Your Endless Summer Place

Concerts + classes make City Place Houston’s go-to for endless summer fun

This summer, north Houston is heating up — but not just because of the weather. City Place is turning up the fun with a season full of outdoor events, family adventures, spontaneous surprises, and plenty of ways to relax and recharge.

Whether you're planning a weekend getaway, a date night, or just looking for something different to do with the kids, City Place is your "Endless Summer Place" that's packed with reasons to visit again and again.

Live music, free yoga, and all-ages entertainment

When the sun goes down, the good vibes turn up. Hot Nights, Cool Grooves — City Place’s signature summer concert series — returns to the Plaza with two must-attend evenings on July 12 and August 2. Think live music, cool cocktails, and a lively atmosphere that’s perfect for dancing under the stars.

City Place yoga Photo courtesy of City Place

Looking to keep things a bit more grounded? Roll out your mat and take a deep breath. Free yoga sessions on the City Place Plaza offer a peaceful, rejuvenating break from the hustle. These all-levels classes take full advantage of the beautiful outdoor setting and don’t require registration.

Creativity for kids and surprises around every corner

Families, take note: City Place has made sure even the youngest visitors are entertained, engaged, and inspired. Partnering with Young Audiences of Houston, City Place is offering a rotating schedule of free creative workshops, interactive performances, and hands-on classes that encourage imagination and self-expression.

And just when you think you’ve seen it all, surprise pop-ups keep things exciting. From the quirky, colorful Fun Bus and video game trailers to interactive installations like Texas Bubblers, you never know what unexpected delight you might stumble upon during your visit.

City Place Texas Bubblers Photo courtesy of City Place

Young adventurers can also catch a Mr. Leo puppet show, get their energy out on the Plaza’s open lawn during a friendly soccer game, or simply take a shady break under the trees with a frozen treat from a nearby café.

Nature meets art in a lush urban oasis

One of City Place’s most charming features is how it blends the beauty of the outdoors with curated cultural experiences. Meander through winding nature trails, explore art installations, or lounge on a shaded patch of grass as a gentle breeze rolls in from the water.

And don’t worry about leaving the pup at home: City Place is dog-friendly, with plenty of green space for wagging tails and happy paws.

Photo courtesy of City Place

Dine, shop, stay — it’s all here

Need a bite after all that exploring? City Place’s dining scene offers something for every taste, from craveable tacos to fresh sushi to upscale bistros.

Pair a stroll through the waterfront promenade with a patio brunch or gather your crew for sunset cocktails and bites.

And when the day winds down, you don’t have to go far to keep the magic going. Three premier hotels offer the perfect overnight retreat.

Houston City Place Marriott hotel Photo courtesy of City Place

Photo courtesy of City Place

Let a fun day stretch into the evening.

These include the AAA Four Diamond Marriott (recently named a 2024 U.S. News Gold Badge Winner), Residence Inn Houston City Place, and Courtyard Houston City Place. Each hotel features outdoor pools, state-of-the-art fitness centers, and direct access to City Place’s trails, events, and dining options, making it easy to turn a quick visit into a full-on summer staycation.

Endless summer awaits

From free entertainment and interactive programming to serene nature trails and high-end hotel stays, City Place is the ultimate summer destination without ever leaving Houston. Every visit offers a new way to unwind, discover, and connect—with yourself, with your loved ones, and with a community that knows how to do summer right.

So whether you're drawn in by live music, guided by your yoga flow, chasing bubbles with your kids, or simply sipping something cold in the shade, know this: at City Place, the summer fun truly never ends.

Movie Review

Offbeat drama Pillion features command performance by Alexander Skarsgård

Photo courtesy of A24

Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling in Pillion.

Describing the new movie Pillion is almost an act of futility. It contains a variety of seemingly disparate parts that coalesce into a whole to make it utterly fascinating. Few other recent films have been able to walk the line between filthy and wholesome in quite the way this one does, and that’s only because few other filmmakers would actually dare to try.

It centers on Colin (Harry Melling), a meek man in his mid-thirties who still lives at home with his parents, Pete (Douglas Hodge) and Peggy (Lesley Sharp), while working a dead-end job giving out parking tickets. While performing in a barbershop quartet at his local pub, Colin catches the eye of biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), who summons him for a clandestine hook-up the following day (which just so happens to be Christmas Day).

With barely a word exchanged between them, Ray establishes a dominance over Colin that quickly leads to them starting a relationship in which Colin does anything Ray asks. And that means more than just sex: Colin, whether desperate for any kind of affection or unlocking a side of himself he hadn’t known, readily agrees to cook, clean, shop, and basically do whatever else Ray wants him to do.

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Harry Lighton, the film is astonishing in the way it’s able to mine humor from Colin and Ray’s atypical bond. To call Ray “unfeeling” might not be totally accurate, but the way he treats Colin borders on cruel. However, the way Lighton structures the film, it’s easy to understand why someone like Colin would be willing to go along with the situation. It’s both hilarious and heartbreaking to see Colin debase himself in a variety of ways.

On the flip side is Colin’s heartfelt arc with his parents. It’s established right away that Peggy, who is sick with cancer, is a bit too involved with Colin’s love life, with the opening scene featuring her setting him up on a blind date. But their easy acceptance of his queerness and desire to see him find love is as heartwarming as it gets. The juxtaposition between the wholesomeness of their family and Colin’s new life is also the source of a good amount of comedy.

Lighton does not shy away from the sexual side of Colin and Ray’s relationship, and the scenes he depicts are as graphic as you are likely to see in an R-rated film. Some go up to and a little past what might be expected in a mainstream movie (including the use of a certain fake appendage). Other times they play out in a comical way to illustrate just how far Colin has progressed from the person he was when the film started.

Skarsgård, who stole the show in the Charli XCX movie The Moment, is the attraction in more ways than one in this film. The part calls for someone who’s not only impossibly handsome, but also a person who can stop dissent with just a glance, and he lives up to both qualities equally well. Melling, best known for playing Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter movies, also embodies his role perfectly. He plays Colin as weak enough to be run roughshod over by Ray, but not so hopeless as to not be worth rooting for.

Pillion (which is the name of the secondary seat on a motorcycle on which Colin rides multiple times in the film) operates at a storytelling level that is difficult to achieve. Many people will not fully understand the film’s central relationship, but the way it is showcased by Lighton makes it compelling, gut-wrenching, and sexy.

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Pillion is now playing in theaters.

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