weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this Valentine's Day weekend

Yes, it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, which means there will be a lot of love in the air. How about you and that special someone have a romantic evening – by celebrating the Year of the Horse!

It’s also Lunar New Year, and Asia Society Texas, Discovery Green, The Galleria, and Houston Platinum Outlets will have celebrations for the occasion this weekend. Alief ISD Center for Advanced Careers will also have a Texas Lunar Festival on Saturday.

If you’re looking for other events where you can get all lovey-dovey with someone, as always, we’ve got you covered:

Thursday, February 12

Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge presents Vinyl Night HTX and HiFi at the Finn presents BYOV: Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
You have not one, but two chances to share favorite LPs with fellow vinylheads on Thursday night. It starts with HiFi at the Finn’s BYOV night, featuring special craft cocktails and DJ Mike Bondz spinning your top R&B sounds – whether they’re classic jams or hidden gems. Meanwhile, over at Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge, there will be raffle drawings for 10-minute spinning slots, prize raffles, a pizza party courtesy of Home Slice Pizza, and listening to brand-new releases at Sig’s Lagoon. 6 pm and 7 pm.

The Great Benjamins Circus
The Great Benjamins Circus is a celebration of human artistry, athleticism, and the timeless magic of live performance. For 90 minutes, audiences experience the energy, beauty, and excitement that only a real circus can deliver — clowns, acrobats, aerialists, and daredevils performing feats that inspire wonder and amazement. 7:30 pm (4:30 & 7:30 pm Friday; 1:30, 4:30, & 7:30 pm Saturday; 1:30 & 4:30 pm Sunday).

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Hadestown
Winner of eight Tony Awards (including Best Musical), Hadestown intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites the audience on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and director Rachel Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. 7:30 pm (2 & 7:30 pm Saturday; 1:30 & 7 pm Sunday).

Friday, February 13

Community Artists’ Collective presents "Nurturing the Feminine: Veils" opening reception
The Community Artists’ Collective launches its 2026 season with “Nurturing the Feminine: Veils.” Sisters Brittany and Devan Mayfield have created a ceremonial practice — inspired by lived experience, ancestral remembrance and embodied healing — which transforms The Collective’s gallery space as a site representing nourishment, devotion and reflection. "Veils" unfolds as an exploration of the ‘Divine Feminine” through ritual, imagery and installation, honoring the feminine as layered, cyclical and sovereign. Through Saturday, March 21. 6 pm.

Vivian Tu: Well Endowed
Vivian Tu comes to Houston in celebration of her new book, Well Endowed. Picking up where Rich AF – her first bestselling book – left off, Well Endowed offers a fun, practical roadmap to navigating the biggest financial decisions in adulthood (homeownership, marriage, family planning, etc.), empowering readers to align their spending with their values, goals, and legacy. Book Bundle tickets include a premium reserved seat and a signed copy of Well Endowed. Additional books will be on sale at the event. 6 pm.

Rice Cinema presents El Norte
Co-writer/director Gregory Nava’s El Norte is a 1983 film central to the rise of Independent cinema in the U.S. Split into three parts, it marks the journey of two indigenous youths who flee from Guatemala to the United States. Premiering at Cannes, winner of the Grand Prix of the Montreal Film Festival, and now part of the National Film Registry, El Norte offers up a vision of the migration of people that may be forgotten today. A reception will take place before the screening. 7 pm.

Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group presents Love Bites: A Valentine's Haunted House
13th Floor Haunted House is getting a Valentine’s makeover. For three nights, the frightening funhouse will be delivering the same thrills and chills of the Halloween season, but with a lover’s twist. Finally, all those sickos who are in love and into blood, gore, & all forms of scary stuff can spend their V-Day walking though a freakin’ hellscape, getting the junk scared out of them – and falling in love all over again. 7 pm.

Saturday, February 14

Crafted Miles at Craft Pita
Craft Pita is teaming up with Houston’s popular Loose Lace Run Club for a relaxed, community-focused, Saturday-morning run, followed by a post-run brunch gathering celebrating Mediterranean flavors and neighborhood connection. The event invites runners and food lovers of all levels to enjoy a casual two-mile route around the neighborhood before refueling with some of Craft Pita’s favorite brunch bites. As part of the experience, Craft Pita will offer complimentary breakfast tacos for attendees, along with 15% off the full menu. 10 am.

