a night to remember

Where to eat, drink, and party on White Linen Night in the Heights

We strongly suggest wearing white.

Photo courtesy of White Linen Night in the Heights

One of summer’s most popular evenings takes place this Saturday, August 4. White Linen Night returns to the Heights this weekend.

The original festival on 19th Street is still going strong. As CultureMap reported back in April, the nonprofit 19th Street Merchants Association is charging $10 this year, which helps defray expenses associated with security and logistics from the massive party. All of the street’s shops will be open, restaurants will be running specials, and bands will perform on the closed off section of 19th Street between Yale and Ashland.

One thing to note: It is important to take the name seriously when deciding on what to wear.

“You want to wear all white. You will stick out like a sore thumb if you do not join the crowd,” The Feel Good Group founder Casey Barbles said in April. “Linen is a good idea, because it breathes. It’s hot, but when the sun sets it’s a perfect evening.”

But of course, 19th Street isn’t the only place where people will be partying on Saturday night. White Linen Night has spread across the Heights and even to adjacent neighborhoods like Shady Acres and Garden Oaks. We’ve rounded up more than a dozen options for those who want to make it a White Linen Day, White Linen Night, and White Linen Late Night.

Bauhaus will have a WLN afterparty. Machine Elves will take over the patio, along with Flight Controllers, Rick Arter and Tré, with special guest Colton Cameron. You will have access to that event and SOSA in the main room. 10 pm.

Christian’s Tailgate will hold its first beer die tournament on WLN. Experience fun entertainment and deals like live DJs, food trucks, karaoke, photo booth opportunities, and local vendors. 4 pm.

Dan Electros suggests that you might wanna wear white dashikis for their WLN party. Roots reggae legends DEM Roots and longtime homies GALVEZTON will jam the music all night. Food will be provided by the food dudes. 8 pm.

Elevate Creative Studios will have an unforgettable fusion of creativity and margaritas at Agave and Art. Enjoy complimentary margaritas as you immerse yourself in a gallery filled with bright and captivating artistry. 3 pm.

EZ’s Liquor Lounge will be all geared up and ready for White Linen Night revelers. Western Jelly will provide live entertainment from 7-10 pm. 11 am.

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Heights & Co. will have a complimentary mimosa with any brunch order and $7 Bloody Marys from noon to 1 pm. To get you ready for the nighttime festivities, sip on $10 espresso martinis until 6 pm. Noon.

Heights Antiques on Yale will celebrate WLN with a storewide sale, full of items that’ll be 20-50% off. There will also be a sidewalk sale as well as complimentary appetizers and a drinks buffet. 10 am.

Heights Grocer will host a wine tasting with David Mayfield Selections. Stop by between 2-4 pm to sample three tasty wines.

The Heights Theater wants people to enjoy local shopping, live music, great local eateries, and more along 19th Street this WLN. They also hope that people will eventually stop by the theater, where DJ G-Funk will have a destined-to-be-funky set. 7 pm.

Little Woodrow’s in the Heights will have what they call a WLN glow party. They’ve got DJ sets all day and night, drink specials, and plenty of surprises in store. 1 pm.

Moonshine Deck says it will have the most epic party on 20th Street. There will be non-stop beats from some of Houston’s best DJs, including Ak Ya Daddy and DJ Palmo. Add to that photo ops, sips, bites, and surprises galore. 11 am.

Onion Creek Cafe says their WLN will be served up carnival style. Denverado’s Movers & Shakers will be performing, along with DJ Melodic & some go-go dancers. Deck yourself out in a cool white outfit and come dance under the giant disco ball with your friends. 7:30 pm.

Permission Whiskey interior Permission Whiskey will be full on White Linen Night. Courtesy of Permission Whiskey

Permission Whiskey goes all out for WLN by tenting its parking lot, booking DJs, and keeping the party going until 2 am. Look for drink specials and a special toast at midnight. James, the bar’s companion speakeasy, will host a champagne takeover beginning at 6 pm. 4 pm.

