weekend event planner

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

Spring is here, at least according to our friends at Space City Weather, which means sunny skies and comfortable temperatures.

Even if the evenings are chilly, we have some windbreaker-worthy events popping off this weekend. Of course, we have the rodeo in full swing. But we also have Hamilton returning to Houston; outdoor events from Mid Main Houston, Discovery Green, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and a salute to one of the greatest MCs to ever do it.

And, if you don’t know, now you know.

Thursday, March 6

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
It’s Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo season once again and, judging by the recent news story of a cow getting loose and running down OST, things are getting wild over there. Reba McEntire just kicked off the live concert series that has become a Livestock Show and Rodeo staple. Also scheduled to perform: AJR, Carin León, Brad Paisley, Journey, Post Malone, Brooks & Dunn, and Luke Bryan. Bun B will have a birthday extravaganza on Friday, featuring Keith Sweat, Coco Jones, Houston gospel legend Yolanda Adams, and Ludacris. Through Sunday, March 23. 8 pm (for concerts).

Mid Main Houston presents First Thursday Block Party
The businesses of Mid Main, along with Mid Main Lofts, are back with the First Thursday Block Party series. Visitors can stop by the block partners and enjoy beer from Saint Arnold Brewing Company, live music, art shows, special activations, and local vendors at the Winbern Street Market. This month, proceeds will go to Brain Cancer Research & Pediatric Health Initiatives. DJ Tempty will be spinning tunes, while art shows will be going on at Mid Main Art Gallery and Sig’s Lagoon. 6 pm.

Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center presents Hamilton
It’s hard to believe that Hamilton, the Tony-winning Broadway smash, is now ten years old. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre — a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education. Through March 23. 7:30 pm (2 & 7:30 pm Saturday; 1:30 & 7 pm Sunday).

Friday, March 7

Rice Village presents Rodeo Roundup
Rice Village is kicking off the rodeo season with its fourth annual Rodeo Roundup. Family-friendly festivities will take place along Morningside Drive and University Boulevard, with a performance from local country musician Cooper Mohrmann, a mechanical bull ride, and face painting, along with bandana freebies. Pop-up experiences and activations from Rice Village businesses will include rodeo-centered promotions, sips and light bites, and more. 5 pm.

Anya Tish Gallery presents "Anya's Eye" opening reception
Anya Tish Gallery will herald the spring with "Anya’s Eye," a vibrant, sprawling group exhibition featuring more than two dozen of the gallery’s artists, many of whom were discovered early in their careers and have gone on to great acclaim thanks to the “eye” of Anya Tish. The show is an opportunity to “see” what Anya saw in the artists she represented, and experience how enriching and life-changing those encounters were. Through Saturday, April 19. 6 pm.

Naruto: The Symphonic Experience
Do you prefer your anime with a live soundtrack performed by a full orchestra? If so, Naruto: The Symphonic Experience is a live show featuring an original, two-hour feature film (shown with subtitles) created by Julien Vallespi and Quentin Benayoun, from the first 220 original episodes of the Naruto animated series. An orchestra will perform the iconic songs and themes from the series, live-to-picture, as scenes are projected on a full-size, HD cinema screen. 7 pm.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Moonlight Movies
Moonlight Movies returns to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Filmgoers can experience “Love & Other Adventures” with three popular and classic romantic comedies, from a seat on the sloping roof of the Glassell School of Art in the Amphitheater. We don’t know if this was intentional or not, but the series that shares the same name with the 2017 Oscar winner for Best Picture is kicking things off with La La Land, which notoriously almost received that honor. There will also be complimentary popcorn, and drinks, including special cocktails, available for purchase. 8 pm.

Saturday, March 8

Power of Vision - International Women's Month Celebration
The “Power of Vision" series stands as a dynamic and empowering collection of events, crafted to equip women with essential tools for success. These events feature captivating speakers, valuable resources, and insightful information, all thoughtfully curated to inspire and guide. This year, in a harmonious alignment with International Women's Month, the series is dedicated to amplifying the goal of empowering women, celebrating their achievements, and fostering an environment of growth and inspiration. Noon.

Young Texas Artists presents The Stars at Night Gala
Young Texas Artists, a nonprofit arts organization, will present its 40th anniversary party, “The Stars at Night.” The evening will feature dancing, barbecue, a live auction, and YTA’s Spring Art Show & Sale. Following the gala, guests can walk into the theater for the Young Texas Artists Music Competition Finalists’ Concert & Awards, followed by YTA’s After Party — the evening’s grand finale — back in the Grand Pavilion. 5 pm.

Betelguese Betelguese presents Biggie Tribute
The bar's Washington Avenue location will host a tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. with music, themed cocktails, and great vibes. Guests can expect plenty of Biggie tracks, as well as "Biggie-adjacent" tracks from artists like Junior M.A.F.I.A., Lil’ Kim, Lil’ Cease, The LOX, Mase, and more. The Betelgeuse Betelgeuse photo booth will be stacked with themed accessories for guests to capture the fun as well. The special menu features cocktails such as the A T-Bone Steak, Cheese Eggs, and Welch's Grape for $16, an Alize daiquiri for $14, and a Grand Marnier margarita for $14, and more. 8 pm.

Performance Arts Houston presents Meow Meow
International siren and comedienne extraordinaire Meow Meow brings her glorious brand of subversive and sublime performance to Houston. The post-post-modern diva has hypnotised, inspired, and terrified audiences globally with unique creations and sell-out seasons from New York’s Lincoln Center to the Sydney Opera House. The crowd-surfing queen of song creates an evening of music and much mayhem, featuring Piazzolla tangos, Weill, Brecht, Brel, and even Radiohead alongside original chansons. 8 pm.

Sunday, March 9

Bayou City Blues Festival Presented by BKV Energy
Held at the Houston Botanic Garden, the Bayou City Blues Festival will be an afternoon of roots music, curated by Houstonian Annika Chambers. In addition to five hours of live music, attendees can snap photos in front of the Garden’s bluebonnet field, enjoy the Family Fun Zone, shop a festive market featuring local vendors and plants from the Garden, and browse information stations staffed by select nonprofit organizations. Access to the entire Garden, including the “Habitat” exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, is also part of the experience. 11 am.

Emancipation Park presents Jazzy Sundays in the Parks
Jazzy Sundays in the Parks, Emancipation Park's popular outdoor concert series, kicked off last weekend with performances from Grammy-winning jazz pianist (and proud Houstonian) Robert Glasper and saxophonist Vince Greer. Jazzy Sundays celebrates the vibrancy and rich tradition of jazz and the incredible Houstonians who preserve the art form. But that doesn’t mean you won’t get to hear some zydeco grooves, too. This weekend, Houston Zydeco band J Paul Jr. & the Zydeco Newbreedz will take the stage, along with Baltimore DJ/producer S.Dot. 5 pm.

Matt Rife: Stay Golden
That guy who drops all those crowd-work videos on social media (a promotional tool that every comic must indulge in these days) will be getting his ad-lib on in H-Town this weekend. Matt Rife comes to Houston as part of his Stay Golden tour. Rife self-produced two comedy specials, Only Fans and Matthew Steven Rife, both available on YouTube, which led to two Netflix specials, Matt Rife: Natural Selection and Lucid. He is set to take on a leading role in Rolling Loud, an R-rated comedy co-produced by Live Nation Productions. 7 pm.

Hamilton returns to Houston beginning this weekend.

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Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

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