🛎️ Help support these posts and signup to get them as a newsletter. Taking 15 seconds to signup helps keep this going! 🛎️

I hope everyone has thawed out by now and made it through the freeze without any burst pipes or thrown-out backs. There's a ton of Lunar New Year stuff kicking off this weekend, and I've barely scratched the surface of events. As always, I make the chronological format of these posts available as a link through my newsletter. Please feel free to add anything you think I missed in the comments.

Festivals & Markets

Saturday – Live at the Oak: Lunar New Year @ Memorial Park @ 4PM Bring your loved ones, friends, and picnic blankets to enjoy a memorable evening of music and festivity to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Saturday – Lunar New Year Celebration @ The Woodlands Children’s Museum @ 10:30AM Experience the Museum transformed in traditional colors and decorations, participate in art-making projects, and enjoy performances by the Houston Lion Kings.

Saturday – Lunar New Year @ Children’s Museum Houston @ 10AM Become immersed in Houston's diverse Asian heritage and ring in the Lunar New Year with traditional festivities.

Sunday – Lunar New Year Celebration @ POST @ 11AM Experience dazzling lion dances, cultural performances, a vibrant Asian pop-up market, and other traditional Lunar New Year activities.

Ongoing – Radiant Nature @ Houston Botanic Gardens More than 50 larger-than-life Chinese lantern installations come to life in stunning displays that showcase the beauty of nature and celebrate the promise of the Lunar New Year. Ends 1/25.

Saturday – Mama’s Market Flea Market @ Soundvibe Connections @ 12PM Shop unique finds, handmade goods, and great deals while supporting moms in your community at Mama's Market.

Standup

Sunday – Josh Johnson Stand Up @ House of Blues @ 1PM / 3PM / 7PM

Sunday – Abby Govindan Stand Up @ The Secret Group @ 8PM

Friday & Saturday – Steve Furey Stand Up @ The Riot Comedy Club

All weekend – Affion Crockett Stand Up @ Houston Improv

All weekend – Ahren Belisle Stand Up @ Punchline Houston

All ages events

Friday – ‘Wild Kratts’ Live Show @ Smart Financial Centre @ 6:30PM
Dive into adventure with the Kratt Brothers as they combine live action & animation in this family-friendly show.

Saturday – Saturday Stargazing @ George Observatory in Needville

Ongoing – Green Mountain Energy Ice Rink @ Discovery Green Ends 2/5.

Ongoing – Sloomoo Exhibition @ Marq E Entertainment Center Immerse yourself in the joy of sensory play with Sloomoo Institute’s colorful world of never-ending, hand-crafted slime, yummy scents, and soothing ASMR delights. Ends 3/31.

Ongoing – ‘Time and Space’ Exhibition @ ARTECHOUSE Visit three distinctive exhibitions showcasing over 18 unique installation pieces, ranging from cinematic experiences and laser performances to robotic installations and interactive artworks.

Ongoing – ‘Mindworks’ Exhibition @ The Health Museum Be the first in the United States to see this interactive, hands-on exhibit that explores why you think, feel, and react the way you do!

Arts & Culture

All weekend – Beethoven & Tchaikovsky in Concert @ Jones Hall Houston Symphony presents a program of beloved classics – Beethoven’s irresistible Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky’s haunting Symphony No. 6.

Ongoing – ‘Space City: Art in the Age of Artemis’ Exhibition @ Asia Society Texas Featuring over 30 artists, the exhibition travels through art, science, and human curiosity, inviting visitors to embark on an imaginative journey through the cosmos. Ends 3/16.

Ongoing – ‘Picturing Nature’ Exhibition @ MFAH Featuring over 70 artworks from the Stuart Collection, the exhibition examines innovative works by J.M.W. Turner, John Constable, and others in revolutionizing the genre of landscape art. Ends 7/6.

Ongoing – ‘Gauguin in the World’ Exhibition @ MFAH The first Gauguin presentation of this scope in 35 years, ‘Gauguin in the World’ offers new perspectives on his life, work, influences; and his contemporary legacies, both artistic and historical. Ends 2/16.

Ongoing – ‘Navigating the Waves’ Exhibition @ MFAH Exploring identity, heritage, and socio-political change, the exhibition traces the evolution of photography in Cuba from the 1960s to the 2010s. Ends 8/3.

Ongoing – ‘Tacita Dean: Blind Folly’ Exhibition @ Menil The exhibition spotlights the British visual artist’s career-defining approach to creating art through unmediated and chance-based drawing processes across a variety of mediums. Ends 4/15.

