weekend event planner

Here are the top 15 things to do in Houston this weekend

Wildly popular podcasters LadyGang step into town this weekend.

Could that weird sensation we're feeling be...breeze? Yes, Houston is finally cooling, which means outdoor fun, outdoor dining (check out our patio guide here), and more.

This weekend sees cool art shows, cool music — including a Selena tribute — and boozy fun at a few events. Barbie fans can catch the Malibu truck in The Woodlands, while a hot sauce fest brings the heat and a tasty chef fest serves up delicious bites. And Sunday, a buzzy podcasting trio gets ladylike.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, September 29

The Hardy & Nance Studios presents "Right Response: Artists Respond to SCOTUS"

For this three-day art show, artists will be mostly responding to the recent revocation of Roe vs Wade and how it affects Texans under SB8. Artists include Patrycja Admowicz, Katy Anderson, Sheridan Bradshaw Tonche, Ann Bromley, Anne Byrd, Thedra Cullar-Ledford, Allison Currie, Sandra de la Rosa, Esther Delaquis-Baidoo, Sharon Engelstein, Sharon Kopriva, Stephanie Larsen, Amari Lavergne, August Lewis, Kim Miranda, Michelle O’Michael, M. Morgan, Lizbeth Ortiz, Claire Richards, Leslie Roades, Anat Ronen, Leslie Roznovski, Lex Simone, Stäcy Smith, N. Waggs, and Brandi Untz. 5 pm.

WindSync: The Road to Abbey Road

Houston’s wind quintet WindSync is headed to Abbey Road. Before they travel to London to record in the legendary Studio Two at Abbey Road Studios, they'll perform music by a broad range of artists connected to Abbey Road, including the Beatles, composer Edward Elgar, Radiohead, and Uruguayan-American musician Miguel del Aguila. The performance will take place below 8th Wonder Brewery’s iiconic Beatles statues, Houston sculptor David Adickes’ tribute to the Fab Four. 7:30 pm.

The Rustic presents Bidi Bidi Banda

The Rustic will be celebrating the life and music of the incomparable Selana with this live performance from tribute band Bidi Bidi Banda. There will also be a look-alike contest, awarding top prizes to a few lucky winners who best capture the styles and fashions of La Reina de Tex-Mex. First place is a $200 Rustic gift card, while second place is a $100 gift card and third place is a $50 gift card. This event is majority standing room throughout the facility, and a full menu is available. This event is free with RSVP, so dress up and come early. 8:30 pm.

Friday, September 30

Everybody's Favorite Barbecue & Hot Sauce Festival

The presumably titled Everybody's Favorite BBQ & Hot Sauce Festival is a three-day festival featuring food and national music performances. It is a diverse event that highlights the aroma of traditional barbecue while bringing together a multicultural, outdoor social setting. And let’s not forget that bottles and bottles of hot sauce will be around for those who like their barbecue to give them that extra kick in the pants, so to speak. Musical performers will include Mark May, Dirty Red & The Soul Shakers, and Kerri Lick. 6 pm (5 pm Saturday).

Amanda Seales: The Black Outside Again Tour

Comedian, actress, podcaster and social justice advocate Amanda Seales comes to Houston as part of her new tour. With an uncanny knack for taking serious topics (racism, rape culture, sexism, police brutality, etc.) and lacing them with humor, making them relatable and interesting, she combines intellectual wit, silliness, and a pop-culture obsession to create her unique style of smart, funny content for the stage and screen. 7:30 pm.

HaVoK & Rogue Vogue present A Moonlight Masquerade

HaVoK & Rogue Vogue present this masquerade celebration, featuring a runway presentation by Sabrina Nicole’s Rogue Vogue. The event will include special guests Angela Ryan and Dan Miga Designs, a burlesque performance by Summer Dubose, a fetish performance by Mistress Meana Rose, music from DJ Whisperwish, and a vendor market (including Thorn and Moon Apothecary, Grateful Grounded Gems and others). Masquerade masks and attire are required, and the dress code will be strictly enforced. 8 pm.

Houston Symphony presents "Gershwin Concerto in F"

Brimming with the toe-tapping jazz rhythms of the 1920s, George Gershwin’s effervescent, free-spirited Concerto in F is positively guaranteed to leave audiences uplifted. Jeffrey Kahane will be both the conductor and soloist for a program celebrating great American composers, past and present, including outstanding recent compositions of Adolphus Hailstork and Shawn Okpebholo, along with the unbridled energy and heart-on-sleeve passion of Samuel Barber’s Symphony No. 1. 8 pm (2:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, October 1

Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Malibu Tour

The Barbie Truck Totally Throwback Malibu Tour comes to The Woodlands with exclusive retro-inspired merchandise as part of its continuing U.S. tour to celebrate the 50th Anniversary and iconic heritage of the original California girl. The truck will offer an array of new '70s-themed Malibu Barbie beach apparel and accessories, including Barbie-logo embroidered denim jackets, pink Barbie-logo hoodies, tie-dye bucket hats, embroidered patch sets, stainless thermal bottles, beach towels, and more. The truck will be located near Pottery Barn and Shake Shack. 10 am.

