weekend event planner

These are the 14 top things to do in Houston this weekend

The Houston Symphony performs during a live screening of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Mid-July means plenty of indoor weekend fun. But those who venture outdoors will be rewarded with a brewery bash and pop-up market. The Texas Music Festival tunes up, and Houston Symphony presents a stirring live performance of the Harry Potter film that started it all — and starts a run of symphony/movie screenings.

Brides-to-be can hit the annual extravaganza, while Sunday offers more shopping excursions. Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, July 13

713 Day at Bad Astronaut Brewing and East End Backyard

For those of you proud Houstonians who celebrate the day the main area code appears on the calendar, we know two places where you can party down. Bad Astronaut Brewing will have Houston Paint Sesh doing some special-guest artwork. DJ Flovverheadd will provide the music while you can shop at the more than 20 local vendors. You can also head over to East End Backyard, where there will be a night pop-up market. We’re talking live performances, live art, drink specials, and a whole lotta slabs. 5 pm (4 pm East End).

Murder by the Book presents Scott Von Doviak

After years of reviewing movies & television for such outlets as the Onion AV Club and the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, Austin writer Scott Von Doviak is now devoting his time churning out down-and-dirty crime fiction. Over at the Hard Case Crime imprint, he’s written the pulpy paperbacks Charlesgate Confidential and Lowdown Road, his latest, where a weed dealer and his ex-con cousin hatch a scheme to make money during an Evel Knievel stunt. Von Doviak will be in town signing copies of this crazy crime story. 6:30 pm.

Texas New Music Ensemble presents Texas New Music Festival

This international summer music festival brings contemporary aesthetics to the Houston community through both world-class performances and lectures, while providing career building opportunities for a broad range of international musical artists throughout various stages of their careers. Participants can expect to premiere their chamber works during one of our four concerts, attend focal sessions with the guest composer, take part in the in-house film festival, etc. 7 pm (1:30 and 7:30 pm Saturday; 2 pm Sunday)

Friday, July 14

French American Chamber of Commerce Texas presents Bastille Day

The General Consulate of France and the French American Chamber of Commerce Texas will present the French National Day celebration, where visitors can immerse themselves in a fusion of sports and culture to gear up for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Local sports associations will run the games. After exercising, visitors can enjoy authentic French delicacies and sip on a glass of chill wine at "La Buvette," which will transport them straight to France. You can also head over nearby to Under the Volcano, which will also have a Bastille Day party. 9 am.

Lanecia Rouse Tinsley Gallery presents Colby Deal: “Repurpose” opening reception

This new exhibit from local artist Colby Deal is the inward practice and outward act of repurposing materials and experiences that carry personal resonance. This collection is a mirror to his own life's journey of self-reconstruction and preservation through the collaging of consciously safeguarded materials and images, seeing in them not only their inherent value but also his own life's potential for rebirth. Through Friday, September 1. 6 pm.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Tori and Lokita (Tori et Lokita)

From two-time Palme d’Or winners Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne comes the story of young African immigrants struggling for survival on the margins of Belgian society. This film follows 12-year-old Tori and 17-year-old Lokita (in remarkable debut performances from Pablo Schils and Joely Mbundu). A heart-stopping thriller that casts an unflinching eye on the trials of the young and dispossessed, the latest humanist drama from the Dardenne brothers won the 75th Anniversary Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. 7 pm (5 pm Saturday and Sunday).

The Houston Symphony presents Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Concert

The Houston Symphony will kick off the Harry Potter Film Concert Series with the film that started it all. The concert will feature the Symphony performing live, to picture, every note of John Williams’ score. In the 2001 film, Potter learns on his 11th birthday that he is the orphaned son of two wizards and possesses magical powers. At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he learns the sport of Quidditch, and plays a “live” chess game en route to facing a Dark Wizard bent on destroying him. 7:30 pm (2:30 and 7:30 pm Saturday)

Saturday, July 15

39th Biannual Bridal Extravaganza Show

The largest bridal planning showcase in the U.S. will return to feature fashion shows, cakes, gowns, and local vendors. Brides, bridesmaids, mothers-of-the-bride, grooms, family, and wedding planners will have their pick of over 160 vendors that cater exclusively to the wedding industry. The show will feature cake samples, décor, flowers, fashion shows, a gown gallery of over 200 wedding dresses, multiple Instagram walls for selfies, and entertainment from Houston’s top wedding professionals. 10 am (11 am Sunday).

Buy From A Black Woman x H&M

H&M and Buy From a Black Woman will bring their wildly successful cross-country Inspire Tour to Houston’s H&M Galleria location this weekend. The Inspire Tour highlights local, Black women-owned businesses, rallies communities – including Houston – to shop from local vendors and serves as a networking opportunity for business owners. The partnership, kicking off its third year, advances the nonprofit's mission of empowering, educating and inspiring Black women business owners and the people who support them. 11 am.

