Weekend Event Planner

Top things to do in Houston this weekend: arcade expo, Honeyland fest, and tree lighting spectacular

Galleria Ice Spectacular Nov 2015 Santa and skater

It begins to look a lot like Christmas at The Galleria this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Dave Rossman

The holidays arrive in Houston this weekend with the big lighting of the Galleria Christmas tree. Before that, though, there's a big film festival, an arcade expo, a show by a hit comedian, and much more.

Below are more best ways to spend your precious free time this weekend. Want more options? Lucky for you, we have a much longer list of the city's best events.

Thursday, November 9

Houston Cinema Arts Festival
The Houston Cinema Arts Festival will screen/premiere short films and feature length movies from Houston and around the world. Highlights include opening night film Lost Soulz; a 25th anniversary screening of Rushmore; The Herricanes, about 1970s women's football team Houston Herricanes; and more. Screenings will take place at multiple venues, including the DeLUXE Theater, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Rooftop Cinema Club. For the full schedule, go to the festival website. 7 pm. (12:30 pm Saturday; Noon Sunday).

Friday, November 10

2023 Houston Arcade Expo
Expect a weekend of fun and free play as The Houston Area Arcade Group (HAAG) is holding its 20th Annual Arcade Expo. There will be hundreds of classic and current coin-op pinball machines, video arcade games, penny arcades, and console video games ready for attendees to play on free play or buy them for their home. There will also be tournaments, events, music and workshops to keep the young (and young at heart) entertained. Noon (10 am Saturday and Sunday).

Reeves Art + Design presents "Terry Suprean: Futurescapes" opening reception
In "Futurescapes," a solo exhibition of new paintings by Terry Suprean, the artist presents a large and diverse body of work utilizing the experimental artist-manufactured paints he has developed and worked with over the last decade to mimic and mirror geological processes, engage with the language of abstraction in the digital age, and probe the meaning of landscape painting in the Anthropocene. Through Thursday, November 30. 6 pm.

DACAMERA presents Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones with the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet
Terence Blanchard’s opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones made history in 2021 as the first opera written by a Black composer to be staged at the Metropolitan Opera. This “opera in jazz” tells the true coming-of-age story of a young boy growing up in the face of great adversity and forging his personal identity. Now, Blanchard presents a new suite of music from the opera, performed by the celebrated trumpeter and his E-Collective, the Grammy-winning Turtle Island Quartet, and vocalists Nicholas Newton and Adrienne Danrich. 8 pm.

Saturday, November 11

Canstruction and Houston Food Bank presents Canstruction Houston
Canstruction Houston is an annual design-build event that benefits the Houston Food Bank and features top Houston architects, engineers, designers, contractors, and mentored students from across greater Houston. They will showcase their talents and creativity by building can-structures that range from replicas of iconic Houston landmarks to popular locations around the globe to favorite characters in pop culture. Through Sunday, November 19. 8 am.

The Galleria presents 34th Annual Tree Lighting and Ice Spectacular
The Galleria's 34th Annual Ice Spectacular will kick off the holiday season with the lighting of its 55-foot Christmas tree, featuring 450,000 twinkling lights and 5,000 ornaments in a variety of colors and shapes. A time-honored holiday tradition, the 45-minute tree-lighting show will feature a performance by The Voice Season 21 contestant Jershika Maple. The event will culminate with the lighting of the tree by Skating Santa and a fireworks display. Noon.

Honeyland Festival
Honeyland is a festival celebrating the best of Black expression, where the top restaurateurs, beverage makers, and artists get together to remix, refresh, and create more of what ﬂavors the world. The two-day fest is led by food curator Marcus Samuelsson, spirits curator Fawn Weaver, and Houston ambassador Tobe Nwigwe. The music side of the event will feature performances by Nwigwe, Mary J. Blige, Miguel, Jazmine Sullivan, Tems, Lucky Dave, Chloe, Coco Jones, Scarface, Slim Thug, Paul Wall, and more. Noon.

