weekend event planner

These are the 14 best things to do in Houston this weekend

Yes, Sunday will be the day where everyone will watch the Super Bowl to either the Chiefs and Eagles go at it once again – or just check out all the expensive commercials.

Still, lots of fun things are going down in H-Town this weekend: the return of Cirque du Soleil, film screenings that celebrate two recently deceased artists, a home and garden show, an event where you can play with Legos, and live stand-up from the guy who gave us “Whazzup!”

Thursday, February 6

Cirque du Soleil: ECHO
Experience the magic of Cirque du Soleil: ECHO, this 20th Big Top Show where poetry, stagecraft, daring acrobatics, and cutting-edge technology come together to explore the delicate balance between people, animals, and the world we all share. Fueled by the power of invention, the hope of the youth, and the importance of empathy, Cirque du Soleil: ECHO invites the audience to participate in a universe of color, wonder, and infinite possibilities. Through Sunday, March 9. 7:30 pm (3:30 and 7 pm Saturday; 1 and 4:30 pm Sunday).

Houston Cinema Arts Society presents Claudine
In this 1974 working-class dramedy, Claudine (Diahann Carroll) is a single mother in New York City who endures an exhausting commute to the suburbs where she works as a maid for wealthy families. She meets Roop (the late James Earl Jones), a charismatic but irresponsible garbage collector. Romance quickly ensues, but Claudine doubts that their relationship is good for her six children. After the screening, college professor/film critic Ralph Nickerson will discuss the evolution of Black cinema. 7:30 pm.

Punch Line Houston presents Kyle Kinane
Kyle Kinane is a comedian from Addison, Illinois. As a comedian, he has been on Conan, The Tonight Show, Netflix’s The Standups, and three of his own hour-length specials on Comedy Central. As an actor, he’s been in the Judd Apatow series Love and truTV’s Those Who Can’t. As a voice-over actor, he was the former voice of Comedy Central for eight years and played Bullet on the Netflix series Paradise PD. 7:30 pm (7:30 and 9:45 pm Friday; 7 and 9: 15 pm Saturday).

Friday, February 7

Houston Home + Garden Show
The Houston Home + Garden Show is a place to discover the country's best new renovation ideas, interesting products, and the preeminent resources for home improvement and landscaping. The spring 2025 show will feature HGTV celebrities Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis, Destin Noak (aka the Texas Garden Guy), a plant market presented by PlantCon International, Petopia, food trucks, adoptable furry friends from the Houston Humane Society, and more. 11 am (10 am Saturday; 9 am Sunday).

Czech Center Museum Houston presents "Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston Island" opening night
From 1845 to 1924, the Port of Galveston was a major gateway for American immigration. This exhibition is the first of its kind to explore Galveston’s legacy as a port of entry on a national scale. It brings to light the little-known yet rich era of Galveston’s history and its importance to the growth of Texas and the American Midwest. The exhibition highlights enduring themes in the history of immigration including the dangers of the journey, making a life in a new land, navigating bureaucracy, and confronting discrimination. Through Tuesday, April 28. 6 pm.

Asia Society Texas presents The Big Swim
The Big Swim celebrates Lunar New Year with a one-act opera. In this retelling of the Jade Emperor and the Great Race — a fable that sets the order of the 12 animals in the zodiac calendar — the animals learn to put aside fierce competition to instead care for and support one another, side by side. The work will be presented as part of its Lunar New Year festivities and will be preceded by activities, including shadow puppets, calligraphy demonstrations, and an original children's dance piece. 6:30 pm (2 pm Saturday and Sunday).

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Mulholland Drive
Revered filmmaker and artist David Lynch passed away last month. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston mourns the loss of this visionary artist and presents one of his most acclaimed films, 2001’s Mulholland Drive, shown in glorious 35mm! This seductive and surreal vision of Los Angeles’s dream factory is a tale of love, jealousy, and revenge that earned Lynch the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival. 7 pm (2 pm Sunday).

Saturday, February 8

Brick Fest Live
Brick Fest Live is all-in on imagination with stations and attractions designed to inspire creativity and play. Families can get hands-on with different brick challenges throughout the event as well as explore community collab builds and master creations from all over the world. The event will feature a Guinness World Record Challenge where visitors can help create a massive floor mosaic. There will also be a Giant Brick Pit where everyone can explore a play area filled with over 200,000 colorful bricks. 9 am (10 am Sunday).

