a totally lit yuletide

Downtown Houston lights up the holidays with 8 winter wonderlands, ice skating, markets, and more

Every great city boasts a great downtown holiday celebration — take Christmas in New York City, for example. The Bayou City is no different, as it toasts the 2022 yuletide season with a downtown, stroll-worthy event.

Aptly titled City Lights Downtown Holiday Magic, the holiday fun offers up eight unique, themed villages/venues located across downtown. Visitors can enjoy holiday markets, winter lights, a hot chocolate bar, roaming carolers, movie nights, sweet treats, and more.

Things kick off at 5:30 pm on Friday, November 18 with an official, ceremonial lighting at Avenida Houston's plaza. These experiences are mostly free, open to the public, and run through January 2, 2023 — just in time for nights out, weekend fun, staycations, or a trip for visiting friends and family.

Visitors are encouraged to visit the official site regularly, where they can sign up for the free City Lights Pass and even enter a drawing to win holiday-themed experiences every week.

“This will be an exciting holiday season as downtown Houston transforms itself into a signature wonderland unlike anything we have seen in years past,” said Michael Heckman, CEO of Houston First Corp., in a statement. “From the elaborate holiday villages to skating on the largest outdoor ice-skating rink in the southwest, families and visitors will now have multiple opportunities to make new holiday memories.”

Here's what to expect with the holiday village fun downtown, per organizers Houston First Corp. and Central Houston, Inc.

Plaza at Avenida - Deck the Trees and live music

The Grand Holiday Window at the George R. Brown Convention Center facing Avenida de las Americas is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with 30 artfully decorated holiday trees — all perfect for those Instagram moments. Live music from the Avenida Concert Series will add to the ambience; check the performance schedule here. This event benefits the Alley Theatre’s educational community and artistic initiatives.

Marriott Marquis - Texas Winter Lights

One of Texas' most picturesque hotel rooftops is bringing back a poolside tradition. Each year, fans pack Texas Winter Lights, an interactive walk-through - or float–under–lights experience at the Marriott Marquis Downtown's Altitude Rooftop & Pool. Visitors can enjoy more than 30 festive beverage offerings, a new interactive graffiti wall, and nightly snowfall, or a poolside movie every Thursday at nightfall. More fun includes the Marriott’s Grove of Trees, the Archway of Lights, and the lazy river, which is heated to a perfect 80 degrees all winter long. Tickets start at $25 for non-guest days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only); event runs through January 8, 2023.

Discovery Green - Holiday Ice Village

An icy Houston downtown tradition returns in the heart of Discovery Green. Ice skaters of all skill levels can look forward to quirky and cool, themed skate nights (many set to a DJ) and even a chance to hit the ice with Santa. Tickets are $17 per person and include a skate rental. More options at the Green include a enjoy a holiday movie under the stars every Thursday night and the park's Solstice Art Installation. Every Saturday in November and December, shoppers can hit Flea by Night for a diverse offering of vendors selling interesting holiday gifts. Check the official Discovery Green site for details.

Hilton Americas - Land of Sweets

The lobby of the Hilton Americas brings back its sweet holiday fun. This year’s chocolate display features hand-sculpted and Minion-themed masterpiece encompassing more than 2,000 pounds of chocolate. To sweeten the deal, the hotel is offering themed packages for potential guests, including treats, ice skating packages, and more.

Wortham Theater – Sugar Plum Plaza

Visions of sugarplums to dance in the iconic Fish Plaza at the entrance of the Wortham Theater. This ode to a holiday classic also presents cheerful tunes amid the Sugar Plum Plaza to gaze at its larger-than-life, custom-built ornaments.

Market Square Park - Mistletoe Square

Downtown's Market Square Park own state bragging rights with Texas’ biggest mistletoe installation, cleverly named Mistletoe Square for the holidays. Grab a loved one (or anyone who'd up for a peck) and smooch under this 150-inch ball of greenery hanging from a giant, 15-foot candy cane — perfectly made for an IG Boomerang. For more date night fun, craft a gingerbread house with Phoenicia Specialty Foods or catch a holiday movie under the lights. Check www.marketsquarepark.com for details.