Sunday, November 12

PrintHouston presents Rockin’ Rollin’ Prints
PrintHouston’s biennial Rockin’ Rollin’ Prints returns. The event will feature approximately 50 artists from Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, New York, and London. Each artist will bring a carved 3’ x 5’ woodblock, which will be inked and printed using a two-ton steamroller as a printing press. PrintHouston’s first From Press to Table print fair will also be held on Sunday, in tandem with the Rockin’ Rollin’ Prints event. Kids will have their own space and inked up board to ride bikes and skateboards over to create monotypes. 10 am.

Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land presents Ali Wong
Ali Wong is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actress. She’s best known for her two hit Netflix specials, Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife, and Don Wong. Wong has done a lot for Netflix: she voiced the co-lead and executive-produced the animated comedy Tuca and Bertie, alongside Tiffany Haddish; starred in the movie Always Be My Maybe, which she co-wrote with longtime friend and creative collaborator Randall Park; and executive-produced the dark comedy Beef, where she co-starred with Steven Yeun. 8 pm.

Movie Review

Comedian John Early takes on modern foodie culture in Maddie's Secret

Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

John Early in Maddie's Secret.

Comedian John Early is one of those “that guy” actors, having appeared in shows and movies like Broad City, Neighbors 2, Portlandia, Late Night, and Search Party without ever being the lead. So he’s taken it upon himself to give himself bigger exposure by writing, directing, and starring in the new film, Maddie’s Secret.

Early plays the titular female character who works as a dishwasher with her best friend Deena (Kate Berlant) at a food video content company called GourMaybe. When a homemade cooking video shot by her boyfriend Jake (Eric Cahill) goes viral, Maddie gets bumped up to on-camera talent, soon becoming the face of the company, much to the chagrin of rival Emily (Claudia O’Doherty).

With that added exposure comes more scrutiny in the form of online comments, many of which point out Maddie’s fuller figure and clear enjoyment of the food she makes. This criticism triggers Maddie’s bulimia, a condition she thought she had under control. Not wanting to lose her coveted spot, Maddie tries to keep her bulimia from everyone around her, something that becomes increasingly difficult to do.

If that sounds like an ABC afternoon special, that’s because that’s the vibe it seems like Early is going for. The film feels like a melodrama, with many of the actors speaking in unnatural cadences to make situations seem more intense than they actually are. That gives the film a natural comedic tilt, although Early makes sure to have everyone play their scenes straight, letting the ridiculousness of the story speak for itself.

Early playing a woman is oddly not part of the joke. According to him, the performance is not him doing drag, and he never plays the role in an over-the-top manner or like he’s making fun of the character. In fact, it’s striking how earnestly he inhabits Maddie, as if he truly was trying to get into the skin of a woman who found herself in such a situation. Anything funny that comes from him is just part of the progression of the story.

Setting the film in the world of food vlogging is the one area where Early seems to actively be going for jokes. Maddie and Emily come up with creations that seem reasonable and off-the-wall at the same time, like a Rotel dip made with French techniques. Characters also frequent real L.A. restaurants with punny names like Naughty Pie Nature, making fun of the food scene as much as they are exalting it.

Early definitely holds the viewer’s gaze in his first lead role, allowing Maddie to become a fully-realized character. His scenes with Berlant and Cahill make the film, as each of the supporting actors commit to their roles and elevate Early’s writing. Other standouts include Connor O’Malley as the boss at GourMaybe, Kirsten Johnston as Maddie’s mom, and Vanessa Bayer in a late-film cameo.

Because Early is not trying to make a full-on comedy, many may come away perplexed by Maddie’s Secret. But the film is clearly made with intention, giving a slight send-up of both 21st century food culture and a loving homage to the cheesy TV movies of the past.

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Maddie's Secret opens in select theaters on July 3.

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