Event Calender
A curated list of the latest cultural happenings in Houston
https://www.menil.org/events/4368-sounds-to-live-by
Enjoy an afternoon of outdoor music on the Menil’s east lawn. The annual Sounds to Live By listening event is organized by independent curator Peter Lucas and will feature music selections by Houston DJs.
Attending the program:
The event takes place on the east lawn of the main museum building, located at 1533 Sul Ross Street. Please bring your own picnic blankets or lawn chairs; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information regarding accessibility and parking can be found here.
As always, Menil programs are free and open to all.
https://www.brazosbookstore.com/event/store-mirin-fader-dream-life-and-legacy-hakeem-olajuwan
The life and legacy of pioneering international basketball superstar Hakeem Olajuwon, a two‑time NBA champion whose Hall of Fame career forever changed the game, both in the United States and around the globe—from the New York Times bestselling author of Giannis, Mirin Fader.
It’s now the norm for NBA and collegiate teams to have international players dotting their rosters. The Olympics are no longer a gimme for Team USA. Both via fans streaming from all over the globe and leagues starting in countries throughout the world, the international presence of the game of basketball is a force to be reckoned with.
That all started with Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwon. “Dream,” for short. He was the first international player to win the MVP, which is hard to believe now considering the last time an American‑born player won it was four years ago. Award-winning hoops journalist Mirin Fader explores this phenomenal shift through the lens of what Olajuwon accomplished throughout the 1980s and 90s. Dream ignites nostalgia for Phi Slamma Jamma and “the Dream Shake,” while also exploring the profound influence of Olajuwon’s Muslim faith on his approach to life and basketball, and how his devotion to his faith inspired generations of Muslim people around the world.
Olajuwon’s ongoing work with NBA Africa, his status as an international ambassador for the game, and his consultations with today’s brightest stars, from LeBron James to Giannis Antetokounmpo, brings the story right up to the present moment, and beyond. Synthesizing hundreds of interviews and in-depth research, Fader provides the definitive biography of Olajuwon as well as a crucial understanding of his pivotal impact on the ever-shifting game.
Mirin Fader is a senior staff writer for The Ringer. Her first book, Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA Champion, was a New York Times Bestseller, Los Angeles Times Bestseller, Wall Street Journal Bestseller, USA Today Bestseller, Publishers Weekly Bestseller. She has profiled some of the NBA’s biggest stars, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, Brandon Ingram, and LaMelo Ball, telling the backstories that have shaped some of our most complex, most dominant, heroes. Fader wrote for Bleacher Report from 2017 to 2020 and the Orange County Register from 2013 to 2017. Her work has been featured in the “Best American Sports Writing” series and honored by the Pro Basketball Writers Association, the Associated Press Sports Editors, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, the Football Writers Association of America, and the Los Angeles Press Club. She lives in Los Angeles.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/movie-night-at-bagby-park-tickets-836418649697?aff=erelexpmlt
Grab your friends and head to Bagby Park to enjoy Movie Night!
Grab your friends and head to Bagby Park to enjoy Movie Night! Bring your blanket, get a bite at La Calle Tacos, and join us for a free movie under the stars with your neighbors.
2024 Movie Lineup:
https://www.facebook.com/events/3967904266829347/
Flash Gordon Parks will perform a DJ at Flea by Night, Discovery Green's monthly market.
Treasure hunt for one-of-a-kind vintage, handmade, recycled and local goods while enjoying a lively atmosphere, demonstrations and food trucks.
Kindred Stories is proud to partner with Project Row Houses and Chanecka Williams to present Houston Reads Zora Neale Hurston.
Zora Neale Hurston Meeting Schedule
November 19 - Jonah’s Gourd (1934)
December 17 - Mules and Men (1935)
January 14 - Their Eyes are Watching God (1937)
February 18 - Tell My Horse (1938)
March 17 - Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939)
April 21 - Dust Tracks on a Road (1942)
May 17 - Seraph on the Suwanee (1948)
June 23 - I Love Myself When I Am Laughing…Then Again (1979)
July 21 - The Complete Stories (1998)
August 18 - Every Tongue Got to Confess (2001)
September 15 - Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” (2018)
October 20 - Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick (2020)
November 19 - You Don’t Know Us Negros and Other Essays (2022)
https://concerts.livenation.com/tinashe-match-my-freak-world-tour-houston-texas-10-24-2024/event/3A00610128D99360
https://www.brazosbookstore.com/event/store-mark-haber-lesser-ruins
From the author of Reinhardt’s Garden and Saint Sebastian’s Abyss comes a breathless new novel of delirious obsession.
Bereft after the death of his ailing wife, a retired professor has resumed his life’s work—a book that will stand as a towering cathedral to Michel de Montaigne, reframing the inventor of the essay for the modern age. The challenge is the litany of intrusions that bar his way—from memories of his past to the nattering of smartphones to his son’s relentless desire to make an electronic dance album.
