhere unless we share with each other." These and other lyrics are the inspiration to Sherese Campbell's Urban Ballet, which uses various dance styles like tap, jazz, modern, pointe and hip-hop to explore what it is to be black in an America still wounded by racial division. The work, which is choreographed by Campbell, Jaimee Vilela Navarrete, Stephanie Sermas, and Chris Thomas, will also be performed on Sunday, December 4.

Cecile McLorin Savlant

Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Cecile McLorin Savlant returns to Da Camera's jazz series with unique interpretations of unknown and rarely-recorded jazz and blues compositions along with some of her original songs.

Maxwell and Mary J. Blige in Concert

The King and Queen of Hearts world tour makes its way to the Toyota Center with two legendary singers as headliners. Maxwell is touring in support of his new album, blackSUMMERS’night, while Blige is putting the finishing touches on her forthcoming 14th studio album."Permission" singer Ro James is the opening act.

Sunday, December 4

Sneaker Summit

The 14th Annual H-Town Sneaker Summit attracts shoe lovers of all ages. Attendees can buy, sell, and trade kicks in the Monster Energy Traders Lounge as well as check out exclusive collaborations from brands like Adidas, Stussy, and more. This reminds me of all of the songs from the' 90s that talked about having "fresh" shoes.

Magic Men Live

Anyone who saw the Magic Men movies knows what's in store at this live interactive show featuring bare-chested muscle boys who know how to shake their groove thang.

Bernadine's 1 Year Anniversary

The acclaimed Heights restaurant turns 1 with a Cochon de Lait celebration. Corey Ledet and his Zydeco band will provide live musical entertainment while guests feast on a menu of whole suckling pig, oyster stuffing, pies from pastry chef Julia Doran and much more. There'll also be face painting for children, a pinata, and other activities to celebrate the milestone anniversary.

Share your weekend experiences with us in the comments section below.

Magic Men Live strut their stuff.

Magic Men Live/Facebook

Magic Men Live strut their stuff.

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Movie Review

Margot Robbie ignites provocative new take on Wuthering Heights

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights.

Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights is one of those classic books assigned in high school English classes, and it has received a number of film adaptations over the years — each of which differ in numerous ways from the source material. Purists won’t receive any reprieve from Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation, with a title that is stylized as "Wuthering Heights” for good reason.

Cathy (played as an adult by Margot Robbie) and Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) have known each other their entire lives, with Cathy’s alcoholic and inveterate gambler father (Martin Clunes) taking in Heathcliff on a whim when he was a boy. The two bond as they grow up together, although Cathy always seems to have an eye on moving up in society from their relatively impoverished lifestyle.

Cathy finally gets her wish when the rich Linton familyled by Edgar (Shazad Latif), moves in down the road, Despite discovering she has feelings for the now grown-up Heathcliff, Cathy sees Edgar as her way out and agrees to marry him. A scorned Heathcliff flees, returning years later as mysteriously wealthy. His reappearance ignites something in Cathy’s soul, and the two engage in a perhaps unwise affair.

Fennell (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) infuses the dusty material with an energy that’s not typically present in stories set in this particular time and place. Aside from the occasional Charli XCX song (the singer created a whole concept album for the film), the film looks and feels like a period piece, albeit one that doesn’t get bogged down in the drudgery that can sometimes come from films set in the distant past.

Much of that has to do with the lust the filmmaker puts into the story. Even if you’re not familiar with Brontë’s book, you can rest assured that Fennell has strayed far from the text, giving Cathy and Heathcliff thoughts and actions unthinkable in the 19th century. Fennell plays with expectations by opening the film with audio featuring creaking noises and a man grunting, conjuring up a situation far different than what is actually happening, and she also makes liberal use of rain, sweat, and tears to make the actors enticing.

What she can’t do, however, is make the two lead characters compelling. Cathy is a striver who never seems to know what she wants out of life, and Heathcliff goes from a bore to a brute over the course of the film, with no clear indication that he likes anybody, much less Cathy. Anyone expecting some kind of grand romance will be disappointed as Fennell is much more interested in making the film weird, like having the walls of Cathy’s room look like her skin, complete with freckles.

Robbie and Elordi do well enough with the material, and it’s clear that both of them are committed to bringing Fennell’s vision to life. Their styles tend to balance each other out, and if the story had been committed to their characters’ relationship, they might be lauded for their chemistry. In the end, though, the supporting actors feel more interesting, including ones played by Hong Chau, Alison Miller, and Clunes.

This version of Wuthering Heights should never be construed as an alternative to reading the book for any high schoolers out there. While Fennell makes the film interesting with her technical filmmaking choices, the story never finds its footing as it fails to sell the one thing that it seems to promise.

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Wuthering Heights opens in theaters on February 13.

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