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weekend event planner

Here are the top 16 things to do in Houston this weekend

Craig D. Lindsey
Jun 5, 2024 | 6:29 pm

This weekend, we have a bevy of anniversary parties, with a brewery celebrating its 30th anniversary and a monthly soul party celebrating its first. We also have the grand opening of a new cocktail lounge in River Oaks, another monthly block party in Midtown, Broadway shows starting up downtown, and movies about jazz coming out of the Museum District. Plus, some of the golf world’s biggest stars will be driving for show and putting for dough.

And if you feel like downing some rosé and taking a brief trip to the moon, you can also do that this weekend.

Here are this weekend's best bets.

Thursday, June 6

Mid Main Houston First Thursday Block Party
This month, Mid Main Houston's First Thursday Block Party will benefit nonprofit Camp For All. Check in and make a $10 donation for an all-access wristband for a block party that includes complimentary Saint Arnold beer and live music by Sam and the Cats and The Cactus Blossoms. This event features art shows by Lina Dib and Amber Kaiser, tarot readings by Amber Ambrose, local vendors on the Winbern Market, crafts at Double Trouble, and parties inside both Big Kat's Barber Shop and The Fashion Time Machine. 6 pm.

Wine & Food Week
Wine & Food Week celebrates the creativity and passion found in the heart of the wine and food industry, featuring hundreds of wines, scores of celebrity guests, and a list of fresh culinary faces. Special guest sommeliers and chefs include Guy Stout, Chris Shepherd, Carlos Ramos, Michael Cordua, Masaru Fukuda, Austin Simmons, and Fernando Desa. We also have fashion icon Chloe Dao, artists Kathy Womack and Shelbi Nicole, and more. Events include wine tastings and Saturday night’s Grand Tasting, where one chef will win $5,000. 6 pm (11:30 am Friday; 7 pm Saturday).

The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts presents Beyond Broadway: The Barricade Boys West End Party!
The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts welcomes musical theater phenomenon The Barricade Boys West End Party! to its new Beyond Broadway series. Stars from the West End cast of Les Misérables will wow audiences with a mix of music, dance, and backstage stories from Broadway’s greatest hits. The Barricade Boys are taking the world by storm with their show that will have the audience tapping their feet, belting out some favorite tunes, and grinning from ear to ear. 7 pm (7:30 pm Friday)

Memorial Hermann Broadway at Hobby Center presents Hairspray
It’s time to take in the Tony-winning, stage-musical version of John Waters’ breakthrough 1988 hit, which was also brought to the big screen in 2007. In 1960s Baltimore, 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world? Hairspray features hit songs like “Welcome to the '60s,” “Good Morning Baltimore,” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” 7:30 pm (8 pm Friday; 2 & 8 pm Saturday; and 1:30 & 7 pm Sunday).

Friday, June 7

Golf Club of Houston presents LIV Golf Houston
The Golf Club of Houston will welcome many of golf’s biggest stars, including Texas native and Houston resident Patrick Reed, for a high-energy, fan-friendly tournament experience at LIV Golf Houston. LIV Golf’s international field also includes many of the sport’s biggest names, including 2023 Masters Champion Jon Rahm, five-time major champion and defending PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka, six-time major winner and World Golf Hall of Famer Phil Mickelson (HyFlyers GC), and more. 10 am.

Echoes 2-Year Anniversary Celebration
Popular live music bar and restaurant Echoes will celebrate its second anniversary this weekend. Echoes' birthday also happens to be Prince's birthday. The spot will pay tribute to the legendary musician and play Prince jams all night, courtesy of the one-and-only DJ Melodic. There will also be a special on the Prince Martini with Express Gin, Citadelle Gin, Skinos Mastiha Spirit Liqueur, and olive juice. Other drink and food specials will also take place throughout the night. 5 pm.

Moody Center for the Arts and Open Dance Project present Red Landscape: Georgia O’Keeffe in Texas 1912-1918
The Moody Center for the Arts at Rice University and Open Dance Project present an immersive dance theater performance devised by the ODP ensemble under the choreographic direction of Annie Arnoult. The performance surrounds audience members with a three-dimensional, multi-sensory collage of O’Keeffe’s memories and experiences in Texas. Through Saturday, June 15. 7 and 9 pm (3 and 5 pm Sunday).

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Jazz on Film
Jazz on Film features three weekends of special screenings celebrating the rich and varied intersections of jazz and cinema. Organized by guest curator Peter Lucas, this year’s program features the Houston premiere of the new documentary on bossa nova pioneers, Elis and Tom from Roberto de Oliveira and Jom Tob Azulay; Bruce Weber’s Let’s Get Lost (1988); and a special 50th anniversary screening of Sun Ra’s Space Is the Place (1974). 7 pm.

Fancy’s Grand Opening
Fancy’s, River Oaks’ new, buzzy cocktail lounge, is set to celebrate its grand opening this weekend. The Clé Group’s newest concept features craft cocktails along with fine wines, champagne, shareable bites, and a variety of live music acts. Festivities kick off with The Eliza Budiman Band, ready to give the people everything from Motown to French jazz to funky-old school favorites to forgotten pop treasures. The party will continue throughout the evening, followed by a DJ until 2 am. 8 pm.

Saturday, June 8

Montgomery County Food Bank presents Outrun Hunger
Join the fight against hunger by participating in Montgomery County Food Bank's annual Outrun Hunger event, featuring a 5K Trail Run and 1K Color Dash. The event will include music, food trucks, photo ops, a kids zone, and more. The proceeds benefit Montgomery County Food Bank's programs for children, seniors, and families facing hunger in Montgomery County. All ages and experience levels are encouraged to attend this family-friendly event. 8 am.