Re•Vive Salon & Spa will be hosting a free event. Come meet all the beauty professionals that are housed at Re•Vive. They will have music, a food truck, local vendors, photo booth, hookahs and 100 swag bags to the first 100 visitors. 6:30 pm.

Shady Acres Saloon will have a lot of things going down. We’re talking arts and crafts vendors, beer specials courtesy of Saint Arnold, giveaways & new product samples, and live performances from Patrick B. Ray and Walker County Line. 5 pm.

The Stomping Grounds and Jim Beam have teamed up for a free event to celebrate WLN. Pop Shop America will have a market with 30 local makers and artists, while Bayou City Funk and DJ Good Soul will provide the grooves. 6 pm.

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Movie Review

Avatar: Fire and Ash returns to Pandora with big action and bold visuals

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios

Oona Chaplin in Avatar: Fire and Ash.

For a series whose first two films made over $5 billion combined worldwide, Avatar has a curious lack of widespread cultural impact. The films seem to exist in a sort of vacuum, popping up for their run in theaters and then almost as quickly disappearing from the larger movie landscape. The third of five planned movies, Avatar: Fire and Ash, is finally being released three years after its predecessor, Avatar: The Way of Water.

The new film finds the main duo, human-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his native Na’vi wife, Neytiri (Zoë Saldaña), still living with the water-loving Metkayina clan led by Ronal (Kate Winslet) and Tonowari (Cliff Curtis). While Jake and Neytiri still play a big part, the focus shifts significantly to their two surviving children, Lo’ak (Britain Dalton) and Tuk (Trinity Jo-Li Bliss), as well as two they’ve essentially adopted, Kiri (Sigourney Weaver) and Spider (Jack Champion).

Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who lives on in a fabricated Na’vi body, is still looking for revenge on Jake, and he finds help in the form of the Mangkwan Clan (aka the Ash People), led by Varang (Oona Chaplin). Quaritch’s access to human weapons and the Mangkwan’s desire for more power on the moon known as Pandora make them a nice match, and they team up to try to dominate the other tribes.

Aside from the story, the main point of making the films for writer/director James Cameron is showing off his considerable technical filmmaking prowess, and that is on full display right from the start. The characters zoom around both the air and sea on various creatures with which they’ve bonded, providing Cameron and his team with plenty of opportunities to put the audience right there with them. Cameron’s preferred viewing method of 3D makes the experience even more immersive, even if the high frame rate he uses makes some scenes look too realistic for their own good.

The story, as it has been in the first two films, is a mixed bag. Cameron and co-writers Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver start off well, having Jake, Neytiri, and their kids continue mourning the death of Neteyam (Jamie Flatters) in the previous film. The struggle for power provides an interesting setup, but Cameron and his team seem to drag out the conflict for much too long. This is the longest Avatar film yet, and you really start to feel it in the back half as the filmmakers add on a bunch of unnecessary elements.

Worse than the elongated story, though, is the hackneyed dialogue that Cameron, Jaffa, and Silver have come up with. Almost every main character is forced to spout lines that diminish the importance of the events around them. The writers seemingly couldn’t resist trying to throw in jokes despite them clashing with the tone of the scenes in which they’re said. Combined with the somewhat goofy nature of the Na’vi themselves (not to mention talking whales), the eye-rolling words detract from any excitement or emotion the story builds up.

A pre-movie behind-the-scenes short film shows how the actors act out every scene in performance capture suits, lending an authenticity to their performances. Still, some performers are better than others, with Saldaña, Worthington, and Lang standing out. It’s more than a little weird having Weaver play a 14-year-old girl, but it works relatively well. Those who actually get to show their real faces are collectively fine, but none of them elevate the film overall.

There are undoubtedly some Avatar superfans for which Fire and Ash will move the larger story forward in significant ways. For anyone else, though, the film is a demonstration of both the good and bad sides of Cameron. As he’s proven for 40 years, his visuals are (almost) beyond reproach, but the lack of a story that sticks with you long after you’ve left the theater keeps the film from being truly memorable.

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Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19.

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