CityCentre presents First Annual Biergarten

CityCentre will host its first-ever, two-day Biergarten. From beer aficionados to casual drinkers, all are invited to enjoy specialty drinks and food, including some new and seasonal Oktoberfest beers. The event will also include an American twist – football! So, bring some friends, take a seat, and watch football games on the huge, 23-foot TV all day long in the plaza.

Non-alcoholic beverages will also be offered. No outside food or drink is allowed, but many CityCentre restaurants will provide lite bites and meals to go for guests to enjoy as they watch the games. 11 am.

2022 H-Town on Tap Beer Fest

You are in for a great day of beer and fun at Water Works Park this weekend. This premier beer festival will showcase over 100 beers from local and national breweries. Each brewery will have a variety of beers on tap for you to enjoy throughout the day. Outside of rare beers, there will be plenty of activities to enjoy, including live bands, trendy local chefs, games, giveaways, picture booths, contests, and so much more. 2 pm.

Oktoberfest at Sugar Land Town Square

Lovers of beer, food, and family fun are invited to Sugar Land Town Square for the debut of Oktoberfest. Visitors can enjoy a curated biergarten, local marketplace by Boho Market, live music and dancing, traditional German fare, games, contests, and more. More fun includes the Dachshund Dash, stein races, and stein holding contests, tarot card readers, caricature artists, jugglers, stilt walkers, and more special surprises. Expect food from a host of local restaurants and of course, Flying Saucer Biergarten beers. Event is free, with food and drink available to purchase. 4 pm.

Weird Al Yankovic in concert with Emo Philips

"Weird Al" Yankovic burst onto the scene over three decades ago and never looked back. For the second time in his storied career, the world's foremost musical satirist and five-time Grammy winner foregoes his usual high-octane, big-production show for an intimate evening of music, focusing on original (non-parody) songs from his 14-album catalog. Marking his highly anticipated return to the concert stage after his hugely successful Strings Attached Tour in 2019, this is a rare opportunity to get up-close and personal with this legendary performer. 8 pm.

Sunday, October 2

Chefs for Farmers

For the first time ever, Chefs For Farmers will be making its official debut in the Space City with a lineup of the city's top chefs for one mouthwatering, food and wine experience. Attendees will get to devour delicious eats from over 20 of the hottest Houston chefs, who will be partnering with a variety of regional farms to curate dishes that will satisfy guests' taste buds. Each all-inclusive ticket includes unlimited bites, drinks and live entertainment. For the inaugural year, they have partnered with Houston Food Bank as the official charity partner. 1 pm.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents El Norte

After their family is killed in a government massacre, a brother and sister flee Guatemala on a perilous trek to the USA. Close calls with immigration and the dehumanizing effects of such a crossing compound the challenges of adapting to a new life. This timeless 1983 classic of Chicano cinema was directed by Gregory Nava (Selena). This “Movies Houstonians Love” presentation honors the late Michael Olivas, a law scholar and University of Houston professor emeritus who passed away in April 2022. Augustina Reyes, professor emerita at University of Houston College of Education, will introduce the film. 2 pm.

LadyGang presents The Lady Secrets Tour

The creators of the wildly popular podcast LadyGang — Keltie Knight, Becca Tobin, and Jac Vanek — come to Houston as part of The Lady Secrets Tour. LadyGang began with the mission to make women feel less alone. Since 2015, the show has boasted over 175 million downloads, guests like Chelsea Handler, Bethenny Frankel, Tan France, Kristin Chenoweth, Lucy Hale, Shania Twain, Paris Hilton, Darren Criss and RuPaul, topped the podcast charts, and spawned a television series, clothing line, accessories line, and a book, Act Like a Lady. 7 pm.

Awards Season

CultureMap critic's guide to the 2026 Oscar Best Picture nominees

Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in Sinners

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Sinners leads all films at the 2026 Academy Awards with a stunning 16 nominations.

The nominations for the 2026 Academy Awards have been announced, with 10 films vying for Best Picture. Leading the way is Sinners with an astonishing 16 nominations, the most in Oscars history.

The other top films include One Battle After Another, which earned 13 nominations, and Marty Supreme, Frankenstein, and Sentimental Value, which each got 9 nominations.

As a refresher, below are links to the full reviews for each of the nominees covered by CultureMap in the past year, as well as brief thoughts on the films and their various nominations.