As he sifts through the contents of his desk, his thoughts pulsing and receding in a haze of caffeine, ghosts and grievances spill out across the page. From the community college where he toiled in vain to an artists’ colony in the Berkshires, from the endless pleasures of coffee to the finer points of Holocaust art, the professor’s memories churn with sculptors, poets, painters, and inventors, all obsessed with escaping both mediocrity and themselves.
Laced with humor as acrid as it is absurd, Lesser Ruins is a spiraling meditation on ambition, grief, and humanity’s ecstatic, agonizing search for meaning through art.
Mark Haber was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Florida. His debut novel, Reinhardt’s Garden (2019, Coffee House Press), was longlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award. His second novel, Saint Sebastian’s Abyss (2022, Coffee House Press), was named a best book of 2022 by the New York Public Library and Literary Hub. Mark’s fiction has appeared in Guernica, Southwest Review, and Air/Light, among others. Mark lives in Minneapolis.
Chris Cander is the USA Today bestselling author of The Young of Other Animals, A Gracious Neighbor, The Weight of a Piano, which was named an Indie Next Great Read in both hardcover and paperback and which the New York Times called, “immense, intense and imaginative,” Whisper Hollow, also named an Indie Next Great Read, and 11 Stories, named by Kirkus as one of the best books of 2013 and winner of the Independent Publisher Book Awards for fiction. She also wrote the children’s picture book The Word Burglar, and the Audible Originals “Eddies” and “Grieving Conversations.” Cander’s fiction has been published in twelve languages. She lives in her native Houston with her husband and two children.
Come party this weekend at The Riot with tasty food, full bar, free parking, and comedy from visiting headliner Matthew Broussard!
Join us for a night of laughter and entertainment as Matthew Broussard takes the stage at The Riot! Get ready for an unforgettable comedy show that will leave you in stitches.
Matthew Broussard is a disgraced financial analyst forced into stand up comedy. The byproduct of a Cajun chemist and Jewish microbiologist, he holds a degree in computational mathematics he always manages to bring up (just did it!) and is fully aware of how douchey he looks.
His comedy is heady, self-effacing, and weirdly… educational? He's performed on the Tonight Show, Conan, Jeff Ross Presents Roast Battle, the Comedy Central Half Hour, and some stuff with MTV2 he doesn’t like to talk about. You can catch him in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The League, The Mindy Project, and alongside Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish in the film Here Today. He is the creator of the webcomic and puzzle app, Monday Punday.
Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to see one of the funniest comedians in town. Grab your friends, bring your sense of humor, and get ready for an evening of non-stop laughter at The Riot Comedy Club presents Matthew Broussard!
All Shows Ages 21 & Up. Photo ID Required for Entry.
https://www.menil.org/events/4370-dacamera-stop-look-listen-outdoor-jazz
Join the Menil Collection for a jazz performance presented by DACAMERA on the Menil’s front lawn.
This concert is part of the Menil and DACAMERA’s ongoing series, Stop, Look and Listen!, a family-friendly series of free chamber music and jazz concerts presented at the Menil. These museum concerts often feature unconventional, interactive concert formats and fun, adventurous musical selections.
Attending the program:
The concert will take place on the front lawn of the Menil Collection at 1533 Sul Ross Street, between Mandell and Mulberry Streets. Visitors are invited to bring picnics and blankets to enjoy on the grass; seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information regarding accessibility and parking can be found here.
As always, Menil programs are free and open to all.
https://www.classicallyblk.com/events/a-classically-black-affair
Location: Studio Eight08
Join us for a beautiful evening, celebrating Black Fine Art Month & Houston’s Fine Art Week. We are combining our Dinner & Art Salon for one amazing evening. From the moment guests arrive, they will be greeted with art exhibit, live performances & fine dining.
THE ART EXHIBIT
The Contamination of Meanings
By Leslie Cruz
Artist Statement
I began my journey in art with a mission to raise awareness about sex trafficking and abuse, deeply moved by the plight of the vulnerable. With a strong background in humanitarian work, I have always been driven to make a difference. My passion for art is deeply rooted in my commitment to helping children and being the person I needed during my own tumultuous childhood. Art saved me, providing an outlet for self-expression and healing when I needed it most. This personal experience inspired me to create an art program specifically for kids, giving them a safe space to express themselves through creativity. My art mission is selfless, focused entirely on being a voice for children who may not yet have the strength to speak out for themselves. My approach is two-fold: being the mentor I needed as a child and developing individualized programs tailored to each child’s unique needs. I believe in understanding and addressing what each child requires, rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all solution. This dedication to personalized support ensures that every child can find solace and growth through art, just as I did. Through my work, I aim to capture the hearts and minds of my audience, offering a profound glimpse into my life’s mission. My art is not just about creating beautiful pieces but about communicating a deeper, more impactful message. I invite you to join me in this journey, to support and understand the powerful role art can play in healing and empowering the next generation.
