It's Rodeo season, y'all. The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest runs from Thursday to Saturday, and thousands more Houstonians will hit the streets for the annual Rodeo Run and 2024 Downtown Rodeo Parade.

While much of the city will be celebrating smoked meats at NRG Park, this weekend has plenty of other happenings. From dance and theater performances to Lunar New Year celebrations and a performance by Jerry Seinfeld, the next few days are loaded with reasons to get out and enjoy our mild late-winter weather.

Enjoy; here are your best bets for the weekend.

Thursday, February 22

Asia Society Texas presents "Xu Bing: Word Alchemy" opening day
"Xu Bing: Word Alchemy" assembles more than 50 of Xu Bing’s most important woodcut prints, videos, drawings, installations, and other ephemera representing almost 50 years of the artist’s creative output. Highlights of the exhibition include Xu Bing’s early works, his private never-before-seen notebook, landmark prints including the "Series of Repetitions" handscroll, and a new installation of "Monkeys Grasp for the Moon" in Asia Society Texas' Fayez Sarofim Grand Hall. Through Sunday, July 14. Noon.

Echoes Margarita Day Celebration
In collaboration with Lalo Tequila and Houston artist Paperbag, Echoes will have a National Margarita Day happy hour and art show event. Echoes will have margaritas specials and art on display from Paperbag. There will also be cabrito (goat) and carnitas taco specials and Latin music throughout the night, including live cumbia music. The Margarita menu, curated by Echoes bar manager Elena Vann and Lalo Tequila, will have all margaritas with Lalo. 5 pm.

Diverseworks presents Laura Gutierrez: In Tarps I Trust
In Tarps I Trust is a dance work by Laura Gutierrez that is inspired by themes of labor, specifically blue-collar jobs. The work explores the physical labor Gutierrez witnessed throughout her father’s career as a billboard painter, highlighting the materials that were ever present growing up in her household, such as tarps, ladders, and ratchet straps. This work also creates a platform for dialogue around how different forms of labor are valued, or undervalued, including the work of artists. 7 pm.

Friday, February 23

The Menil Collection presents Janet Sobel: "All-Over" opening day
The Menil Collection presents Janet Sobel: "All-Over," featuring some 30 paintings and drawings made by Sobel (1893-1968). The exhibition will explore Sobel’s work during her rise as one of the first artists associated with Abstract Expressionism to pioneer a new approach to modern abstraction known as “all-over” painting. The show will bring together significant loans from U.S. museums, private collections, and the artist’s family that reveal Sobel’s exceptionally inventive and influential approach to modern abstraction. Through Sunday, August 11. 11 am.

Houston Farmers Market presents Rodeo Festival
The Houston Farmers Market presents its annual Rodeo Festival, kicking off Rodeo season with a special event featuring live performances from local bands, a mechanical bull, a petting zoo, face painting, a live photo opp, and more. Visitors can also shop offerings from market vendors, specialties from local artisans with a themed Shop Local Market pop-up, and indulge in bites from R-C Ranch, Alamo Tamales, and Comalito. Noon.

Performing Arts Houston presents Manual Cinema: Leonardo!
Leonardo is a terrible monster. He tries so hard to be scary, but he just ... isn’t. Then Leonardo finds Sam, the most scaredy-cat kid in the world. Will Leonardo finally get to scare the tuna salad out of someone? Or will it be the start of an unlikely friendship? Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster uses hundreds of illustrated paper puppets, book pages, two-dimensional props, furry monster puppets, and songs to bring Mo Willems’ books to life. 7 pm (2 & 5 pm Saturday).

Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land presents Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld comes to Sugar Land to perform his latest stand-up. You’d think after he and Larry David created Seinfeld, one of the most successful, influential sitcoms of all time, the man would just stay at home and do what made him famous: nothing. However, being the stand-up vet that he is, he continues to tour and make people laugh with the observational humor that made him a comedy icon. Here’s hoping his latest batch of jokes will end up on another Netflix special in the future. 7 pm.

