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

Star TV producer James L. Brooks stumbles with meandering movie Ella McCay

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Emma Mackey in Ella McCay.

The impact that writer/director/producer James L. Brooks has made on Hollywood cannot be understated. The 85-year-old created The Mary Tyler Moore Show, personally won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, and was one of the driving forces behind The Simpsons, among many other credits. Now, 15 years after his last movie, he’s back in the directing chair with Ella McCay.

The similarly-named Emma Mackey plays Ella, a 34-year-old lieutenant governor of an unnamed state in 2008 who’s on the verge of becoming governor when Governor Bill (Albert Brooks) gets picked to be a member of the president’s Cabinet. What should be a happy time is sullied by her needy husband, Ryan (Jack Lowden), her agoraphobic brother, Casey (Spike Fearn), and her perpetually-cheating father, Eddie (Woody Harrelson).

Despite the trio of men competing to bring her down, Ella remains an unapologetic optimist, an attitude bolstered by her aunt Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis), her assistant Estelle (Julie Kavner), and her police escort, Trooper Nash (Kumail Nanjiani). The film follows her over a few days as she navigates the perils of governing, the distractions her family brings, and the expectations being thrust upon her by many different people.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the film, is all over the place with his storytelling. What at first seems to be a straightforward story about Ella and her various issues soon starts meandering into areas that, while related to Ella, don’t make the film better. Prime among them are her brother and father, who are given a relatively small amount of screentime in comparison to the importance they have in her life. This is compounded by a confounding subplot in which Casey tries to win back his girlfriend, Susan (Ayo Edebiri).

Then there’s the whole political side of the story, which never finds its focus and is stuck in the past. Though it’s never stated explicitly, Ella and Governor Bill appear to be Democrats, especially given a signature program Ella pushes to help mothers in need. But if Brooks was trying to provide an antidote to the current real world politics, he doesn’t succeed, as Ella’s full goals are never clear. He also inexplicably shows her boring her fellow lawmakers to tears, a strange trait to give the person for whom the audience is supposed to be rooting.

What saves the movie from being an all-out train wreck is the performances of Mackey and Curtis. Mackey, best known for the Netflix show Sex Education, has an assured confidence to her that keeps the character interesting and likable even when the story goes downhill. Curtis, who has tended to go over-the-top with her roles in recent years, tones it down, offering a warm place of comfort for Ella to turn to when she needs it. The two complement each other very well and are the best parts of the movie by far.

Brooks puts much more effort into his female actors, including Kavner, who, even though she serves as an unnecessary narrator, gets most of the best laugh lines in the film. Harrelson is capable of playing a great cad, but his character here isn’t fleshed out enough. Fearn is super annoying in his role, and Lowden isn’t much better, although that could be mostly due to what his character is called to do. Were it not for the always-great Brooks and Nanjiani, the movie might be devoid of good male performances.

Brooks has made many great TV shows and movies in his 60+ year career, but Ella McCay is a far cry from his best. The only positive that comes out of it is the boosting of Mackey, who proves herself capable of not only leading a film, but also elevating one that would otherwise be a slog to get through.

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Ella McCay opens in theaters on December 12.

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