Movie fans will have plenty of time to catch up with each of the nominees, as this year's Oscars ceremony will not take place until Sunday, March 15.

Here's the list of Best Picture nominees, in alphabetical order:

Bugonia
Yet another off-the-wall film from director Yorgos Lanthimos features two great performances by Emma Stone (nominated for Best Actress) and Jesse Plemons at its center. Written by Will Tracy (nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay), the conspiracy theory film is alternately brutal and funny as the characters played by Stone and Plemons use their form of power to try to manipulate the other. With a fair amount of intrigue and two great actors going head-to-head for much of its running time, it gives even more Oscar pedigree to its filmmakers and stars.

F1
The biggest surprise among the Best Picture nominees has to be the racing movie F1. It was a technical marvel, to be sure, as its nominations in Film Editing, Sound, and Visual Affects attest. But the fact that it has no other nominations in any of the above the fold categories indicates that its other qualities are lacking. As a showcase (aka advertisement) for the sport it depicts, the film works relatively well. As a complete movie, though, there’s not much to recommend, to the point that it almost negates any of the positives that come from the racing scenes.

Frankenstein (not reviewed)
Writer/director Guillermo del Toro (nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay) loves himself a monster movie, and he takes on one of the classics with his new version of Frankenstein (now streaming on Netflix). Oscar Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein, who brings to life The Creature, played by Jacob Elordi (nominated for Best Supporting Actor). With a slew of nominations in technical categories, there's a chance this film goes home with a lot of awards at this year's ceremony.

Hamnet (not reviewed)
Writer/director Chloé Zhao (nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay alongside co-writer Maggie O'Farrell) gets back to her Oscar-worthy skills for the first time since 2020's Nomadland (after the unfortunate detour into the MCU with Eternals). A story about love, loss, and grief involving William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, the film is most notable for the performances of its two leads, Jessie Buckley (nominated for Best Actress) and Paul Mescal.

Marty Supreme
There was no other movie this year, or maybe even this century, like Marty Supreme. Directed and co-written by Josh Safdie (nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay alongside co-writer Ronald Bronstein), the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for 2 ½ hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives. At its center is the fast-talking, powerhouse performance by star Timothée Chalamet (nominated for Best Actor), who cements his status as his generation’s movie star one year after playing the polar opposite role of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. Look for the film to be a strong contender in the inaugural Best Casting category, as Safdie fills the film with non-actors who are crucial to the film's success.

One Battle After Another
Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay) has an acclaimed career going back 30 years, but has yet to actually win an Oscar. That will change this year, as One Battle After Another is one of the favorites to win Best Picture thanks to Anderson's stellar filmmaking, as well as multiple great performances that earned the film four acting nominations (Leonardo DiCaprio for Best Actor, Teyana Taylor for Best Supporting Actress, and Benicio Del Toro and Sean Penn for Best Supporting Actor). Add in a story with a very timely political critique (that's getting more relevant by the day) and you have the recipe for a big winner on Oscar night.

The Secret Agent (not reviewed)
No foreign country has quite the influence on the Oscars as Brazil, which for the second straight year has gotten one of its films nominated for both Best International Feature Film and Best Picture. Written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho, the film is anchored by the performance of Wagner Moura (nominated for Best Actor) as a technology expert in the late 1970s who flees from a mysterious past to try to find peace in his hometown.

Sentimental Value (not reviewed)
For the third year in a row, two international films made the cut in the Best Picture race (but whither It Was Just an Accident?). Directed and co-written by Joachim Trier (nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay alongside co-writer Eskil Vogt), the film is tied for the most acting nominations this year, earning nods for Renate Reinsve for Best Actress, Elle Fanning and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas for Best Supporting Actress, and Stellan Skarsgård for Best Supporting Actor.

Sinners
It takes a special kind of filmmaker to make movies that are both popular and Oscar-worthy, and writer/director Ryan Coogler (nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay) has done it again, seven years after helming the Oscar-winning Black Panther. Both a tribute to Black music history and a gnarly vampire movie, the film is led by Michael B. Jordan (nominated for Best Actor) in dual roles as twins Smoke and Stack. With a story infused with all manner of subtext and a bunch of great supporting performances, including Best Supporting Actress nominee Wunmi Mosaku, the film demonstrates Coogler's great filmmaking abilities that should keep him in demand for years to come. Amazingly, there was only one category for which it was eligible in which it did not receive a nomination.

Train Dreams (not reviewed)
The second Netflix movie this year to be nominated, Train Dreams is a contemplative film about a logger (played by Joel Edgerton) in early 20th century America who tries to adapt to a rapidly-changing world. Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for the script by director Clint Bentley and co-writer Greg Kwedar, the film is most notable for the work done by Adolpho Veloso (nominated for Best Cinematography), who showcases the Pacific Northwest in all its glory.

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