Saturday, February 24

Avenida Houston presents Black History Month Culture Fest
This year’s Black History Month Culture Fest at Avenida Houston will celebrate African American heritage with an impressive lineup of live music, poetry, dance, art, a marketplace and more. Everyone is invited to join Houston First Corporation (HFC) on the Plaza at Avenida Houston for this free, two-day, family-friendly event. Attendees can find one-of-a-kind creations in the marketplace, soak in sounds from the Main Stage area, or check out some of H-town’s hottest DJ’s and panel discussions in The Vibe Lounge. 1 pm.

Have a Nice Day presents Lunar New Year Celebration
The pop-up market devoted to supporting Houston’s AAPI community returns from winter break with an epic Lunar New Year Party. Held at the Ion in Midtown, the event features more than 20 vendors — including CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominees Boo’s Burgers and Burmalicious by Suu — along with a photo booth, red envelope giveaway, and tastings of Johnnie Walker. 4 pm.

Garden & Gun Rodeo Smoke Show
In partnership with Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Garden & Gun hosts a lively evening of bourbon and barbecue to kick off the Houston Rodeo. Attendees will enjoy live music, craft bourbon cocktails, and a makers’ market featuring artisan wares by top names in Western goods. Throughout the evening, guests will indulge in a Lone Star state-inspired menu by chef Leonard Botello and team featuring Texas smoked meats, a combination of classic and unconventional sides, desserts, and a selection of spicy, sweet, and savory sauces. 6 pm.

Rice Cinema presents Lucha: A Wrestling Tale
Lucha documents the Taft HS women’s wrestling team, from the high hopes of its inaugural season through the uncertainty of graduation. In particular, it’s the story of four young women who view wrestling as a way to transform their lives. Shirley wants a college scholarship, Nyasia wants to get in shape, Mariam is juggling studies and sports, and Alba is a recent immigrant looking for a home. Director Marco Ricci and editor Leah Goudsmit will be in attendance for a post-screening discussion and Q&A. 7 pm.

DACAMERA presents Isata Kanneh-Mason
The eldest of the famed, British musical family of seven musical prodigies, pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason possesses dazzling technical skills and spellbinding musicality that have propelled the young musician into the international spotlight. She makes her Houston debut in a recital featuring an equally exciting Houston premiere: Fanny Mendelssohn’s “Easter” Sonata – lost for 150 years – heard now for the first time live on the DACAMERA stage. (The MFAH will also screen Fanny: The Lost Mendelssohn on Friday.) 8 pm.

Sunday, February 25

The Orange Show presents Beer Can House Meetup
John Milkovisch spent countless hours of leisure time in his yard creating the Beer Can House. As the neighborhood has changed, the property at 222 Malone remains a time capsule of Houston’s vernacular architecture from the early 20th century, with a surprise around every corner. The Beer Can House Conservation & Crafts Crew is an opportunity for volunteers to meet up at The Beer Can House one morning a month to learn, teach, and help maintain this important folk art landmark. 9 am.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Winter Festival: Lunar New Year
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Winter Festival, a family-friendly event to celebrate Lunar New Year. Performances will include taiko drummers with Kaminari Taiko of Houston, a musical performance form the North American Youth Chinese Orchestra (NAYCO), a martial arts demonstration from Vovinam Hoa Lu, a giant dragon and lion dance, and more. Families can also participate in art-making activities, while guests can enjoy food from Hella Bubble, CaoBao, Chi’Lantro, and more. 1 pm.

Moores School of Music presents AURA Contemporary Ensemble: "Embracing Chaos"
AURA performs music that displays signs of disorder and confusion from composers all around the world on their program “Embracing Chaos.” The concert will feature works by Jonathan Harvey (United Kingdom), Gabriela Ortiz (Mexico), Krzysztof Penderecki (Poland), Peter Sculthorpe (Australia), Harry Stafylakis (USA), and Garth Stevenson (Canada). 6 pm.