weekend event planner

Here are the top 10 things to do in Houston this weekend

Have a bubbly good time at a'Bouzy's special champagne brunch.

Photo by Becca Wright

There is a lot of sweetness going on this weekend: This Saturday is National Cupcake Day. So, if you're in the mood for some mini-baked goods, Crave Cupcakes will give a free cupcake to anyone who spends $25 at any of their three Houston locations.

On Sunday, Fathom Events will give multiplex audiences a sweet blast-from-the-past with showings of two retro-TV specials, Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas and The Bells of Fraggle Rock, both starring Jim Henson's ever-adorable Muppets.

Here are some more sweet things — both figuratively and literally — you can find and take in this weekend:

Thursday, December 13

Wells Fargo Holiday Mobile Pop-Up Food Bank
However you feel about Wells Fargo, the bank enterprise has found a unique way to make sure people stay fed this holiday season. Wells Fargo is teaming up with Feeding America and hosting a four-day, holiday mobile pop-up food bank at Discovery Green, as part of its second annual, Holiday Food Bank Program. Community members can stop by the pop-up to donate non-perishable food items that will benefit the Houston Food Bank. 11 am (10 am Friday).

That's a WRAP! (A short film festival) at The Secret Group
If you like to see independent cinema done by independent filmmakers — but cinema shown in only brief increments — may we direct you to this short film festival. It will feature films from filmmakers both local and elsewhere, including clips by Mike Judge (King of the Hill) and the late Houston comic Harris Wittels. Houston Film Commission deputy director Alfred Cervantes will also do a discussion with actor/comedian/dancer Nathan Barnatt, who's premiering his film Neutral. 7 pm.

Friday, December 14

Soul Filling Podcast Live
Known as "a healthy dose of #blackgirlmagic," the Soul Filling Podcast features three ladies of color — Tiffany Malone, Jasmine Charles & Jasmine (Colby) Colbert — using their voices to improve the spiritual, emotional and mental health of their listeners. They will be bringing their live show to the Buffalo Soldier National Museum's BLCK Market Houston, complete with live music performances, poetry and, of course, soulful, stimulating conversation. 6-10 pm.

Project Row Houses presents Cocktails in the Ballroom
We can't get enough of places that serve hot chocolate this time of year, and Project Row Houses will be throwing a shindig that'll hopefully have fountains of that stuff. Oh sure, since it's called Cocktails in the Ballroom, there will also be some alcoholic beverages served. There will also be cool live music, sweet treats and a one-year PRH membership for ticketholders. But we'll be there for the hot chocolate, which we hear will be very, very adult. 6:30 pm.

Saturday, December 15

Frame Dance presents METROdances: The Holiday Edition
Riding any form of public transportation can usually be a monotonous experience, which is why France Dance Productions is looking to bring some holiday cheer to local, light-rail riders. The company will host a pop-up winter performance at METRORail stops, which is meant to spark creativity and inspire the community as they gather in public spaces. The performance will include two stops on the red line (Ensemble/HCC and McGowen), live music, community caroling and dance. Noon.

Monrovia, Indiana at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Filming America film series starts this weekend at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, running through January 6. This collection of two features and two documentaries shows distinctive perspectives of contemporary American life. The first movie out the gate is Monrovia, Indiana, the latest documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. As you can guess from the title, this movie offers a very candid look at a very small town. 1 pm (5 pm Sunday).

Burly Q Lounge: Ho Ho Ho-liday Show
It's the holidays, so you just knew the fine striptease performers over at KiKi Maroon's Burly Q Lounge had a yuletide-themed burlesque show up their sleeves — or their lack of sleeves. This show will have visiting vets like Austin's Christine Laylon, Chicago's Vivi Valens, and Arizona's Taryn Garters (get it?) doing naughty/nice routines, along with the regular roundup of stand-up comedy, live music, and showgirls. 8 pm.

Sunday, December 16

a'Bouzy's Madame Clicquot Birthday Brunch
In honor of Madame Clicquot's birthday, a'Bouzy is hosting a special brunch. Who the hell is Madame Clicquot, you ask? She is considered one of Europe’s first female entrepreneurs after taking over the Veuve Clicquot champagne house, following the death of her husband. There will be many bottles of Veuve ready to pour, and for every bottle purchased, guests will receive raffle tickets for a chance to win some fun prizes. 10 am-3 pm.

