A dragon ball

10 lively Lunar New Year events to toast the Year of the Dragon in Houston

Radiant Nature Lantern Festival Tunnel Dragon Houston Botanic Garden

Radiant Nature's Lantern Festival tunnel at Houston Botanic Garden.

Photo courtesy of Houston First Corporation

The Lunar New Year officially starts on Saturday, February 10, ushering in the Year of the Dragon. Also known as Chinese New Year, the celebration marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Southeast Asians honor the occasion around the globe, and especially here in Houston, which boasts a vibrant community.

With that in mind, we've rounded up a list of vibrant, energetic celebrations and events all over the city,

Houston Botanic Gardens
(through February 25)
1 Botanic Ln.

The Houston Botanic Gardens dazzles with Radiant Nature, a dazzling and stunning immersive exhibition that takes inspiration from the Lunar New Year and showcasing many Chinese-inspired works. Produced by Tianyu Arts & Culture, more than 50 paper lanterns light up the collection across the garden, making it a breathtaking sight at night. Make sure to visit the Chinese pagoda and the enormous, 200-foot dragon.

Downtown
(Friday, February 9 through Sunday, February 11)
Various venues

Locals could hole up in a downtown hotel all weekend and never run out of things to do for Lunar New Year. Once downtown, check out a series of Lunar New Year celebrations to celebrate in the Year of the Dragon all weekend.

Lee's Golden Dragon's popular drummers will perform at downtown's Lunar New Year Festival + Night Market.Photo by Lee's Golden Dragon/courtesy of Downtown Houston

A big event awaits on Saturday, as Downtown Houston+ presents the Lunar New Year Festival & Night Market at Market Square Park. Free to the public, the event boasts a dynamic lineup, featuring live performances by the popular Lee’s Golden Dragon, We8 Dance Troop, and Unity Lion Dance. Along with dazzling performances, visitors can explore a night market with more than 30 local street food and art vendors. Don't miss an after party scheduled at Bravery Chef Hall.

Be sure to register at the Eventbrite page here to receive a commemorative 2024 red envelope filled with treats and trinkets from the neighborhood, while supplies last.

Lunar New Year Festival + Night Market dragon dancers The Lee's Golden Dragon dragon dancers at the Lunar New Year Festival.Photo by Lee's Golden Dragon/courtesy of Downtown Houston

Lunar New Year Food Festival at Conservatory Food Hall
(2 pm Saturday, February 10; 2 pm Sunday, February 11)
606 Dennis St.

Midtown’s Conservatory Food Hall is a groundbreaking collective of food artists that helps promote small businesses and sustainable food in Houston. Over two days, the chefs under their roof will be presenting a variety of dishes meant to highlight the wide cultural traditions across Asia. The hall will be filled with delicious smells from 15 different eateries and the music of DJ Traxion.

Phat Eatery
(7 pm Friday, February 9; 11:30 am Saturday, February 10; 11:30 am Sunday, February 11)
23119 Colonial Pkwy Suite B-2, Katy

Ushering in the New Year deserves a feast, and Phat Eatery in Katy has a special one prepared. The specialty family-style menu includes Yu Sheng “Prosperity Toss” (House-cured Scottish salmon, pickled carrot and cabbage, radish, sesame seed, plum sauce, cracker, sesame oil); smoked duck wrap (Roasted, house-smoked duck, Persian cucumber, scallion, roti wrap, cumin pineapple hoisin reduction); seared sea scallops; short ribs, and black sesame ice cream from HTX Nitro Creamery. Lion dancers will also be on hand.

Asia Society of Texas
(11 am to 4 pm, Saturday, February 10)
1370 Southmore Blvd.

Lunar New Year at Asia Society of Texas.Photo courtesy of Asia Society of Texas

As a local hallmark of all things Asian culture, Asia Society of Texas has an extensive itinerary planned to celebrate the Lunar New Year. In addition to the traditional dances, food, and crafts, they’re offering something called a Dragon Quest. Community organizers will take visitors on an educational journey across China, Vietnam, South Korea, and the Philippines learning about the history of various cultures through activities.

Lunar New Year dance performances at Asia Society of Texas.Photo courtesy of Asia Society of Texas

Visitors who complete the quest will receive a prize. Puppet making and good luck banners are some of the other crafts that will be on hand to try out.

Lunar New Year at the Chinese Community Center
(10 am to 4 pm Saturday, February 10)
9800 Town Park Dr. in Westchase

The annual event at the CCC has been going on for more than 20 years. Not only does it host the dragon and tiger dances that are so iconic to the Lunar New Year, the festival features traditional Asian crafts, arts, food, and other vendors. Learn Chinese calligraphy, origami, and more. It’s basically a miniature convention. Best of all, the event is totally free, including parking.

