weekend event planner

Here are the top things to do in Houston this weekend

Sip, shop, and thrive at the Plants & Prosecco Party on Saturday.

Photo via The Plant Project

This weekend, locals are invited to sweat it out — but in the confines of an innovative new gym. Film fans can flock to a classic outdoor thriller screening at Buffalo Bayou Park, while the city celebrates hip-hop's 50th anniversary downtown.

Look for art shows, a horror movie fest, a celebration of reggae and more. And those looking to bloom can hit Houston's hottest plant shop for prosecco, partying, and of course, that plant life.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, August 10

Free workouts celebrating BFT River Oaks' grand opening

Body Fit Training — River Oaks, is celebrating its grand opening with a slew of free classes from Thursday through Sunday. More than a cheesy promo to lure customers, BFT's brass consider this a chance for newbies to see what all the BFT hype is all about: the muscle-building workout mixes lifting, advanced sports recovery, high-intensity cardio, lifestyle coaching, and more. BFT River Oaks co-owner Wesley Canivel says he's offering the free classes for folks who are interested in true fitness to drop in, work out, and learn more without high-pressure sales tactics or weird, competitive, ogling gym vibes found at other spots. Book a free class online. Thursday-Sunday,

Best Friends Animal Society National Conference

At the three-day, Best Friends National Conference, attendees will learn how to make an impact in their communities from presenters from different backgrounds and organization types, including leaders in animal welfare, marketing, DE&I, government relations, and more. There will be opportunities to connect with fellow animal welfare volunteers and staff members from across the country during the conference. 7:30 am.

Monterroso Gallery presents Lia Rodi opening reception

Houston-based abstract artist Lia Rodi draws on her many years of experience as an architect and outdoors woman in her construction of bold, striking, psychological spaces. In her search for immersive and imaginary places of the physical and mental Wild, she creates beautiful, visited, and make-believe places where processing life and sensing the unseen intersect. Rodi’s work summons elements of Trompe-l'œil, abstract expressionism, surrealism, and biomorphism. Through Wednesday, October 4. 6:30 pm.

The Friends of River Oaks Theatre presents The Birds

The Friends of River Oaks Theatre and Buffalo Bayou Partnership co-present a free screening of Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1963 thriller on the Buffalo Bayou Big Screen. Bring your lawn chairs and settle in for a film that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when ferocious fowl suddenly begin to attack people. With a pre-film, cinematic chamber music performance of scores from Hitchcock and other films, performed by W7 Duo—Dr. Christoph Wagner and Ben Sieben. 7:30 pm.

Friday, August 11

Houston Hip-Hop 50th Anniversary Special at Houston City Hall

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and the Houston Music Advisory Board will have a mini-concert at Houston’s City Hall. Enjoy special musical performances live from Nosa of BXXNG, Blaze x Black, and DJ Good Grief. The show will be Hosted by Houston Music Advisory Board members Flash Gordon Parks and G-Dash. If you can’t attend the event, the whole show will be livestreamed here. Noon.

Houston Horror Film Fest

Horror fans – it is officially time to get your freak on. The Houston Horror Film Fest will be going down this weekend. This three-day film festival and expo will include over 70+ horror films, celebrity special guests, and special Q&A Panels. We’re talking Billy Zane, Kristy Swanson, Adrienne Barbeau (!), and a 45th anniversary Halloween cast reunion. There will also be over 100 vendors, artists, horror memorabilia, filmmakers, apparel, authors and so much more. 5 pm (11 Saturday and Sunday).

Serrano Gallery presents Magical and Mystical Oaxaca

The Glassell School of Art presents a two-day event celebrating the vibrant art and culture of Oaxaca, Mexico. Three exhibitions will be presented, each covering a different floor. A dynamic cultural program will be hosted on the second day in the auditorium. It will feature artist talks, book signings, and captivating, Oaxacan dance performances by Danz Art Folklore. The English program starts at 11 am, while the Spanish program is at 1 pm. Both programs will require an RSVP. 6 pm (11 am Saturday).

An Evening with Andy Summers (of The Police)

Legendary guitar virtuoso and multiple Grammy-winning artist Andy Summers will be in town for his The Cracked Lens + A Missing String theater tour. Summer will incorporate his collective works into an insightful evening spanning his career, where he will play guitar and improvise to several sequences of his photography shot worldwide, read excerpts from his book of short stories Fretted and Moaning, share insights on his music and photography, and perform selections from his extensive solo catalog. 8 pm.

