WLN 2025

All the White Linen Night parties happening in the Heights and beyond

White Linen Night happens this Saturday, August 2.

Photo courtesy of White Linen Night in the Heights

It appears that the annual summer tradition known as White Linen Night has turned into an event that’s gone city-wide.

While the main action still goes on at the original celebration on 19th Street this Saturday, August 2, other parts of Houston – from River Oaks to The Woodlands to Sunset Heights (which will have an alternative, denim-covered celebration at several dive bars) – will also be welcoming fancy-dressed folk to their respective shindigs.

To show how much WLN has blown up, here’s a rundown of 25 spots in the Heights and elsewhere that’ll be getting their white on this weekend:

The 19th Street Merchants Association will once again have its annual White Linen Night on 19th Street. This year, the event will introduce new features, including the option to purchase VIP tickets, and a streamlined entry process. 6 pm.

Agnes and Sherman will offer some on-the-go treats as well as a swinging alley party for those attending the celebration on 19th Street. Sherm’s Takeout Window will serve scallion waffles and drinks to-go, while Agnes’s Alley will be home to a shindig featuring a live DJ, light bites, and a full bar. 6 pm.

Ardest Gallery in the Woodlands will have a WLN happy hour, featuring a pop-up exhibition with works from local artist Annette Palmer. She’ll be showing off her new “Ascend” series of textured monochromatic paintings. 4 pm.

Aye Candy in Spring Branch will be the site for an WLN afterparty. Guests dressed in all white will get to toast the night with a complimentary glass of champagne upon arrival. 5 pm.

Casa Ramirez Folkart Gallery will be open to art lovers. They’ll have live music provided by BOSSA II (Jesus & Maria Lozano with percussionist Stephen Araujo), new art from Lizbeth Ortiz, along with light sparkling beverages (both alcoholic and non-) and chilled water. 6 pm.

Cedar Creek Cafe will be spinning the disco ball during its white-hot WLN party. The Moment Band will provide live music, and DJs MLE and Dirty DIZZ will be behind the turntables. Along with food and drink specials, a Boozy Kona Ice Truck will be outside. 6 pm.

Christian’s Tailgate Bar and Grill will take over White Oak Drive for a night of fun, fashion, food, and music. Along with the craft cocktails and beer specials, the party will also have food trucks, photo ops, a DJ spinning all night long, and – wait for it – karaoke! 4 pm.

Dirt Bag will veer from traditional plant sales and host a Build-Your-Own Succulent or Cactus Bar. And for those who don’t wanna spend all evening walking around with their new plant, Dirt Bag will tag it and hold it for shoppers to pick up at its Montrose shop after the event. 6 pm.

EZ’s Liquor Lounge will host the Western Jelly Band, followed by spinning grooves from DJ EV at 10 pm. Ninfa’s on Navigation will have food, and there will be “parking lot fun.” 7 pm.

Fielding’s River Oaks will have its WLN a day early with a “White Linen Patio Pounder” on Friday, August 2. Attendees who dress up in their best duds will have a chance to win up to $500 in Fielding’s gift cards, along with a special Patio Pounder Bar Menu. 4 pm.

First Saturday Arts Market returns with “Off The Street - A White Linen Night Art Event,” an outdoor art market. There will be an array of fine art, as well as live music by DJ EV and artisanal coffee and cider from Vivre Coffee and Houston Cider Co. 6 pm.

Heights Bier Garten will give the white-wearers an open-air spot to sip cocktails, enjoy live music, and even take part in a best-dressed contest. It will also have an on-site 360 photobooth and free sips from featured sponsors Herradura Tequila and Gin Mare. 7 pm.

The Kid will have its air-conditioned patio and main bar area available for folks to enjoy WLN festivities. Of course, drinks like White Linen Spritz, White Claws, and white tea shots will be served. 4 pm.

The Little Juice Shop will keep patrons refreshed during WLN. It will have exclusive drink specials (including a special hangover juice for the afterparties), giveaways, swag bags, cocktails/mocktails, and complimentary free rides.

M-K-T and Houston Plant Market will have a full lineup of live music, entertainment, and shopping with over 50 vendors. Dy’Lan Ashton and Ashten White will provide the grooves, and Topo Chico, Smartwater, and City Orchard Craft Cider will serve complimentary drinks. 5 pm.

Moonshine Deck will take over 20th Street with an event called “White Linen: Desert Disco.” Expect food, all-day DJs, VIP areas, signature cocktails, snowcones, photo ops, and a freakin’ mechanical bull! 11 am.