Children’s Museum of Houston
(11 am to 6 pm Saturday, February 10)
1500 Binz St.

To keep Lunar New Year completely kid-centric, the Children’s Museum has a wide range of activities for the day. Over in Junktion, visitors can make puppets and banners as well as moving dragon’s breath. The Houston Grand Opera will present an interactive storybook, and various dance troupes will perform. Kids will have a chance to take photos with some of the elaborate and colorful dancer costumes.

Lunar New Year children's museum houston Lunar New Year performances at Children’s Museum Houstton.Photo courtesy of Children’s Museum

Otaku Food Festival at Karbach Brewing Co.
(Noon to 10 pm Saturday, February 10; noon to 4 pm Sunday Feb. 11)
2023 Karbach St.

If you’re looking to celebrate the Lunar New Year with an anime twist, this is the festival for you. This free event is hosted across two days and contains more than 100 vendors. A number of them will be selling statues, DVDs, manga, and other anime culture items. There will also be a sumo competition. Food is the focus, everything from Asian street foods to baos and boba tea. Organizers encourage visitors to bring cash.

Lunar New Year at Discovery Green
(5 pm to 7 pm Sunday, February 11)
1500 McKinney St.

Lunar New Year at Discovery Green.Photo courtesy of Discovery Green

One of Houston’s most famous dragon dance teams will take the Anheuser-Busch Stage at Discovery Green. Since 1974, Lee’s Golden Dragon has captivated audiences across the south with their elaborate costumes and incredible drum corps. Discovery Green will also have local vendors of Asian food and crafts.

Movie Review

Reminders of Him taps into grief, grace, and the power of moving on

Photo by Michelle Faye / Universal Pictures

Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers in Reminders of HIm.

Texas author Colleen Hoover has gone from being a popular writer to a full-on celebrity in the 2020s. The new film Reminders of Him marks the third adaptation of her books in just 19 months (a fourth, Verity, is scheduled for release in October 2026). All of her books that have been adapted so far — most notably It Ends With Us — are female-led stories that feature elements of romance and trauma, catnip for studios looking to appeal to the underserved demographic of women.

Leading the way in this film is Kenna Rowan (Maika Monroe), who returns to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming after spending years in prison for killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow), in a car accident. That relationship resulted in a daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), whom Kenna gave birth to while imprisoned and is now being raised by her grandparents, Patrick (Bradley Whitford) and Grace (Lauren Graham).

Yearning to be a part of Diem’s life, Kenna tries to reconnect with Patrick and Grace, only to be rebuffed by Scotty’s best friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers), a former NFL player who now owns a local bar. In running interference, Ledger starts to become closer to Kenna, discovering that her tragic mistake shouldn’t be the only thing that defines her.

Directed by Vanessa Caswill and written by Lauren Levine, the film features mostly surface level examinations of its themes and average performances, yet it winds up being effective thanks to a willingness not to rush through its storytelling beats. The filmmakers take the slow and steady approach toward the coupling of Kenna and Ledger, setting up their bond through a series of heart-to-heart conversations that makes any romance feel earned.

The majority of the focus is on Kenna reclaiming her place in the world, and on Ledger coming to terms with the fact that the person who killed his best friend is not inherently a bad person. The film definitely could have gone deeper in its explorations of grief and anger, but the sheer amount of time it takes in addressing the characters’ doubts and fears turns out to be sufficient for a film that’s not aiming to be considered a dramatic masterpiece.

It also helps that Caswill and Levine do a solid job of establishing the variety of characters that inhabit the film. Kenna and Ledger don’t always feel like fully-formed people, but they become so through their interactions with each other and the other townspeople. Lady Diana (Monika Myers), a girl with Down syndrome who lives in Kenna’s apartment complex, and Roman (Nicholas Duvernay), Ledger’s co-worker at his bar, help to broaden the appeal of the two leads.

Monroe has, to this point, been best known for starring roles in horror films like It Follows and Longlegs. While she does somewhat well in this role, her delivery is often more flat than you’d expect for a character going through what she does. Withers thankfully doesn’t remind viewers of his recent bomb Him, demonstrating a crossover appeal that should serve him well in the future. Whitford and Graham don’t get to do much, but their combined experience gives their roles exactly what is needed.

It may sound like damning with faint praise, but Reminders of Him is a competently made film that knows how to serve its core audience without insulting anyone who may not automatically be all-in for such a story. The filmmakers don’t try to force any of the key moments down the audience’s throat, and that stands out in a genre that’s not always known for its subtlety.

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Reminders of Him opens in theaters on March 13.

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Movie Review

Reminders of Him taps into grief, grace, and the power of moving on