Main Street Square – Santa’s Village

Here comes Santa Claus — specifically, to Main Street. Score a photo with Kris Kringle every Friday and Saturday starting at 6 pm at Santa’s Village in Main Street Square, which is centered by lit, 40-foot water bursts and a 250-foot-long, eight-inch-deep reflecting pool. After hanging with Mr. Claus, explore a series of holiday markets happening every Friday and Saturday.

Winter Wanderland on Bagby Street

The totally lit fun on Bagby Street is highlighted — literally — by some 100,000 twinkling LED lights that span from the newly updated Bagby Street and Lamar to Preston. Don't miss the giant angel wings, constellation arches, and an 80-foot light tunnel across from The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts for those picture-perfect holiday photo opps.

Photo courtesy of Central Houston

Take a walk in the Winter Wonderland.

Movie Review

Supergirl fails to take flight in a movie weighed down by grief

Photo courtesy of DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures

Milly Alcock in Supergirl.

Last year's Superman reboot brought a renewed sense of optimism for, if not the concept of the comic book movie, then at least the DC Comics universe. After more than a decade of DC films that felt mostly creatively bankrupt, the leadership of James Gunn gave the story a sense of fun. That included the brief introduction of Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, who’s now getting her own showcase in, naturally, Supergirl.

When we first met her in Superman, Supergirl was in rough shape, arriving at the Fortress of Solitude visibly inebriated. Nothing has changed at the beginning of this film, save for her aimlessly traveling around the universe with her rambunctious dog, Krypto. One of her random stops puts her in the same bar as Ruthye (Eve Ridley), who is looking for help tracking down Krem (Matthias Schoenaerts) and a group known as the Brigands after they brutally murdered her family.

Kara is initially loath to offer aid, but when Krem shoots a poison dart into Krypto while escaping, her motivation goes way up, especially since Krem holds the antidote. Kara, with Ruthye doggedly following her, uses every means available to her to find Krem, a journey that is hampered by galaxies having different colored suns than the one that gives her powers, the yellow sun.

Directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Ana Nogueira, the film is a big step back in the fun category, not least because Supergirl is deep in her feelings for much of the film. Her personal trauma, which is detailed in occasional flashbacks, gives a reason for her depression, but fails to land fully. The story seems to want everyone to be sad, as it includes a child trafficking ring and multiple instances of families being murdered.

Milly Alcock and Krypto in Supergirl.Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

To try to counteract that downer material, the filmmakers give Supergirl many opportunities to show off her fighting skills. While still CGI-heavy, the action scenes contain enough of a semblance of reality that they feel exciting. Unfortunately, this is undercut by the inclusion of several slow-motion sequences, giving the impression that the filmmakers didn’t trust the actors to deliver the goods on a consistent basis.

Superman (David Corenswet) makes a handful of appearances in the film, and while his presence is welcome given how well the character came across in the previous movie, it also doesn’t allow Supergirl to become her own person. Almost everything she does is colored by either her cousin or her parents, and since her powers are identical to those of Superman, there is very little that makes her story unique aside from how she’s dealing with the fallout.

Alcock (House of the Dragon, Sirens) gives an appealing performance despite her character being drunk and/or moody most of the time. She definitely sells what Supergirl is going through, so if given a better story in a future film, she’s proven her capability. Schoenaerts makes for a pretty good villain, although he’s aided by a look that includes a face full of studs. Jason Momoa has a memorable supporting role as the bounty hunter Lobo, even if his character doesn’t add much to the story.

While not a full-on disaster, Supergirl does not continue the momentum that Superman started. With a story that’s more concerned with showing audiences death scenes than a hero saving people, the film doesn’t seem to understand the appeal of a character like Supergirl or how to make her someone audiences will return to over and over again.

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Supergirl is now playing in theaters.

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