Weekend Event Planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this Fourth of July weekend

It’s Fourth of July weekend (aka America’s 250th), which means fireworks displays will be happening all over the Houston area.

You’ll have many chances to get into the patriotic spirit this weekend, as concerts, fancy soirees, and even an immersive gaming experience will be Independence Day-themed. In addition, this weekend offers exciting new stage productions, a couple of film screenings, and an Outlaw Music Festival starring one of Beyonce’s pals.

Thursday, July 2

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston presents “We, The Kids” mural unveiling
In celebration of America's 250th birthday, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston (BGCGH) members will join Houston artist Kimmie Gillespie to create "We, The Kids," a 300-foot-by-50-foot, painted American flag mural at BGCGH headquarters. After the mural is painted on Wednesday, the public unveiling of the completed mural will take place the next day. Public officials are invited, along with community members, to sign the mural. 10 am.

The Catastrophic Theatre presents Tamarie's Greatest Hits, Volume 3
Tamarie Cooper gives Houston another wholly original, full-scale musical this summer, featuring wildly irreverent scripts, riotously funny songs, wackadoodle dances, large casts of quadruple-threat performers, a small but mighty band, and, of course, Houston’s own Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, and Bugs Bunny rolled into one. This greatest-hits show features the best moments, with a ridiculous new script and a couple new songs. Through Saturday, August 1. 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday; 2:30 pm Sunday).

Kam Franklin in concert
The Suffers frontwoman (and H-Town gal) Kam Franklin will drop her debut solo album, titled Land of the Neon Sun, on Friday, August 28. Co-produced by Franklin with Margo Price and featuring collaborations with Kevin Morby and Jackie Venson, this 12-song joyride embraces experimentation, individuality, and vulnerability. Franklin is currently on a solo tour, giving live audiences a taste of the new album. She’ll be right here this weekend, doing a show at Shoeshine Charley’s Big Top Lounge in Midtown. 8 pm.

Friday, July 3

Activate presents Fourth of July Weekend
For those looking to celebrate America’s 250th in an active, energetic, and air-conditioned environment, the Activate locations in Katy and The Woodlands are offering special promotions on Friday and Saturday. Activate is an immersive, high-tech gaming experience where families and friends of all ages can compete and challenge their physical and mental agility across a variety of games. Game rooms will also come with patriotic-themed lighting and a Stars & Stripes playlist. Wear red, white, and blue for a 25 percent discount. 10 am.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Bend It Like Beckham
The MFAH will close its World Cup-related, soccer-centric film series with this global smash hit from 2002. The British comedy follows two young women from different cultural backgrounds (breakout stars Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley) as they pursue their dreams to become professional soccer players over their parents’ objections. Jonathan Rhys Meyers also stars in this perfect accompaniment to this soccer-obsessed moment. 6 pm.

River Oaks Theatre presents Gaslit
In Gaslit, which will begin a theatrical run at River Oaks Theatre this weekend, award-winning actor and activist Jane Fonda embarks on a road trip through Texas oil fields and Gulf Coast communities, meeting the people who are fighting back against the oil and gas extraction boom. The Friday screening will feature a post-screening Q&A with filmmaker Katie Camosy. 7 pm.

Houston Symphony presents Star-Spangled Salute
The Houston Symphony will celebrate Independence Day with its annual “Star-Spangled Salute,” featuring patriotic fan-favorites like the “1812 Overture,” “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” and “America the Beautiful.” The Star-Spangled Salute is one of the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion's longest-standing traditions, a completely free night of patriotic tunes, lovely lawn vibes, and many memories. 8 pm.

Saturday, July 4

Houston Museum of African American Culture presents Juneteenth Rewind
Still miss the fun you had during Juneteenth last month? Visit the Houston Museum of African American Culture as it continues honoring the stories, artistry, and legacy of Juneteenth through a day of community, creativity, and culture. Visitors can explore its current Bayou City Stewards: America From Our Perspective exhibition, participate in the community project, and shop at the vendor market. 11 am.

Chardon French Bistro presents World Cup Watch Party
Celebrate the Fourth at Chardon with a World Cup Round of 16 watch party, with France taking on Paraguay. The game marks a rematch of the memorable 1998 Round of 16 meeting between the two nations, making it a must-watch for soccer fans and supporters of Les Bleus. To celebrate both the World Cup and America's 250th birthday, Chardon will serve all-American hot dogs, its signature sweet crêpes, and $2.50 Lone Star beers during the watch party. Happy hour will also continue through the end of the game. 3 pm.

Freedom Over Texas
Freedom Over Texas has become Houston’s annual, signature July 4th celebration, with an average of 50,000 people in attendance and is televised live in Houston. This year’s festivities include performances by Keith Urban, Collective Soul, and Los Lonely Boys, with six hours of festivities capped off with a musically choreographed, “Texas-sized” fireworks finale. A percentage of food and beverage sales will be donated to the Houston Food Bank. 3 pm.

Liberty & Lux
This special event serves as the official fundraising launch for a transformative public art initiative, benefiting Street Art for Mankind. As fireworks illuminate the city, get ready for an elevated experience featuring an open bar, chef-curated hors d'oeuvres, live music, a DJ, and breathtaking 360-degree views of Houston's Independence Day celebrations from the venue's 12th floor pool deck. 6 pm.

Sunday, July 5

The DeLUXE Theater presents Outside 4 Reel
The historic Fifth Ward venue the DeLUXE Theater will celebrate the legacy of film at the theater with a day full of, as they call it, “1995 block party vibes.” The community festival will feature family-friendly activities, food trucks, local vendors, and a double film screening of A Goofy Movie and Bad Boys. Plenty of shade, water, and fans will help keep everybody cool. Noon.

Willie Nelson/Facebook

Willie Nelson will headline the Outlaw Music Festival.

A.D. Players presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat — one of two biblical musicals Brit stage legends Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber dropped in the ‘70s (of course, Jesus Christ Superstar is the other one) — is a vibrant, high-energy musical about Joseph, a dreamer betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. From prison to Pharaoh’s palace, his faith is tested, but destiny awaits. It’s a story of hope, perseverance, and the power of dreams — told in the most exciting way possible. Through Sunday, July 19. 2 pm.

Outlaw Music Festival
The 2026 Outlaw Music Festival has been touring the country, continuing its tradition of presenting country, western, and Americana music from outlaw-country stars. The fest will feature performances by Texas icon Willie Nelson & Family, Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Lukas Nelson, Stephen Wilson Jr., Margo Price, and Lily Meola. 2 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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