Saturday, August 12

Plants & Prosecco at The Plant Project Houston

Fresh off her second, blooming Plantchella festival (a must-attend, three-day celebration), plant princess Bree Iman Clarke is back with her buzzy Plants & Prosecco party. The name says it all: Head to the thriving Plant Project Houston space in Montrose Collective for light bites, refreshing pours of prosecco, and boss beats spun by DJ SuperJay. As the Plant Project is all cultivating community, visitors are encouraged to mix, mingle, shop, and get their green thumb on in a lush shop full of good vibes. Noon to 3 pm.

2023 Houston Reggae Fest

The sixth annual Houston Reggae Fest is set and ready for more vibes. Held at Hermann Square and Tranquility Park in downtown Houston, the festival will have two full days of music, fun and culture for you to enjoy. Mykal Rose, Eek-A-Mouse, Yemi Alade, Jemere Morgan, Warrior King, and Maga Stories will be a few of the artists performing on multiple stages. There will also be food trucks, local vendors, and art activities for the whole family. Noon.

Red Bull Batalla Houston Regional Qualifier

The Red Bull Batalla USA Championship will visit Houston for its first-ever Batalla event with this Regional USA Qualifier taking place at Metropolis, one of Houston’s most popular Latin music clubs. This year’s Texas showdown will feature sixteen dynamic lyricists. Half of the competitors hail from Texas, with MCs representing Austin, El Paso, San Antonio, and Houston, although all sixteen are hoping to snag their spot at the National USA Final in Dallas later this year. Fans are encouraged to RSVP and reserve their spot in advance. 2 pm.

Second Saturday Pop-Up Art Market with Los-Twins DeLa Parra

Calling all art lovers! This monthly event, co-hosted by Winter Street Studios artists Los-Twins DeLa Parra, is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in Houston's thriving art scene. Discover the incredible talent of local artists and support your city's creative culture. And guess what? It's free for everyone. So, grab your friends & family and head over to Bad Astronaut Brewing for a day filled with fun, creativity, and community. 2 pm.

Stomping Grounds presents “Groove on the Green”

A cultural oasis of culinary and retail in the middle of beautiful Garden Oaks, the Stomping Grounds is a place for neighbors, families and culture-seekers to gather, celebrate and connect. The 8,000-square-foot offers an expansive outdoor space to play, relax and gather with your neighbors for curated arts events, artisan markets, fitness classes, concerts and more. This weekend, Karina Nistal & the Cosmic Cats will perform at this special “Groove on the Green” performance. 6 pm.

Sunday, August 13

Jumping the Broom Magazine presents The Black Wedding Market

Welcome to the ultimate wedding expo that embraces diversity and inclusivity like no other. This extraordinary celebration of love showcases a curated selection of vendors who specialize in catering to the unique needs and desires of BIPOC couples. From breathtaking fashion trends to captivating decor inspirations, this event promises to be a treasure trove of wedding planning ideas, all while actively promoting empowerment and support for underrepresented communities. 1 pm.

Bungalow Downtown Dining’s National Filet Mignon & Prosecco Day Celebration

Bungalow Downtown Dining will present a captivating dining event in honor of National Filet Mignon Day and National Prosecco Day. The special combines an exquisite rosemary parmesan crostini, succulent black angus filet mignon, cheddar mornay, aromatic black truffle, and delicate herbes fines, with a prosecco flight featuring 2 oz. pours of carefully selected Italian prosecco varieties. And it’s all for the astonishing price of just $26. 4 pm.

The Italian Cultural & Community Center of Houston presents Ferragosto Pizza and Movie Night: Tuttapposto

The Italian Cultural & Community Center of Houston (ICCC) invites film aficionados and foodies to the Milford House for a film screening, accompanied by pizza and soft drinks in celebration of la Festa di Ferragosto. This 2019 comedy takes place in a small University in the south of Italy, where the dean allows corruption to run rampant. None of the students seem to be able to overturn such a situation, until Roberto, the dean’s son and the biggest string-puller of them all, decides that it is time to change things. 5:30 pm.

Movie Review

Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

Photo by Matt Grace

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

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Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

movies film