weekend event planner

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

This weekend is all about food — or at least, mostly about food.

It kicks off with the grand opening celebration for a food hall that began serving customers last year and continues with a party on Friday night headlined by the city’s newest James Beard Award winner. On Saturday night, food fanatics can head to Sugar Land for a new festival that features more than 30 of the city’s best chefs.

Beyond that, comedy fans will find a few opportunities to tickle their funny bones, and film buffs can celebrate the music of Star Wars. Elsewhere, Houstonians can take a trip to Taiwan without leaving the Beltway.

Here are our picks for this weekend’s best bets.

Thursday, May 16

Conservatory Midtown Grand Opening Weekend
Pallet Jax, Stesti Beer Garden, TerraRium Bar, and all of the other vendors at Conservatory Midtown are set to celebrate their opening in the vibrant heart of Houston. The grand opening weekend promises a collaboration of cultural experiences, mouth watering flavors, and various live music performers. It kicks off with an exclusive "soft opening.” The TerraRium Bar VIP Event invites guests to indulge in a night of candlelight cocktails, featuring complimentary light bites, sponsored cocktails, and a champagne toast. More events continue throughout the weekend, including both day and night markets on Saturday. 6 pm.

Covenant House Texas presents Night of Broadway Stars
Covenant House Texas, a shelter providing housing and support services, will host the third annual Night of Broadway Stars to raise funds and awareness for the safety and support services Covenant House provides to young people who are seeking freedom from homelessness and trafficking. Hosted by Broadway actress/performer Rita Harvey, the show also includes a performance by Covenant House Texas youth, as they share personal stories of the life-changing experiences they have had as a result of the help they received. 6 pm.

Chocolate And Art Inc. presents Chocolate and Art Show
With this two-day extravaganza of creative and confectionary delights, immerse yourself in the vibrant talents of Houston's emerging artists, photographers, and creators. The Chocolate and Art show offers something for everyone, from live body painting and dynamic musical performances to intricate face-painting, live portraits, and complimentary chocolates for all attendees. The show is strictly 21+. 7 pm.

Last Concert Amphitheater presents Lewberger
Lewberger, composed of Keith Habersberger (of The Try Guys), Alex Lewis, and Hughie Stone Fish, is a three-man comedy band based in Los Angeles, which got a standing ovation on America’s Got Talent and were finalists on NBC’s Bring The Funny. Their viral songs have been heard by millions online and on TV. They’ve also been described as the illegitimate love child of Lonely Island and Flight of the Conchords. 8 pm.

Friday, May 17

Asia Society Texas presents Homegrown Houston: All Asian, No Fusion With Street to Kitchen
Asia Society Texas presents the cuisines of Houston at this special tasting tour with James Beard Award winner Chef G (Benchawan Jabthong Painter) and her husband Graham Painter of Street to Kitchen. G and Graham have curated a selection of stand-out, innovative chefs, including CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners such as Manabu Horiuchi (Kata Robata and Katami), Gabe Medina, Tony Nguyen (Xin Chao), and Vanarin Kuch (Koffeteria). Each will present a dish that showcases their stories as chefs and, in turn, reflects the diversity and ingenuity of the Houston food scene. Tickets are inclusive of one dish from each chef/vendor, drinks, and entry to the exhibition. 7 pm.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Five Funny French Films
The 12th edition of the Five Funny French Films series brings a fresh lineup of new comedies. Get ready for the latest round of hijinks, hilarity, and memorable characters. The quintet of films include The (Ex)perience of Love (Le syndrome des amours passées), Our Tiny Little Wedding (Notre tout petit petit mariage), Mr. Putifar’s Wacky Plan (Les Vengeances de Maître Poutifard), The Madness Express (Veuillez nous excuser pour la gêne occasionnée), and The Crime Is Mine (Mon crime). 7 & 9:15 pm (5 pm Sunday).

The Hobby Center and Jazz Houston present Live at the Founders Club: Sophisticated Lady - The Songs of Natalie Cole starring Belinda Munro
Sophisticated Lady is a night of musical magic, glamor, and sophistication with the talented Belinda Munro and the Jazz Houston Ambassadors. Munro’s powerful yet soulful vocals and stage presence will take the audience on a journey honoring each era of Natalie Cole’s career. The tribute evening features some of the most beloved hits from Cole’s 40-year career, including "Unforgettable," "Orange Colored Sky," "Our Love," "This Will Be," and more favorites. 7:30 pm (7 pm Saturday).

Houston Symphony presents "The Music of Star Wars"
Audiences will travel to galaxies far, far away as the Houston Symphony performs favorite music from across the Star Wars universe, from “Rey’s Theme” to “Yoda’s Theme” and “The Imperial March.” The concert will feature music from all nine films in the Skywalker saga, performed in chronological order, plus selections from Rogue One and Solo. The concert will be conducted by Steven Reineke. 8 pm (2:30 & 8 pm Saturday; 2:30 pm Sunday).

Saturday, May 18

Taiwanese Heritage Society of Houston presents Taiwan Festival Houston
Guests can embark on a journey through the world of Taiwanese heritage through experiences, activities, and culture. Attendees will get to indulge in a Taiwanese Puppet Show, boba milk tea DIY, sky lantern making, mochi display and DIY, Taiwanese honeycomb toffee crafting, daikon lantern DIY, temple culture booth, creative face painting, calligraphy sessions, Taiwan fun facts, a folding balloon show, and more. 10 am.

