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His pride is showing. Photo by Jack Gorman |
Houston is nothing if not diverse and is known for celebrating that diversity. Houston is also known for hosting one of the largest, and quite possibly best, Pride celebrations too. To prove just that, Houston is set to party with Pride this Saturday in downtown Houston from what’s basically a dusk ’til dawn type style. After you’re done with that, check out the visual arts and stage offerings this weekend. And by all means, don’t miss Repticon.
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From first time playwrights to those filled with experience, all will have the opportunity to share their words with you. Photo by Rudy Mui |
Even as diversity onstage blossoms, playwrights of color can have difficulty getting their words produced. But thanks to showcases like Fade to Black Play Festival, ten more up-and-coming wordsmiths will have an opening night. Founded by writer/director S. Denise O’Neal in 2012, the event was designed to correct “a lack in support” for the African-American playwright in Houston, says festival Artistic Director Trey Morgan Lewis. “She realized there was underrepresentation, even with Encore and The Ensemble — theaters that do celebrate the African-American artist.” Among this year’s lineup are plays by out-of-staters Chuck Cummings, Evonne Fields-Gould and Markietha Ka’Von, alongside Houston’s own Rachel Dickson and Lorna Taylor. “I’m so proud of Lorna,” says Lewis, “because she started volunteering with us two to three years ago. She always said she wanted to write a play, and she surprised us all with what she created.” Houston can catch the celebratory productions of diversity this Friday night at the the MATCH.
8 p.m. Friday, continues 8 p.m. Saturday. 3400 Main. For information, 713-521-4533 or visit matchouston.org. $25.
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Slimy and slithery but just as likable as the furrier friends we’re used to. Photo courtesy of Repticon |
Forget lions and tigers and bears. This weekend’s “oh my” comes from the amazing reptiles and amphibians at Repticon Houston. Manager Chaz (Charles) Gavitt says it’s fun to watch the visitors react to the “yes, you can touch it” live animal presentations during the hourly shows and seminars: “It’s really something to see. [Kids] get so excited.” Gavitt says adults get pretty psyched, too, although “you have some that are too scared to mess with them.” So come chat with the rescue groups this Saturday (snakes, iguanas and larger monitor lizards are up for adoption), meet with top breeders and educators, and stock up on your exotic pet supplies. They stocked up on feeder insects and rodents for your hungry herps.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 24 (VIP entry gets you in at 9 a.m.), continues 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 25. Pasadena Convention Center and Fairgrounds, 7902 Fairmont Parkway, Pasadena. For information, visit repticon.com/texas/houston. Free to $12.
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After a night of celebrating in one the nation’s largest Pride parties remember one thing if need be: it’s fun to stay at the Y-M-C-A-hay. Photo by Francisco Montes |
The rainbow flag will fly high this weekend for the Houston Pride Festival and Pride Parade. What started as a protest at New York City’s Stonewall Inn has become a national movement, and 2017 marks Houston’s 39th year commemorating the dignity and colors of the rainbow, with an expected 700,000-plus people swarming downtown to celebrate. Saturday afternoon’s festival will be an entertaining playground of all things Houston, culminating in a performance by headliner LeAnn Rimes. Then there’s the parade itself, which begins at Smith and Lamar and continues on Walker to the intersection of Milam and Jefferson. If the barely dressed boys and glitter-covered girls have you ready for a night full of fun, slip on over to Rich’s Houston for the official Pride afterparty, Beyond Wonderland.
Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday. The intersection of Smith and Lamar. Rich’s Houston, 2401 San Jacinto. For information, visit pridehouston.org. Free to $200.
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The second annual Arts Sound Off – Chalk Edition is this Saturday at the Jamail Skatepark. Photo by Savannah B |
For creative makers and lovers of the new, the second annual Arts Sound Off — Chalk Edition is bringing good food, drink and culture to the Jamail Skatepark for one fair Sunday. “This is all about bringing exposure to the new, local artists,” says event planner Savannah B, whose group, Go Savvy, is coordinating the shindig. “This is a competition, and also an opportunity for these talents to show off their works.” After last year’s spray paint-themed battle royal, B was at a loss on how to top its insanity — until a bit of childhood inspiration struck. “This year is all about showcasing chalk murals, as well as acrylic murals on skateboard decks, which we’ll raffle off to the audience. Just come ready to be impressed!” The opportunity to win one of these usable or gallery ready pieces of art is yours this Saturday evening.
6 p.m. June 25. 103 Sabine. For information, call 281-745-8413 or visit gosavvy.biz. Free.
Picking up at the start of the Mexican Revolution, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, exhibit “Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910-1950,” is “like a textbook of Mexican art,” says Mari Carmen Ramírez, the museum’s Wortham curator of Latin American Art. Though it features los tres grandes — José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros — Ramírez says “the exhibition seeks to go beyond those figures to show the scope of artistic production [during] the period,” a cultural renaissance. Beginning this Sunday the MFAH is thus showcasing more than 175 works from many of their contemporaries, both unknown and known, such as Frida Kahlo and Rufino Tamayo be.
12:15 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Continuing 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 12:15 to 7 p.m. Sundays. February 26 to August 13. 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-639-7300 or visit mfah.org. Free to $18.
Sam Byrd, Natalie de la Garza, Vic Shuttee and Susie Tommaney contributed to this post.
RankTribe™ Black Business Directory News – Arts & Entertainment