https://arch.rice.edu/latest/events/sixth-sphere-exhibition-opening-and-lecture
Curated by Brittany Utting
2024–2025 Public Program, Fall Edition
Oct. 28, 2024
6:00 to 8:00pm
MD Anderson Hall, Farish Gallery
Entangled within the Earth’s five natural spheres—the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere—is a sixth: the technosphere. Identified by geologist Peter K. Haff as an emerging paradigm of the Anthropocene, the technosphere is the material expression of industrial production, development, and extraction. It includes feedlots and sewer systems, factories and housing, seaports and data centers, highways and croplands. Although critical to many aspects of our survival, the exponential growth of the technosphere is actively destabilizing the five spheres upon which its existence depends. The Sixth Sphere exhibition explores not only how the built environment operates at a planetary scale, but also how design can participate in systems of interdependence, reciprocity, and transition. In response to the environmental and social injustices caused by climate change, this exhibition explores how design thinking can expand beyond traditional spatial and temporal scales to approach the terrestrial in scope and complexity. Through speculative designs, images, and models, The Sixth Sphere positions the technosphere as a collective site to reconstruct our social, technical, and climate futures.
Contributors:
(AB)NORMAL, aldayjover architecture and landscape, Alexandra Arènes, Andrés Jaque / OFFPOLINN + Miguel Mesa del Castillo, Debbie Chen, Common Accounts, DESIGN EARTH, Dogma, GRANDEZA STUDIO, HOME-OFFICE, Olalekan Jeyifous, Studio Muoto, NEMESTUDIO, Present Future, Curtis Roth, TAKK, Territorial Agency, Z4A Architects
Graphic Design:
Studio Lin
Sponsors:
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
Rice University Office of Research
The Sixth Sphere is the first installation of the new curatorial program of the Rice School of Architecture: Exhibitions at Rice.
Biography:
Brittany Utting is an assistant professor of architecture at Rice University and co-founder of the design and research collaborative HOME-OFFICE.
Renowned for their fresh approach to period instrument performance of classical repertoire, the members of this Russian-Spanish-Swedish-French ensemble together produce a unique sound – described by The Observer (London) as “a shock to the ears of the best kind.”
https://www.dacamera.com/2024-2025-season-concerts/chiaroscuro-quartet/
Come party this weekend at The Riot with tasty food, full bar, free parking, great vibes and comedy from visiting headliner Aida Rodriguez!
https://kgmcaboxofficetheatredance.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1630
https://kgmcaboxofficetheatredance.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx?PageNumber=2
EVERYBODY
by Branden Jacobs Jenkins
Guest Director: José Zayas
Overview: Everybody is a modern comic adaptation of the 15th Century morality play Everyman and one of the first recorded plays in the English language. This modern adaptation sees Everybody visited by God and Death, as well as Friendship, Kinship, all their Stuff, and a few surprising others as they prepare for a journey into the hereafter. It questions the meaning of life, death, and everything in between.
https://eventnoire.com/events/jollof-festival-afrotech-2
Nigeria won the first edition of the Jollof Festival in Houston, but our Liberian cousins insist it was daylight robbery!
Houston, who makes the best Jollof Rice?
Jollof rice is a one-pot rice dish native to many countries in West Africa. Some consider it the predecessor to the cajun dish, jambalaya.
The experience of the Jollof Festival focuses on the pride West Africans exude in their native dishes, and a condensed version of the experience will be present at Afrotech 2023!
Festival participants not only get to enjoy these foods, but get to interact with the festival itself by voting to determine the winner of the “Jollof Wars,” a head-to-head battle that pits one representative from each country against each other for the title of Best Jollof Rice.
Sample Jollof Rice dishes in a festive blind-tasting, and vote for the best one at the Jollof Festival Houston!
PREVIOUS EDITIONS:
Visit our YouTube Channel for Past Festival Editions:
*Prices subject to increase
*All tickets sold are final
*This event is rain or shine
*In case of cancelation due to inclement weather, a rain-date will be announced per venue rain-date availabilities, and there will be no refunds whatsoever.
*Schedule subject to delay, or change
*All health and safety protocols will be encouraged and observed.
* All attendees are encouraged to stay at home if they observe Covd related symptoms
*All pictures, videos taken at this event are copyrighted by @Jollof Festival and can be used by the festival per our discretion
*Participating performers, vendors, chefs and restaurants can be cancelled, changed or scheduled as the festival sees fit.
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© MERLEX PICKS 2023. All Rights Reserved.
© MERLEX PICKS 2023. All Rights Reserved.