In Conversation | Theaster Gates with Charonda Johnson and Hesse McGraw
Join artist Theaster Gates, alongside Ryan N. Dennis, Charonda Johnson, and Hesse McGraw, for a lively conversation about the exhibition,Theaster Gates: The Gift and The Renege. They will also discuss the impacts of the Rebirth in Action initiative. Gates’s exhibition features large-scale tar paintings, sculptures, and installations that highlight the seen and unseen dynamics of Freedmen’s Town in Houston’s Fourth Ward. This free talk is expected to fill up fast, so make sure to register. 3:30 pm.

Bazaar Food and Wine
Bazaar Food and Wine is an immersive, multicultural celebration of Houston’s diverse culture and culinary scene. Through food, drink, dance, music, fashion, and design, Bazaar Food and Wine will transport guests to six unique neighborhood destinations and immersive culinary and live entertainment activations (featuring an all-star lineup of 40 of Houston’s most prominent chefs) throughout Sugar Land Town Square, highlighting Latin America, India and Pakistan, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Europe, and Texas. See our article with more details here. 5 pm.

Michelle Wolf: It’s Great to Be Here Tour
Michelle Wolf comes to Houston as part of her It’s Great to Be Here Tour. A former writer/performer for The Daily Show and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Wolf has quickly become one of the most influential voices in the comedy landscape. Her most recent Netflix special, Michelle Wolf: Joke Show received high praise, and her first hour-long stand-up special, Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady, which premiered on HBO in 2017, earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special.

Sunday, May 19

Archaeology Now presents “In Baba’s Kitchen”
As part of the Ukraine Project, Archaeology Now presents “In Baba’s Kitchen,” a unique cooking class and tasting event led by the Ukrainian team of husband-and-wife chefs Bek Mamat and Irina Mamataliyev and noted Houston and Czechoslovakian-born chef Monica Pope, who will teach participants how to make borscht and pierogi and the proper way to drink vodka. Guests will be welcomed by the Ukrainian Consul General, the Honorable Vitalii Tarasiuk. 3 pm.

Love Street Music Fest ‘24
[UPDATE: This event has been postponed due to Thursday night's storms.]

Musica Tra Amici presents The Return of Ayke Agus
Musica Tra Amici's special guest artist for this concert, Ayke Agus, is originally from Indonesia with Chinese, Dutch, and Javanese ancestry. Dr. Agus will share anecdotes from her life among the legendary musicians, discuss the nuance of the interpretation in the Romantic style they embodied, and perform music with Musica Tra Amici co-artistic directors Eric Halen and Brinton Averil Smith, including the Brahms B major piano trio, works of Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky and many of the transcriptions on which she collaborated with Mr. Heifetz. 7 pm.

Benchawan Graham Painter Street to Kitchen

Photo by Eric Sandler

Join Chef G and Graham Painter from Street to Kitchen at Asia Society Texas.

event-planner

Movie Review

Action-packed Kraven the Hunter showcases gritty Marvel antihero

Photo by Jay Maidment

Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Kraven the Hunter.

One of the oddest things about the blockbuster era we live in is that while Disney owns the rights to the majority of Marvel comic book characters, Sony Pictures owns the rights to Spider-Man and any affiliated characters. Since they’re sharing Spider-Man himself with Disney, Sony has been trying to capitalize on those rights by making stand-alone films using niche characters that only comic book fanatics would know.

Having exhausted Venom and whiffed on attempts with Morbius and Madame Web, they’re trying again with Kraven the Hunter. Also known as Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a self-styled vigilante who, as the film tells it, travels the world exacting vengeance on the truly bad people of the world. He’s the son of Nikolai (Russell Crowe), a hard-edged Russian oligarch, and brother to Dmitri (Fred Hechinger), who is relatively weak compared to the rest of his family.

The origin story has Kraven gaining his animal-like powers - including super-strength, speed, and jumping abilities - as a teenager from a mysterious serum given to him by a girl named Calypso (played as an adult by Ariana DeBose) after he was mauled by a lion. The two maintain a tenuous partnership as adults, with Calypso helping him hunt down other villains like Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola) and The Foreigner (Christopher Abbott).

Directed by J.C. Chandor and written by Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway, the film looks and feels enormously lazy, something made merely to hold on to potentially valuable intellectual property. Other than the tense family dynamic between the Kravinovs, little makes sense in the story. Kraven has an indecipherable moral code that has him going after poachers - because he’s part lion? - in addition to other high-powered criminals, with no clear goal except to … get back at his father?

The laziness extends to the action scenes, which feature Kraven being mostly impervious to any damage, whether it’s hand-to-hand combat, knives, or guns. The CGI-heavy scenes don’t even allow moviegoers to enjoy an R-rated bloody free-for-all, as all of the blood splatter is computer-generated, too. Since apparently one Spider-Man villain is not enough, three others make appearances with abilities that are under-explained and CGI that is poorly done.

That’s not even counting Calypso, another Spider-Man villain whose purpose in this film is nebulous at best. Her early connection with Kraven is so coincidental as to be laughable, and her continued reasons for helping him as an adult strain credulity as well. The only saving grace of her presence is that the filmmakers don’t try to shoehorn romance into the plot; perhaps they’re saving that for the (inevitable?) sequel.

Taylor-Johnson has had one of the most prolific-yet-anonymous careers in modern Hollywood, with appearances in big films like The Fall Guy, Bullet Train, and Tenet that have made very little impact. Even as the star here, he fails to hold your attention, with the story and visuals doing him no favors. DeBose has followed up her Oscar win for West Side Story with schlock like I.S.S., Argylle, and this, which doesn’t bode well for her career. At least Crowe gets to chew the scenery.

With a contractual inability to mention the name “Spider-Man,” movies like Kraven the Hunter exist in a weird area that forces filmmakers to make up stories for characters to which most people have no attachment. And just like Sony’s previous efforts, it is a very poor way to spend two hours in a movie theater; avoid at all costs.

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Kraven the Hunter opens in theaters on December 13.

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