Badass B-Day Biscuits Boozy Brunch + Bazaar
When you get an email containing a press release for a brunch/bazaar for "Monica Pope's boobies," you're inclined to read on. It turns out this event is a benefit for chef Monica Pope, who was diagnosed with breast cancer three months ago. The brunch will go down at Pope's new Cookshop in Montrose. The bazaar will have clothing, accessories and jewelry from such vendors as Kimono Zulu, Haute Mother Vintage and Stella Rose. 10 am-3 pm.

Fat Cat Creamery's Fifth Anniversary Party
Fat Cat Creamery will be celebrating its fifth anniversary with ice cream and beer. Quite honestly, we could end it right there. But we gotta fill up space, so let's mention that the beer will come courtesy of Saint Arnold and Brash Brewing. There will also be a live performance from Body Fat, coffee from Boomtown Coffee, and Fat Cat’s famous hot cocoa served from the cart. And kids who come dressed as cats will get a free scoop of ice cream. 1-5 pm.

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welcome home, wes

Wes Anderson's Houston homecoming supports historic theater restoration

A fancy, eccentric-looking crowd showed up for the Wes Anderson Homecoming Soirée, held on Friday, July 17, at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts’s Zilkha Hall.

Fans of the Houston-born, Oscar-winning auteur paid hundreds of dollars to attend this benefit event. Guys dressed up like characters from The Royal Tenenbaums. Others wore red skull caps and low-top Adidas, like the characters from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Some people working the event even wore “Lobby Boy” hats, looking like the bellboy character from The Grand Budapest Hotel.

The people gathered for two reasons: 1) to get a chance to see Anderson in person; and 2) to raise money to renovate and restore the Garden Oaks Theater, a project spearheaded by local nonprofit Arthouse Houston. Top-tier “Founders Experience” ticketholders got a chance to meet Anderson onstage for pics. The St. John's School alum also received a proclamation from Mayor John Whitmire declaring it “Wes Anderson Day.”

After that, he and actor/fellow SJS alum Michael Maggart (who has appeared in several Anderson films) held a half-hour discussion where they reminisced about making Rushmore here in Houston, Anderson’s days working at the Bookstop on W. Alabama (now a Trader Joe’s), and how he and frequent collaborator Owen Wilson used to sneak into the River Oaks Theatre. (It involved pretending to lose a pair of glasses.)

Of course, the conversation shifted to Anderson coming back home to support the Garden Oaks project. “I always say you can't build an old building,” Anderson said. “First of all, I mean, a beautiful old place has history, and has people's experiences tied into it, and it has stories involved in it. And I think an old cinema — these things are kind of endangered all over the world, and it's not just an architectural thing. It's not even just a community thing. It's a sort of delivery system for something that’s, to me, deeply important to our country.

“It’s one thing we can access these things on all these devices,” he continued. “It's a different thing when you go to a place that's designed to help you share the experience of a movie together. It's such a powerful art form. And, anyway, for me, it's worth making a bit of an effort to try to save a place like the Garden Oaks.”

After the convo, he introduced the quintet of films he curated for the event. (Unfortunately the DCP file for his 2007 short Hotel Chevalier had some technical difficulties and was cut short.) “We wanted to do a screening here, and I don't have a new movie to show,” he said. “I don't have something hot off the presses. So, I thought I'd put together a little something that just was different from what anybody else will see. So it's a sort of mixture… This is just for Texas, this little collection.”

He eventually left the stage, leaving Arthouse Houston co-founder/director Maureen McNamara and Houston Public Media host Ernie Manouse to auction off perks & gifts and encourage the audience in helping revive another legendary, local movie palace. Among other items, attendees bid for treasures such as a special John Waters backstage VIP experience at his upcoming Christmas Show, dinner with John Cameron Mitchell, and a rare set of photo portraits of a young Anderson and friends, circa Bottle Rocket. Others paid $5,000 for select seats in the future theater and $5,000 to restore one foot of the venue's neon sign.

Photo by Alan Nguyen

Mayor John Whitmire declared Friday as Wes Anderson day in the director's honor.

So far, the effort has raised approximately $1.3 million of the $4 million required to begin the renovation project. The organization needs to raise $4 million by July 30 for the project to move forward. Those interested in securing naming rights will find more information here.

“River Oaks has 245 seats,” McNamara informed the crowd. “The Garden has over 700, and that is a place that we don't have in Houston. We have a need for that, for premieres, for performances in your life, for music, for a dynamic learning & exhibition space… So, we're building new on the shoulders of our history. I hope you guys will join us, and we need people to join us in a big way today.”

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