The Shop Club Houston presents Midday Motors
The Shop Club Houston and Hagerty Insurance will present Midday Motors, an event that will bring car enthusiasts and brunch lovers together for a one-of-a-kind experience. Midday Motors welcomes vehicles of all makes, models, and years, offering a vibrant showcase of automotive excellence. With more than 250 parking spaces available, attendees will have ample opportunity to explore the diverse lineup of cars and connect with fellow enthusiasts who share their love for the open road. 10 am.

International Voices Houston presents Arte Puro
International Voices Houston presents Arte Puro, an organization with the mission to bring Hispanic music and art to the stage through musical fusion and artistic collaboration. This show will feature Artists-in-Residence Cecilia Duarte (mezzo soprano) and Jesús Pacheco (percussion), in collaboration with International Voices Houston musicians, performing a special recital celebrating Hispanic culture and music, including works by Manuel de Falla, Alberto Ginastera, Manuel Ponce, Javier Busto, and more. 7 pm.

Martin Lawrence: Y’all Know What It Is! Tour
Comedy legend Martin Lawrence comes to Houston as part of his first comedy tour since 2016. The Y’all Know What It Is! tour is an all-new stand-up show and fresh one-hour set where Lawrence, the man who assumed such memorable characters as Sheneneh, Tyrone, and Dragonfly Jones on his beloved Fox sitcom Martin, brings the real talk and finds the funny in everything from family to culture as only he can. He'll be joined by fellow comedians Rickey Smiley, Adele Givens, and Benji Brown. 8 pm.

Sunday, February 9

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts presents Relaxed and Sensory Inclusive Performance: Orígenes: Voice and Percussion Through the Ages
The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with Ars Lyrica Houston, presents a sensory inclusive performance of Orígenes: Voice and Percussion Through the Ages, an exploration of Spanish and Latin American musical traditions, Relaxed and sensory inclusive performances offer a welcoming environment for individuals with sensory differences and their families to enjoy and include adjustments like modified lighting in audience spaces, designated quiet and activity areas in the lobby, sensory supports, trained volunteers, and more. 1 pm.

PlazAmericas presents “San Valentin” Valentine’s Day Celebration
PlazAmericas will celebrate Valentine’s Day early this weekend. Experience Chinelos Morelenses, a traditional dance with costumed dancers and popular in the Mexican state of Morelos, in addition to a folklórico performance (aka the traditional folk dance of Mexico). Additionally, Mariachi Perla Tapatía will perform festive and traditional Mexican music and The Milto Show will showcase a comedic performance. Fun giveaways and contests will take place throughout the event, which is free and open to the public. All ages are welcome. 1 pm.

Theatre Under the Stars presents Mean Girls
Sunday will be the last day for Theatre Under the Stars’ run of Mean Girls, the Broadway musical based on the 2004 high-school comedy that made a star out of Lindsay Lohan and was written by Tina Fey, who also wrote the book for this musical. Fey collaborated with several vets in adapting her movie to the stage, including composer/husband Jeff Richmond, lyricist Nell Benjamin (Legally Blonde), and original director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon). 2 pm.

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RIP, Chuck

Actor Chuck Norris, star of 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' dies at 86

Courtesy photo

Chuck Norris, star of "Walker, Texas Ranger," has died at 86.

Chuck Norris, the martial arts grandmaster and action star whose roles in “Walker, Texas Ranger” and other television shows and movies made him an iconic tough guy — sparking internet parodies and adoration from presidents — has died at 86.

Norris died Thursday, in what his family described as a “sudden passing.”

“While we would like to keep the circumstances private, please know that he was surrounded by his family and was at peace,” the family said in a statement posted to social media.

Before he would become a star in movies and on TV, Norris was wildly successful in competitive martial arts. He was a six-time undefeated World Professional Middleweight Karate champion. He also founded his own Korean-based American hard style of karate, known sometimes as Chun Kuk Do, and the United Fighting Arts Federation, which has awarded more than 3,300 Chuck Norris System black belts worldwide. Black Belt magazine ultimately credited Norris in its hall of fame with holding a 10th degree black belt, the highest possible honor.