Rosé All Day Brunch at The Annie Café & Bar
Yes, it’s that time of year when we celebrate that beautiful elixir known as rosé. Celebrate National Rosé Day with a Rosé All Day Brunch at The Annie Café & Bar. Grab your friends, don your pink, and join in for a three-course brunch and rosé pairing at $90 per person. Don’t miss tunes by DJ Foxxy Kay, a festive photo opp wall, and a raffle to win a cool prize. The regular brunch menu will also be available. Reservations are recommended. 11 am.

Saint Arnold 30th Anniversary Party
To celebrate three decades of brewing in Houston, Saint Arnold Brewing Company will be throwing one helluva 30th anniversary party. It’ll be a day to toast the amazing culture of H-Town. With a goal of crafting the most Houston-centric music lineup, Devin the Dude, Kam Franklin, Robert Ellis, and Fat Tony will perform a set of their own before closing out the evening together with a collaboration performance as The Houston Super Group. 2 pm.

The Menil Collection presents Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood
In conjunction with the Menil Collection's foyer installation: “Moon Landing, 1969” by Japanese-born conceptual artist On Kawara (1932–2014), the museum will present Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, a 2022 animated coming-of-age film from director Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Boyhood), set in Houston in 1969 during the events preceding the Apollo 11 moon landing. The screening will take place on the Menil's front lawn and is co-presented with the Friends of River Oaks Theatre. 8 pm.

Sunday, June 9

Community Artists' Collective presents Legacy Project and “BLACK STEREO” opening reception
Community Artists’ Collective, Community Music Center of Houston, and Hogan Brown Gallery will present the annual Legacy Project, a month-long celebration of Black Music Month. The Legacy Project honors local and national individuals' contributions to music. “BLACK STEREO” is a collaboration between artist Tierney Malone, Community Artists’ Collective, and Community Music Center of Houston. After the reception, music of the Third Ward will be performed by H-Town Orchestra. Through Sunday, August 11. 3 pm.

East End Soul Club First Anniversary
Let’s congratulate veteran DJ Stewart A. Anderson (A Fistful of Soul) for keeping East End Soul Club, his monthly musical gathering, going strong over at Lil’ Danny Speedo’s Go Fly a Kite Lounge for a year now. He’ll be celebrating with a first anniversary record sale. Anderson will be spinning “the slow side of soul” along with special guest DJ/former Fistful collaborator Alex LaRotta. Ethan Broussard and Henry Smith, aka pop-up culinary duo Letiche, will be cooking out on the patio. 4 pm.

Todd Rundgren in concert
Todd Rundgren will always be a legend for giving people “Hello It’s Me,” a song which was soulfully covered by The Isley Brothers. But he also gave us such gems as “I Saw The Light,” the only song that has been covered by Jason Schwartzman, Rashida Jones, and Maya Rudolph on Bill Murray’s A Very Murray Christmas special, which dropped on Netflix in 2015. Anyway, he’s coming down to play most of his classic tunes, as well as tracks from his latest, 2022’s Space Force. 7 pm.

Fancy's bar people

Photo by Shane Dante

Fancy's celebrates its grand opening this weekend.

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Movie Review

An all-star cast delivers clever laughs in new comedy The Invite

Alex Bentley
Jul 10, 2026 | 2:30 pm
Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite
Photo courtesy of A24
Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in The Invite.

Once upon a time, well before scandal embroiled him, Woody Allen made great comedies aimed at adults. That type of film — which is different from the raunchy, R-rated comedies of the 21st century — has fallen out of favor in Hollywood, but as the new film The Invite proves, when done well it can be as funny as anything else out there.

Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) are an unhappily married couple living in San Francisco. As we meet them, Joe has arrived home to Angela preparing for a visit from their upstairs neighbors, Hawk (Edward Norton) and Piña (Penélope Cruz), who have moved in relatively recently. Their impending arrival starts a new round of arguing between Joe and Angela, something they can barely contain once the other couple comes to their door.

What proceeds is a getting-to-know-you process that is mostly awkward as Joe and Angela continue sniping at each other while Hawk and Piña put in their two cents in a much calmer manner. A sticking point between the two couples — the loud sex Hawk and Piña have on an almost nightly basis — turns the film on its head with an unexpected invitation.

Directed by Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, the film is a fast-paced chamber piece that takes place almost entirely in Joe and Angela’s apartment. Wilde, the writers, and the actors speed the story along not with action but through almost non-stop dialogue that often has the characters overlapping each other’s lines. The rapidity of the speech fuels the humor of the situation and establishes the differing personalities of each person.

Sex is very much top of mind for each of the characters for most of the film, but the filmmakers approach the topic in such a way that it never feels salacious. Each of the characters is a rational adult who can talk about sex in a mature manner while also acknowledging their unique feelings on the matter. And it’s the discoveries each of them makes along the way that brings about the most comedy.

But, like any comedy for adults, the film also has a dramatic tilt to it, and Wilde edges the story back-and-forth between the two tones extremely well. Joe and Angela fighting is played for laughs at times, but the sadness of their relationship comes through loud and clear. Hawk and Piña are much more intimate with each other, but the funniness of their openness is juxtaposed with a depth that arises through their conversations.

In the 2020s, Rogen has managed to make the transition from goofy stoner to stoner with real acting chops. In a stacked cast, he is the one who sells every moment the best. That’s not to say that Wilde, Norton, and Cruz don’t measure up, though; each of them inhabits their respective roles magnificently. The four actors play off each other as if they had been working together for years.

While The Invite will likely play better to those who have experience with long term relationships, its insights — and occasional bawdiness — make it a comedy that can be appreciated universally. With four actors at the top of their games and a razor-sharp script made even better by some well-done improv, it proves that you don’t need to go low to get great laughs.

---

The Invite is now playing in theaters.

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