What’s that smell? It’s Meg, the tropical plant causing quite the stink at the Museum of Natural Science. Fans are awaiting the plant to bloom and, when it does, unleash a powerful odor akin to rotting flesh.
Aside from wicked stinks, Broadway smash Wicked begins a bewitching run. Rocker Olivia Jean ghosts Houston — in a good way. A tattoo fest draws up fun for inked-up locals, while the Arboretum goes bananas celebrating the world’s favorite fruit.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Celia Hottenstein (Glinda) and Olivia Valli (Elphaba) get Wicked.
Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.
Thursday, June 1
“Meg” the corpse flower at Houston Museum of Natural Science
“Meg” the corpse flower is bringing the funk – literally — at the Museum of Natural Science. Not only is this flower quite the sight, it’s also quite the smell. The flower known officially as Amorphophallus titanum recently started to sprout her spadix, a sign of imminent bloom. (Corpse flowers literally smell like rotting flesh upon blooming.) In 2010, “Lois” the corpse flower caused quite the stink. “Meg” — named for the 50-foot shark at the museum — is smaller than Lois, but promises a bigger odor. Lucky us.
CITYCENTRE presents Summer Socials
CITYCENTRE is getting ready to have memorable evenings all season with the launch of a series of lively, happy hour events in the plaza catered to young professionals. These events will feature Sound Cream Airstream, that all-in-one, mobile discotheque. Visitors will also enjoy cold beverages, music, giveaways, and mingling al fresco every other Thursday night. Plus, participating stores and restaurants will be offering exclusive specials on food, drinks, and services. Come join the fun. 5 pm.
Memorial Hermann Broadway at the Hobby Center: Wicked
Before the two-part (!), big-screen adaptation drops, check out the Broadway sensation that looks at what happened in the Land of Oz, but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships, until the world decides to call one “good” and the other one “wicked.” Through Sunday, July 2. 1 and 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday; 2 pm and 8 pm Saturday; 2 pm and 7:30 pm Sunday).
Lawndale Art Center presents The Big Show opening reception
Lawndale Art Center will once again have its ambitious annual exhibition of new work by artists practicing within a 100-mile radius of Lawndale. This year, juror Dr. Kanitra Fletcher has selected 113 works by 112 artists from over 400 entries. Raised in Houston, Fletcher worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston prior to her current role as Associate Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Through Sunday, August 12. 7 pm.
Friday, June 2
The Houston Tattoo Arts Festival will feature dozens of tattoo artists and tattoo contests. There will be entertainment from Olde City Sideshow’s Reggie Bügmüncher, Cenobyte Suspension, Verona Fink, James Maltman, and Captain & Maybelle. There will also be special guests, including Trocon Talhouk and Charles Whitfield from VH1, Holli Marie, Fon, Anwon Boneface, John Paul Roldan, Sirvone Smith, E MAC from Ink Master, and Al Fliction & Team Fliction. 2 pm (11 am Saturday and Sunday).
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Houston Palestine Film Festival
The 16th Annual Houston Palestine Film Festival will go down at MFAH this weekend and Rice Cinema next weekend. First up is A Gaza Weekend, a dark comedy that highlights the bitter reality of life in Gaza between blockade and war. Then, there’s Mediterranean Fever, which tackles the meaning of country and home through two characters. Also, there’s Alam, about a Palestinian-Israeli high schooler who undergoes a political awakening when he falls for the outspoken new girl in his class. 7 pm (3 pm and 7 pm Saturday).
Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. presents August: Osage County
When the large Weston family unexpectedly reunites after patriarch Dad up and disappears, their Oklahoman family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets. Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for best play that same year, Tracy Letts’s acclaimed play examines how people function within dysfunction. Through Saturday, June 10. 8 pm (2 pm Sunday).
House of Blues presents Olivia Jean
Garage rocker Olivia Jean will be rocking out at House of Blues’s Bronze Peacock this weekend. Raving Ghost, her new album, arrived via Third Man Records last month. Produced by Jean at Los Angeles’ famed Valentine Recording Studios and Third Man Recording Studio in her home base of Nashville, Ghost has been met with early excitement from fans and media alike, with the likes of Pitchfork, SPIN, BrooklynVegan, and more chiming in at the outset. 9 pm.
Saturday, June 3
Houston Botanic Garden presents Go Bananas!
Guests can discover all there is to love about the banana during a day-long festival celebrating the tropical fruit, and one of the can’t-miss plants in the Garden’s tropical collection. There will be educational offerings on banana-related topics, cooking demonstrations and tastings of banana and plantain-inspired dishes, a kid’s zone, a farmer’s market, and more. 10 am.
KimoKawaii Anime Experience & Convention
The KimoKawaii Anime Experience & Convention returns for another adventure into the world of anime. The two-day, family-friendly event offers anime fans of all ages and degrees a variety of fun, anime activities. Events and activities include a cosplay contest, voice-over sessions, an anime-themed fashion show, panels, artists, exhibitors, celebrity voice-over actors, local cosplayers, pictures with Totoro, and more. 10 am.
Vino Vinyasa at Hilton Americas-Houston
This weekend, yogis and wine lovers can unite at the Hilton Americas-Houston on the Skyline Terrace for an exclusive yoga class. Vino Vinyasa classes bring together vinyasa-based yoga and fun wine facts through creative yoga poses. The hour-long educational class ends with a comparative wine tasting, inviting you to mindfully taste what's in your glass while applying what you learned through the poses. 11 am.
Fantastic Voyage Pays Tribute to Flash Gordon Parks at Boondocks
The two-man DJ crew known as Soul Control will have a special edition of their monthly Boondocks party this weekend. They’ll be paying tribute to DJ/ethnomusicologist Flash Gordon Parks. Back when he was doing his Easin’ In (Doing Our Thang) residency at Boondocks, he ushered in Soul Control and other DJs to continue the legacy of holding a space for soulful experiences. Cover is $5. 10 pm.
Sunday, June 4
Cigna Sunday in the Park Series
The last Cigna Sunday in the Park for the spring will happen at Mason Park this weekend. We all know this event gives Houstonians a chance to reconnect with their own neighborhoods, explore other new areas in the city and enjoy local entertainment, all while creating meaningful engagements and memories. But this event will have something special: the Astros World Series trophy, which will be on display for a couple hours. There will also be bounce houses, live music, dancing, free food and games. Noon.
The Parpia Collection — one of the most significant private collections of Indian textiles outside of India — is also one of the most important in the United States. Seldom are collections of Indian textiles as comprehensive, or collected with such expertise. With this exhibition, the MFAH furthers its goal of representing the rich cultural heritage of Houston’s South Asian community. Through Saturday, August 27. 12:30 pm.
Houston Ballet presents Divergence
This will be the last chance to check out this ballet showcase. It includes Aszure Barton’s Angular Momentum, which pays homage to Space City with influences ranging from the city’s architecture depicted in the set design, to the moon landing in the third movement of Mason Bates’ hybrid orchestral-electronic score. The program will also feature a new work by world-renowned choreographer Justin Peck, And with Stanton Welch’s Divergence, this mixed repertoire program is sure to be a showstopper. 2 pm.