Onion Creek Cafe will host a “White Oak Inferno Party,” for all those white-wearers who love disco. There will be food and drink specials, as well as disco beats and live sets from DJ Panda, Beat Sicarios, and funk band D!GGY. 6 pm.

Permission Whiskey & Service Co. will have a nice little soiree on WLN. DJ LowKey and DJ gusgus will perform back to back, while Darian Hernandez plays live guitar in the early hours. They will also have confetti cannons, shot specials, and a few surprises. 5:30 pm.

Pippa & Pearl will host “Lemons & White Linens,” an evening of “community, compassion and cool lemonade,” on WLN. Proceeds will go to the families of the Camp Mystic campers and counselors who lost their lives during the recent Central Texas floods. 5 pm.

PIzaro’s Pizza will be serving pizza by the slice (made in an Ooni Koda pizza oven) for 19th Street event goers to enjoy. The two options will be New York-style cheese for $5 and the popular D.U.M.B.O for $6, with a variety of wine options as well. 6 pm.

Planet Curls will be hosting a WLN outdoor art market/block party. The Hates, Ganesha, Keno Sims, and 30footFALL’s Butch Klotz will provide the musical entertainment, as the event promises to offer “vibes, food, [and] baddies.” 5 pm.

The Pure Parenting Shop will have an early WLN celebration for parents and kids. Attend demo classes, story times with crafts, and meet their tenants. Attendees can also find out about upcoming classes for parents and kids. 10 am.

The Shiloh Club, the Heights’ oldest dive bar, will be starting its WLN festivities really early. Admission is free all day and night, so you can slip in anytime and enjoy all the music, food, and drink specials this spot will be serving. 10 am.

Sunset Heights Black Denim Night is an alternative to WLN, offering low-key good times and air-conditioned shuttles running bar-to-bar. Heights Drive Inn, Dan Electro’s, The Post, and Johnny’s Gold Brick are some of the spots that’ll be taking part. 6 pm.

The Whimsy Artisan Boutique will have a mini pop-up filled with local art, good vibes, and playful surprises. Explore work from over 180 Houston artists and makers, while also enjoying music and mingling with fellow art lovers. 5 pm.

weekend event planner

Here are the top 14 things to do in Houston this weekend

Steve Aoki/Facebook

See Steve Aoki in concert at NOHO in EaDo.

This weekend, it’ll be a brand new year. Although some may be partied out after New Year's Eve, some cool stuff will be happening.

Welcome 2026 with a festive brunch. Music from Nat King Cole and Steve Aoki will be played on Friday night. Saturday begins with a matcha pop-up and ends with a salute to goth/darkwave at Wonky Power. And, on Sunday, you can get in a fun run/walk and see the Thin White Duke on the big screen.

Thursday, January 1

The Union Kitchen presents New Year’s Day Brunch
The Union Kitchen is kicking off 2026 with a celebratory New Year’s Day brunch at all Houston-area locations. Customers will enjoy festive brunch sips, including $2.50 mimosas, $4 Bloody Marys, and $4 bellinis. Additionally, in true Southern tradition, the restaurant will offer cabbage, black-eyed peas, and cornbread — the classic good-luck trio for prosperity in the year ahead. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are encouraged. 10 am.

EZ’s Liquor Lounge presents New Year’s Day Hangover Brunch
For those who know they’ll be party-hopping this New Year’s Eve, here's a place to go and deal with that gnarly hangover the day after. The annual Hangover Brunch will feature fried chicken, biscuits, champagne specials, and caviar at cost. 11 am.

MKT Bar presents New Year's Day Brunch
While some people are known to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day – for good luck and prosperity for the year ahead – head over to MKT Bar (located inside Phoenicia Specialty Foods' location downtown) and get their famous chicken and waffles for half-off. The Danielle Reich and Bruce Saunders Quintet will also be on the premises, performing some eclectic, jazz/pop numbers. Noon.

Friday, January 2

Punch Line Houston presents Sam Jay
Stand-up comic Sam Jay will be doing a two-night stint at Punch Line Houston this weekend. The Emmy-nominated former Saturday Night Live writer has been seen on HBO’s Pause with Sam Jay, a weekly late-night series on which she served as host and executive producer, as well as Bust Down, the Peacock sitcom she co-created and co-starred in. Recently, she did her solo show Sam Jay: We the People at the Edinburgh Festival and New York’s Lincoln Center Theater. 7 and 9:15 pm.