Frost Town Brewing Anniversary Party

Frost Town Brewing will be turning one this weekend. They’ll be celebrating with a huge shindig with the release of their limited-edition, Happy Bockday beer. There will also be other limited beer releases, anniversary merch giveaways, music, great food (Taco Bombero and Umbrella Fellas will be around), and local vendors, including Plant Heaven and Derf Designs. DJ Muskratch will be there to provide music. 1 pm.

Hogan Brown Gallery presents “Six Degrees of Separation” opening reception

Introducing the inaugural exhibition for the Hogan Brown Gallery at Eldorado Ballroom, curated by Robert Leroy Hodge and gallery director India Ashley Lovejoy. The doors will be open for regular hours (starting at noon) to welcome in the community for a first look at the gallery and its featured artists and artworks, all of which will coincide with the grand opening of neighbor and sister concept The Rado Market. Then, there will be an evening reception with lite bites and drinks. Through Thursday, August 31. 6 pm.

Sunday, July 16

ThriftCon

ThriftCon, the nation’s premier vintage clothing convention, will feature over 100 vendors as well as multiple activations and installations celebrating vintage and retro culture as well as sustainability in fashion. The world's first and only clothing and collectible convention will feature thousands of products, ranging from valuable, vintage men's and women's clothing, to classic and vintage collectibles all under one roof. 9 am.

Legacy Community Health presents the 21st Annual Mint Julep

Open to all attendees 18 and over, Legacy Community Health’s 21st annual Mint Julep promises to be a cosmic adventure. Attendees will get a chance to honor Linda Cantu, J.D. Doyle, and Doug Boyd, aka Kimberly Anne O'Neil for their contributions to the community. Proceeds from the event will benefit Legacy's HIV/AIDS programs and services, ensuring that the organization can continue to provide life-saving services to those in need. 3 pm.

Patio Sunday Funday presents Casador’s Birthday Beats

Join Bauhaus for an electrifying celebration as the club marks DJ Casador’s birthday in style. Get ready to dance the night away as Bauhaus brings you a sensational lineup of Houston’s finest house DJs. Casador, together with Flaco, Move, and more of his DJ friends, will be taking over the decks to deliver an unforgettable night of grooves and infectious rhythms. It’s free, but an RSVP is required. 6 pm.

Holidays Are Here

Ben Stiller delivers lighthearted fun in new Hulu movie Nutcrackers

Photo courtesy of Nutcracker Productions LLC/Hulu

Ben Stiller, Atlas Janson, Homer Janson, and Ulysses Janson in Nutcrackers.

A holiday-themed comedy seems like just what the doctor ordered right now, and the new Hulu film Nutcrackers steps up with a little mayhem, heartfelt sentiment, and a nod to traditions. But it doesn't add up to a memorable experience.

The film stars Ben Stiller as Mike, a high-powered Chicago architect with little time for anybody but himself whose sister and brother-in-law are recently deceased. He is supposedly there to place his four nephews — Justice (Homer Janson), Simon (Arlo Janson), Steve (Ulysses Janson), and Samuel (Atlas Janson) — into foster care. But social worker Gretchen (Linda Cardellini) informs Mike that the foster family has fallen through, and he needs to act as guardian until she can find someone else.

Whether they’re still reeling from their parents’ deaths or are just wild in general, the kids prove to be more than a handful for Mike, who always has one eye on the door, hoping to get back to his own life as soon as possible. But the longer he’s forced to stay, the more the kids grow on him, especially when he learns that at least two of them were students at their mom’s dance studio, giving him an idea to stage a version of a certain holiday classic.

Directed by David Gordon Green and written by Leland Douglas, the film would seem to have all the elements that make a holiday film memorable, but the vibe is off right from the start. First of all, the audience is thrown right into the mix along with Mike, with barely any introduction to the main characters. As their backstories are mostly missing, it’s difficult to feel anything — good or bad — about Mike or the kids, and so they just kind of co-exist for the first act of the film.

Green and Douglas can also never decide what kind of people they want the kids to be. The film starts with a scene of them sneaking into an amusement park and causing havoc, and subsequent scenes make it seem like they’re supposed to be hellions. But when the filmmakers start going back-and-forth between them wrecking things and being responsible, down-to-earth kids, the plot thread gets confusing and less interesting.

It’s also perplexing why they would cast Stiller, who’s been known to play straight-laced characters who go off the rails on many occasions, and then not let him do what he does best. Even when confronted with some of the kids’ worst behavior, Mike keeps his reactions in check, which may be good for a real-life uncle, but makes for a less-than-entertaining holiday family film.

Stiller still lives up to his star-billing at times, but the arc of his character is not that inspiring, even when a slight romance starts to bloom between Mike and Gretchen. The Janson brothers, who are making their collective film debut, are fun at times, but their lack of experience shows in their unpolished performances. Cardellini is a nice presence, but she’s not given enough to do to make a big impact.

Nutcrackers is an inoffensive movie in that it’s not so terrible that there’s no way to actually finish it. But there’s little in its story, characters, or attempt to be a holiday movie that can be recommended as a fun family watch, so it’s likely to fade away into streamer oblivion.

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Nutcrackers is now streaming on Hulu.

movies film