‘Fragments of Memory’ Exhibition @ Menil LAST CHANCE – The exhibition presents drawings from the museum collection which explore the ways in which the past imbues present experiences. Ends 1/26.

Ongoing – ‘Joe Overstreet: Taking Flight’ Exhibition @ Menil The exhibition presents a series of landmark paintings by pioneering artist Joe Overstreet, whose innovative works intertwine abstraction and social politics. Ends 7/13.

Ongoing – ‘Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream’ Exhibition @ CAMH Considered to be one of the most important American painters working today, multidisciplinary artist Valdez’s works address the failings and triumphs of contemporary American society. Ends 3/23.

Live Theater

Friday – ‘La Bohéme’ Opera @ Wortham Center @ 7:30PM Feel the powerful pull of Puccini’s heart-wrenching ‘La bohème,’ with its unforgettable music and an irresistible love story.

Sunday – ‘La Bohéme’ Opera @ Wortham Center @ 2PM Feel the powerful pull of Puccini’s heart-wrenching ‘La bohème,’ with its unforgettable music and an irresistible love story.

Friday & Saturday – ‘Creation House’ Ballet @ MATCH Vitacca Ballet’s critically acclaimed dancers perform nine new contemporary ballet works.

All weekend – ‘& Juliet’ Musical @ The Hobby Center This hilarious new musical flips the script on the greatest love story ever told and asks: what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo?

All weekend – ‘December: A Love Years in the Making’ Play @ Alley Theatre Follow the friendship between a creative writing professor and her former student as it blossoms into romance over two decades of exchanged letters, writings, and beloved poems. Ends 2/2.

All weekend – ‘Camp Logan’ Play @ Ensemble Theatre Inspired by actual events, Camp Logan is an award-winning World War I military drama about the devastating explosion of racial tensions that resulted in the 1917 Houston riot. Ends 2/23.

All weekend – ‘Barefoot in the Park’ Play @ Stageworks Theatre One of the longest-running plays in Broadway history, turned into an iconic film, ‘Barefoot in the Park’ is one of the best rom-com stories of all time. Ends 2/2.

All weekend – ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ Dance-Theater Play @ MATCH This creative dance-theater adaptation of the classic story features a whimsical score made up of contemporary and classical music as well as awe-inspiring choreography. Ends 2/2.

Live Music

Friday – Candlelight: Tribute to Taylor Swift @ Lone Star Flight Museum @ 7PM

Friday – Candlelight: 90s Unplugged on Strings @ Lone Star Flight Museum @ 9:15PM Hear classical covers of 90s rock songs from Nirvana, Oasis, Metallica, No Doubt. Radiohead, & more performed by a string ensemble.

Friday – Silverstein @ House of Blues @ 6PM With Thursday, Split Chain, & Arm’s Length

Friday – Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol @ White Oak Music Hall @ 8PM With Leather Church & Warlung

Friday – Electric Feels: Indie Rock + Indie Dance Party @ White Oak Music Hall @ 9PM

Friday – Charles D @ Stereo Live @ 10PM *Free Show

Friday – ISOxo @ Warehouse Live @ 10PM

Friday – Rickie Lee Jones @ The Heights Theater @ 8PM

Friday – Shawn Pander @ Armadillo Palace @ 8PM With Happyland

Friday – Nether Hour + The Palisades @ The Continental Club @ 9:30PM

Friday – Novulent @ The Secret Group @ 8PM With The Missing Piece & Olive Vox

Saturday – BossMan Dlow @ Smart Financial Centre @ 8PM

Saturday – Phantogram @ House of Blues @ 7PM With GLU

Saturday – Slade Coulter @ Armadillo Palace @ 8PM

Saturday – HOL! @ Stereo Live @ 10PM

Saturday – ISOxo @ Warehouse Live @ 10PM

Saturday – Necrofier @ The Secret Group @ 8PM

Saturday – Route 101: Tribute to Depeche Mode @ Scout Bar @ 9PM

Sunday – Al Di Meola @ The Heights Theater @ 8PM

Sunday – Sera Cero: The Music of Soda Stereo @ Warehouse Live @ 3PM With The Mother Talkers & Plan V

Other events

Sunday – Bilingual Yoga @ MFAH @ 11AM
FiTMiX instructors get you up and moving with free yoga in the beautiful outdoor setting.

Saturday & Sunday – Fireside Films Program @ Rooftop Cinema Club Snuggle up in a cozy loveseat with a heater and enjoy screenings of ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘Interstellar,’ & ‘La La Land.’

All weekend – Festival of Films from Iran @ MFAH Enjoy some of the best, award-winning films from and about Iran produced last year.