Born Carlos Ray Norris in Ryan, Oklahoma, on March 10, 1940, he grew up poor. At age 12, he moved with his family to Torrance, California, and joined the U.S. Air Force after high school, in 1958. It was during a deployment to Korea that he started training in martial arts, including judo and Tang Soo Do.

“I went out for gymnastics and football at North Torrance high,” he told The Associated Press in 1982. “I played some football, but I also spent a lot of time on the bench. I was never really athletic until I was in the service in Korea.”

After he was honorably discharged in 1962, he worked as a file clerk for Northrop Aircraft and applied to be a police officer, but was put on a waitlist. Meanwhile, he opened a martial arts studio, which expanded to a chain, with students including such stars as Bob Barker, Priscilla Presley, Donnie and Marie Osmond, and Steve McQueen, whom he later credited with encouraging him to get into acting.

From one studio to another
Norris made his film debut as an uncredited bodyguard in the 1968 movie “The Wrecking Crew,” which included a fight with Dean Martin. He had also crossed paths with Bruce Lee in martial arts circles. Their friendship — sometimes, as sparring partners — led to an iconic faceoff in the 1972 movie “Return of the Dragon,” in which Lee fights and kills Norris' character in Rome's Colosseum.

He went on to act in more than 20 movies, such as “Missing in Action,” “The Delta Force” and “Sidekicks.”

“I wanted to project a certain image on the screen of a hero. I had seen a lot of anti-hero movies in which the lead was neither good nor bad. There was no one to root for,” Norris said in 1982.

In 1993, he took on his most famed role, as a crime-fighting lawman in TV's “Walker, Texas Ranger.” The show ran for nine seasons, and in 2010, then-Gov. Rick Perry awarded him the title of honorary Texas Ranger. The Texas Senate later named him an honorary Texan.

“It’s not violence for violence’s sake, with no moral structure,” Norris told the AP in 1996, speaking about the show. “You try to portray the proper meaning of what it’s about — fighting injustice with justice, good vs. bad. … It’s entertaining for the whole family.”

Norris also made a surprise comedic appearance as a decisive judge in the final match of the 2004 movie “Dodgeball.” He only on occasion has taken acting roles in recent years, including 2012's “The Expendables 2” and the 2024 sci-fi action movie “Agent Recon.” He's due to appear in “Zombie Plane,” an upcoming film starring Vanilla Ice.

Chuck Norris: the man, the meme, the legend
It was around the time of “Dodgeball” that his toughman image became the stuff of legend, literally: “Chuck Norris Facts” went viral online with such wildly hyperbolic statements as, “Chuck Norris had a staring contest with the sun -- and won,” and, “They wanted to put Chuck Norris on Mt. Rushmore, but the granite wasn’t tough enough for his beard.”

Norris ultimately embraced the absurdity of the meme craze, putting together “The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book,” which combined his favorites with supposedly true stories and the codes he aimed to live by. He would also write books on martial arts instruction, a memoir, political takes, Civil War-era historical fiction and more.

“To some who know little of my martial arts or film careers but perhaps grew up with 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' it seems that I have become a somewhat mythical superhero icon,” Norris wrote in the forward to the fact book. “I am flattered and humbled.”

That book raised money for a nonprofit he founded with President George H.W. Bush that promoted martial arts instruction for kids.

The intentionally outlandish statements featured in the 2008 Republican presidential primary, when Norris endorsed Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and shot an ad playing on the “Chuck Norris facts.”

President Donald Trump's supporters later promoted Trump Facts in the same vein, and political pundits tried it as well, describing the commander-in-chief's decision to seize Venezuela's sitting president, Nicolas Maduro, as a “Chuck Norris Moment,” and its initial effect on oil prices a “Chuck Norris Premium.”

Norris was outspoken about his Christian beliefs and his support for gun rights, and backed political candidates for years — he even went skydiving with Bush for the former president's 80th birthday. As for Trump, Norris endorsed him in the 2016 general election and wrote guest columns praising him without explicitly endorsing him the in the days before the 2020 and 2024 elections.

Norris has five surviving children: stunt performers Mike and Eric with his late ex-wife Dianne Holechek, twins Dakota and Danilee with his wife Gena Norris, and Dina, the result of an early 1960s “one-night stand” revealed in his autobiography.

Norris celebrated his birthday just over a week before his death, posting a sparring video on Instagram.

“I don't age. I level up,” he wrote.

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