Markets for Makers presents Houston Valentine's Market
Over at POST Houston, Markets for Makers' Houston Valentine's Market is a two-day pop-up market with 100+ local and regional makers, artisans, and food vendors. These markets are known for bringing together independent artists and makers specializing in handmade goods, art, jewelry, home décor, local food and more. DIY craft stations, photo ops, and sponsor activations will also be on the premises. 11 am.

Eureka Heights Brew Co. presents The 5th Annual Eureka Heights Queso Bowl
The 5th Annual Eureka Heights Queso Bowl once again gathers teams from our local Houston community to see who makes the best queso. If competing is your thing, you can still register here. You can put together a cheesy team or go at it solo; just make sure to bring your A-game. For those who just want to eat queso, it's free to attend. All you have to do is show up at noon, eat all the queso, and vote for your favorite one. And because Bowl falls on Valentine’s Day, there will be a cheesy joke competition at 3 pm. Noon.

Houston Arboretum presents Tapas on the Trails
Houston Arboretum & Nature Center presents its annual Valentine’s-themed Tapas on the Trails. Guests can help raise funds for conservation and education efforts while enjoying tapas and paired libations. The event features a leisurely walk on softly lit trails. With a focus on “Love in Nature,” guests will experience six food stops and sample specially selected beers and wines. The menu will be crafted by expert chefs at Cotton Culinary, Kelly Prohl of Double Decanted, and Lennie Ambrose of Saint Arnold Brewing Company. 5 pm.

Sunday, February 15

Karbach Brewing Co. presents Rodeo Clown RoundUp
It’s rodeo season in Houston and, after a hiatus since 2020, the Rodeo Clown RoundUp is back by popular demand. The RoundUp is a fun-filled, chip-timed 5K and 10K where every participant will receive a finisher medal, event t-shirt, and free beer at the finish for participants 21 and over. After the race will be Singo Bingo in the biergarten, plus brunch at Karbach Restaurant and Patio and Pizza and Pints, both opening at 10 am on race day. 8 am.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Annie Hall
Celebrate the late Diane Keaton by revisiting her Oscar-winning comedic turn as a quirky New Yorker in Woody Allen’s classic 1977 rom-com. Allen stars as a divorced comedian who examines the rise and fall of his relationship with Keaton’s quirky, titular nightclub singer. He reflects on his childhood and early adult years before telling the story of how he and Annie met, fell in love, and struggled with the obstacles of modern romance, mixing surreal fantasy sequences with small moments of emotional drama. 5 pm.

Alemán & Gera MX in concert
Hailing from Mexico – which means they’re ready to bother more people with their native Spanish – Latin trap stars Alemán & Gera MX will be in Houston, as part of their Rich Mafia tour. Alemán is touring in support of his 2025 album, De Vuelta a las Andadas, while Gera MX (ranked number thirty-seven on Rolling Stone en Español's list of the "50 Greatest Rappers in the History of Spanish-Language Rap") is touring in support of his 2024 album, Las que te escribí y nunca te cante. 8 pm.

Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

See Hadestown at the Hobby Center this weekend.

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In Memoriam

Texas-based actor James Van Der Beek dies at 48

James Van Der Beek/Instagram

James Van Der Beek announced he was being treated for colorectal cancer in 2024.

Actor James David Van Der Beek has died, according to an announcement on his social media. He was 48 years old.

"Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning," the post reads. "He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity, and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.

Van Der Beek shared in 2020 that he and his family were moving to the Austin area, and they settled in Spicewood. He announced his colorectal cancer diagnosis in 2024.

In late 2025, Van Der Beek auctioned some of his TV memorabilia from his time on Dawson's Creek to pay for his treatment.

The actor originally starred in coming-of-age dramas at the dawn of the new millennium, shooting to fame playing the titular character in Dawson’s Creek and in later years parodied his own hunky persona.

Forever tied to ‘Dawson’s Creek'
A one-time theater kid, Van Der Beek would star in the movie Varsity Blues and on TV in CSI: Cyber as FBI Special Agent Elijah Mundo, but was forever connected to Dawson’s Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003 on The WB.

The series followed a group of high school friends as they learned about falling in love, creating real friendships and finding their footing in life. Van Der Beek, then 20, played 15-year-old Dawson Leery, who aspired to be a director of Steven Spielberg quality.

With Paula Cole’s “I Don’t Want To Wait,” as its moody theme song, Dawson's Creek helped define The WB as a haven for teens and young adults who related to its hyper-articulate dialogue and frank talk about sexuality. And it made household names of Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson.