Houston Symphony presents "A Nat King Cole New Year"
The Jones Center for the Performing Arts will have an “Unforgettable” start to 2026 as Byron Stripling, Denzal Sinclaire, and the Houston Symphony Big Band perform the timeless hits of Nat King Cole, along with well-known songs by other jazz legends. The program will include songs like “Mona Lisa,” “Nature Boy,” “When I Fall in Love,” “Just One of Those Things,” and more. (We wonder if we’ll get Cole’s “The Christmas Song” one last time.) 7:30 pm (2 pm Sunday).

Theatre Southwest presents Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie’s legendary, literary masterwork will be brought to the stage at Theatre Southwest. On a train traveling through Europe, a wealthy American tycoon is found dead in his compartment, the door locked from the inside. Enter world-famous detective Hercule Poirot, who must navigate a train full of suspects and solve the murder before the killer strikes again. Through Saturday, January 17. 8 pm (3 pm Sunday).

NOTO Houston presents Steve Aoki
Did you know that DJ/producer Steve Aoki invented the trend known as “caking”? That’s when he throws a huge cake out into the crowd while playing Autoerotique’s “Turn Up the Volume,” a song whose video features people getting splattered by exploding cakes. We bring this up because Aoki will be doing a late-night DJ set at NOTO Houston, and there’s a very good chance people in the crowd will get hit with a very delicious dessert. Stay in the back to avoid getting icing on your outfit. 10 pm.

Saturday, January 3

Kazzan Ramen & Bar and Tomo Matcha Pop-Up
Houston’s ramen scene is getting a green tea glow-up. Kazzan Ramen & Bar is teaming up with Tomo Matcha for a one-day pop-up this weekend. For the collaboration, guests who dine in at Kazzan Ramen will receive 20% off Tomo matcha, and customers who purchase a matcha drink will enjoy 20% off their meal. If you can’t make it, Tomo will also do a Sunday-afternoon pop-up at GLO Pilates. 11 am.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Resurrection
Bi Gan (whose Long Day’s Journey into Night screened at MFAH in 2018) directs this ambitious, 160-minute, sci-fi detective movie starring Chinese superstar Jackson Yee (Better Days) and actress Shu Qi (The Assassin). In a future where humanity has surrendered its ability to dream in exchange for immortality, an outcast finds illusion, nightmarish visions, and beauty in an intoxicating world of his own making. 2 pm.

Archway Gallery presents June Woest: "Weather Inside Out" opening reception
Archway Gallery will present an exhibit of new work by June Woest that captures the interplay between photography, sculpture, and AI. "Weather Inside Out" explores Woest’s experiences with the unpredictable nature of the weather by challenging the notion that we are helpless against it. Her works are an invitation to embrace change and find comfort in the unpredictable.Through Thursday, February 5. 5 pm.

Wonky Power presents Dia de los Darks
The first Dia de los Darks of the year kicks off this weekend, bringing a night powered by darkwave, goth, rock en español, and cumbia. Scheduled to perform are El Turko Sonidero, DJ Fredster and guitar-playing masked man Orpheus Von Doom. Expect haunting beats, immersive visual installations lighting up the night. A night market will be open late with art, fashion, and local vendors — giving attendees that dark underground vibe. 8 pm.

Sunday, January 4

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium presents Saint Arnold Social Fun Walk/Run
Saint Arnold Fun Runs are back for 2026. Close out the first weekend of 2026 by getting some exercise, taking a social run/walk, and purging yourself of everything 2025-related. Participants get a guided and marked, 3.5(ish)-mile run/walk with beer pacers, three tasty brews from Saint Arnold, a Saint Arnold pint glass, and a Texas tamale breakfast. Rain or shine. 8 am.

Cousins Maine Lobster at Car Spa
Get your car shining and your cravings satisfied all in one stop as Cousins Maine Lobster rolls its truck over to Car Spa this weekend. Whether you're cleaning up your ride or just passing through, swing by and sample such delicacies as Maine, Connecticut, and garlic butter lobster rolls, lobster tacos and quesadillas, lobster tots and lobster tails, lobster grilled cheese, creamy lobster bisque, clam chowder, whoopie pies, and more. 11 am.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema LaCenterra presents The Man Who Fell to Earth
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema’s “Art Decade: Films of David Bowie 1973-1983” series begins with this 1976 sci-fi curio. The story of an alien (Bowie, of course) on an elaborate rescue mission provides the launching pad for Nicolas Roeg’s examination of alienation in contemporary life. The film’s hallucinatory vision was obscured in the American theatrical release, which deleted nearly 20 minutes of crucial scenes and details. This screening is of Roeg’s full, uncut version. Noon.

Steve Aoki in concert