weekend event planner

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

This weekend is mostly about food and frights.

On the culinary side, we got a steak championship, a tasting fair in Cypress, and a hot-chicken present courtesy of the man they call Champagne Papi. As we brace for Halloween next weekend, Houston SPCA, Houston Premium Outlets, and Karbach Brewing Co. will be hosting some spooktacular throwdowns.

So, go out, have a good time, and see if you can make it last forever.

Thursday, October 23

Drake’s Birthday at Dave’s Hot Chicken
For the third year in a row, Dave’s Hot Chicken will celebrate the birthday of hip-hop/pop star Drake (who became an investor five years ago) with a free slider at all Dave's Hot Chicken locations. The hook-up is for anyone who comes by their local Dave’s and scans their Dave’s Hot Chicken app. It’s only available when visiting the restaurant, not via online ordering or through third-party delivery services. 11 am.

DiningOut presents RARE Steak Championship
DiningOut’s annual RARE Steak Championship features more than 25 local restaurants, putting forth their best steak dishes, to battle it out for the championship title. Attendees 21 and up can sample unlimited steak dishes from celebrated chefs from around Houston. Along with a panel of judges who cast their votes for Critic’s Choice, guests have an opportunity to vote for People’s Choice. The evening is rounded out with live entertainment, photo ops, and a festive award ceremony. 6 pm.

Theatre Under the Stars presents The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Six eccentric spellers, quirky grown-ups, and one unforgettable champion take center stage in the musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. At every performance, four guest spellers will be called up to jump in, spell it out, and compete in the Bee. The fast-paced, laugh-out-loud show promises big laughs, bigger feels, and a spelling bee experience audiences won’t forget. Through Sunday, November 2. 7:30 pm (8 pm Saturday; 2 and 8 pm Sunday).

Friday, October 24

Anya Tish Gallery presents "End of an Era" opening reception
Anya Tish Gallery will present "End of an Era," a commemorative group show that will bring together artists who have shaped and defined the gallery’s program, presenting an expansive range of works. Beyond the artworks themselves, the exhibition honors the vision, artistry, and lasting relationships that have guided the gallery through the years. It celebrates decades of creativity, collaboration, and community while marking the beginning of the gallery’s final chapter. The exhibition will remain open by appointment only through December 31. 6 pm.

Houston SPCA presents Howl-O-Ween Ball
The Houston SPCA’s annual Howl-O-Ween Ball is an evening benefitting animals in need. Guests will enjoy a cocktail hour, a seated dinner, rescue stories, and auctions, including a relaxing week in Puerto Vallarta and a $10,000 diamond necklace. The celebration concludes with an exclusive after-party featuring desserts, cocktails, and adoptable puppies & kittens. This year’s theme, Into the Haunted Forest, will transport attendees into an immersive world of beauty and intrigue. 6:30 pm.

Houston Grand Opera presents Porgy and Bess
It’s been 50 years since Houston Grand Opera first presented the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, restoring the “folk opera” to its creators’ full original vision in a landmark production that earned HGO both a Tony and a Grammy. Set in the Jim Crow South, the opera shares the story of Porgy, a disabled beggar, and Bess, a woman struggling with addiction, who fall in love. Porgy and Bess offers an unforgettable portrayal of resilience, community, love, and hope against all odds. Through Sunday, November 15. 7 pm (2 pm Sunday).

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Köln 75
Pianist Keith Jarrett’s legendary performance in January 1975 nearly didn’t happen. Based on a true story, Köln 75 follows how the concert was conceived and orchestrated by the efforts of an up-and-coming teenage promoter (German actress Mala Emde). Her enthusiasm set her to multitasking — from organizing the concert venue (the Cologne Opera House) to promoting the event and selling the tickets to convincing Jarrett to perform when the Bösendorfer Imperial Grand piano he was promised was nowhere to be found. 7 pm.

Saturday, October 25

Houston Premium Outlets presents the Spook-tacular Halloween Event
This weekend, little witches, ghosts, and ghouls are invited to haunt Houston Premium Outlets in Cypress for a frighteningly good time at the Spook-tacular Halloween Event. The family-friendly event will celebrate the spooky season complete with pumpkin decorating for the first 150 guests, balloon art, face painting, costume contest, trick-or-treat scavenger hunt, festive photo opps and many more thrills. Noon.

A Taste of Cy-Fair
A Taste of Cy-Fair will feature offerings from dozens of local restaurants, celebrating the very best of Cy-Fair and Houston’s culinary scene. Attendees will enjoy samples of dishes and treats from favorites like Alicia’s Mexican Grille, Dario’s Steakhouse & Seafood, Whataburger, and more. In addition to the food, guests can also sip on a wide variety of wines and sample dozens of craft beers. The event will feature live music, with Randy Hulsey performing on the main stage and Nate Gordon setting the vibe in the VIP area. 4 pm.

Majic Under The Stars featuring Keith Sweat and more
Majic 102.1 FM (aka the designated radio station played during local cookouts) is returning to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion this weekend for Majic Under the Stars. Keith Sweat, everybody’s favorite New Jack Swing-singing uncle, will be headlining. For more throwback sounds, we also have performances from ‘90s R&B girl group Xscape and the Marvin Gaye-sounding October London. And, for the brothas and sistas who love line dancing, Louisiana rapper Cupid will be there with “Cupid Shuffle.” 6 pm.

Improv Houston presents Maz Jobrani
As a founding member of The Axis of Evil Comedy Tour, Iranian American comedian Maz Jobrani continues to slyly school audiences on Middle Eastern life and culture through his comedy. He has had two Showtime specials, Brown and Friendly and I Come In Peace. He is a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and released the book, I’m Not a Terrorist but I’ve Played One on TV, in 2015. 7 and 9:30 pm (7:30 and 9:45 pm Friday; 7:30 pm Sunday).

Sunday, October 26

Karbach Brewing Co. presents Howl-O-Ween Market – Pumpkin Patch & Paws
In collaboration with Shop Local Market, Karbach is hosting its Howl-O-Ween Market — a spooky, family-friendly afternoon where attendees can compete in a pumpkin-carving contest, enter their pups in a dog costume contest, and get professional pet portraits done. DJ Mohawk Steve will be spinning Halloween hits throughout the afternoon, and a face painter will be on-site. Plus, local vendors from Shop Local Market will be set up across the biergarten. Noon.

Avatar: The Last Airbender in concert
To mark the 20th anniversary of Avatar: The Last Airbender, this special concert features new surprises, extended pieces, and creative touches added just for the milestone tour. Original dialogue and sound effects remain intact, while Emmy-winning composer Jeremy Zuckerman’s score is performed live, perfectly synchronized with the visuals. From taiko and erhu to strings and clarinets, the orchestra brings every moment to life, immersing the audience in the elemental world of Aang, Katara, Toph, Zuko, and the rest of Team Avatar. 4 pm.

Alice Cooper and Judas Priest in concert
Veteran shock-rocker Alice Cooper (aka the Marilyn Manson of the ‘70s) has decided to spend this Halloween season on the road with metal legends Judas Priest. They’re playing in The Woodlands, as part of their 2025 co-headlining tour. Cooper has released many albums in his career, including the recently-released The Revenge of Alice Cooper. Judas Priest is touring in support of their 2024 album, Invincible Shield. They'll be joined by opening act Corrosion of Conformity. 6:45 pm.

Photo courtesy of Alice Cooper

See Alice Cooper in The Woodlands on Sunday.

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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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