“While James' legacy will always live on, this is a huge loss to not just your family but the world,” Sarah Michelle Gellar wrote to his widow on Instagram. Katharine McPhee Foster added: “This is just beyond devastating news.” Others posting messages of mourning were Jenna Dewan and Olivia Munn.

The show caused a stir when one of the teens embarked on a racy affair with a teacher 20 years his senior and when Holmes' character climbed through Dawson's bedroom window and they curled up together. Racier shows like Euphoria and Sex Education owe a debt to Dawson's Creek.

Van Der Beek sometimes struggled to get out from under the shadow of the show but eventually leaned into lampooning himself, like on Funny Or Die videos and on Kesha's “Blow” music video, which included his laser gun battle with the pop star in a nightclub and dead unicorns.

“It’s tough to compete with something that was the cultural phenomenon that Dawson’s Creek was,” he told Vulture in 2013. “It ran for so long. That’s a lot of hours playing one character in front of people. So it’s natural that they associate you with that.”

A popular GIF and Varsity Blues
More than a decade after the show went off the air, a scene at the end of the show’s third season became a GIF. Dawson was watching as his soul mate embarks on a love affair with his best friend and burst into tears.

“It wasn’t scripted that I was supposed to cry; it was just one of those things where it’s a magical moment and it just happens in the scene,” Van Der Beek told Vanity Fair. He seemed exasperated when he told the Los Angeles Times: “All of a sudden, six years of work was boiled down to one seven-second clip on loop.” (Van Der Beek himself recreated the GIF in 2011 for Funny or Die and gave it a second life.)

While still on Dawson’s Creek, Van Der Beek hosted Saturday Night Live — the musical guest was Everlast — and landed a plumb role in Varsity Blues, playing a second-string high school quarterback who leaps into the breach when the star suffers an injury.

Van Der Beek’s character, Mox, turns out to not be a football fanatic, preferring to read Kurt Vonnegut and yearning for the college education that will allow him to escape the jock mentality of his Texas town.

“I don’t want your life,” he screams at one point. Critic Roger Ebert called him “convincing and likable.

After Dawson’s Creek
Some of his projects after Dawson’s Creek included co-creating and playing Wesley “Diplo” Pentz, a dull but likable music producer in the mockumentary satire on Viceland, What Would Diplo Do? In 2019, he made it to the semifinals of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and played a balding, out-of-shape ex-boyfriend on How I Met Your Mother.

“The more you make fun of yourself and don’t try to go for any kind of respect, the more people seem to respect you,” he told Vanity Fair in 2011. “I’ve always been a clown trapped in a leading man’s body.”

Between 2003 and 2013, he made appearances in shows like Criminal Minds, One Tree Hill, and How I Met Your Mother. He played himself with a crackpot intensity in the Krysten Ritter-led ABC drama Don’t Trust the B— in Apartment 23, and the short-lived CSI spinoff CSI: Cyber and CBS’ Friends With Better Lives.

He’s also appeared in movies such as Kevin Smith’s 2001 comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and its 2019 sequel, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. He was in the Bret Easton Ellis adaptation of The Rules of Attraction in 2002 opposite Jessica Biel and Kate Bosworth.

In 2025, he was unmasked as Griffin on The Masked Singer, after singing a cover of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and “I Had Some Help” by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen.

Early life as a theater kid
Van Der Beek, who was raised in Cheshire, Connecticut, started acting at 13 after suffering a concussion playing football that prevented him from playing for a year. He landed the role of Danny Zuko in his school production of Grease.

He stuck with theater, landing at 16 in 1994 an off-Broadway role in Finding the Sun by Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee and one of the sons in a revival of Shenandoah at the prestigious Goodspeed Opera House in his home state.

He earned a scholarship to New Jersey’s Drew University but left school early when he was cast in Dawson’s Creek. In 2024, he returned to campus to accept an honorary degree for his “selfless service and exemplary commitment to the mission of Drew,” the university said.

Drew University President Hilary Link welcomed Van Der Beek with a popular quote from his Dawson’s Creek character: “Edge is fleeting,” she said, “but heart lasts forever. So on this morning, we pay tribute to that heart.”

He is survived by his wife, Kimberly, and six children, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah. A GoFundMe fundraiser has been established for the family.

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AP Music Writer Maria Sherman and CultureMap Austin editor Brianna Caleri contributed to this report.

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