August is now upon us, which means that, well, it will still be hot but we’re almost out of the dog days of summer. In honor of the new month, let us introduce you to some best bets that will keep you cool, literally (think ice cream) and figuratively (some fresh new kicks). Keep reading for more on ways you can be entertained this coming week.
For a musical sampler of some of Houston’s best acts, check out the Miller Summer Mixtape series, a three-day showcase happening this week over at Miller Outdoor Theatre. On Thursday, July 29, Dende, Everlasting Vibez, and King Baby Familia will take the stage. The next night, Friday, July 30, it will be Nick Gaitan, The Broken Spokes, and Ancient Cat Society. And on Saturday, July 31, you can expect Raycheal Winters, El Lago, and Swimwear Department. All three shows will begin at 8:30 p.m. and will feature projection artist Input Output, and as always, they are free. You can try for a seated ticket here, or you can head for the ticketless pod seating on the Hill. You can also stay home and watch Saturday night’s show, which will be streamed on the Miller Outdoor Theatre website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will open Poland’s 2021 Oscar submission, Never Gonna Snow Again, this Friday, July 30, as part of their Virtual Cinema offerings. In September 2020, Variety said in a review that Malgorzata Szumowska, who co-directs with Michal Englert, “hits a career high” with the film, a social satire about a Ukrainian masseur named Zhenia with a “gift for healing massage and hypnosis.” It’s such a gift that “his powers teeter on the edge of the supernatural.” Though his gifts go unexplained, Deadline says that “despite—or perhaps because of—its mysteries, this remains a fascinating piece that exerts its own hypnotic power as [Zhenia] goes from door to door, watching his clients strip off both physically and emotionally.” You can purchase a five-day pass to view the film here for $12.
If you’re looking for something at the intersection of “beat the heat” and “as socially distanced as possible,” how about a virtual cooking class all about freezer treats with the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center? If you have basic kitchen supplies (and hopefully a blender or food processor), on Saturday, July 31, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. you can join the Arboretum’s Adult Programs Manager Kelsey Low for Berry Cool Treats to learn how to make no-churn blackberry ice cream and roasted strawberry red wine popsicles (both vegan and dairy-free). Tickets per person are $20 for Arboretum members and $35 for nonmembers, and please, 21 and up only. You can register and purchase a ticket here.
Take a deep dive into a local institution this weekend when Numbers hosts two screenings of Marcus Pontello’s documentary about the Montrose night club titled Friday I’m in Love. The film covers its early days as “an extremely naughty dinner theater” to the role the club “played in Houston’s gay rights movement in the 1980s, the AIDS crisis of the 1990s, and its sometimes shaky — but long-enduring — legacy as one of the city’s most important cultural icons.” Friday I’m in Love will finally screen this weekend at 8 p.m. (with doors at 7 p.m.) on Saturday, July 31, and 7:30 p.m. (with doors at 6:30 p.m.) on Sunday, August 1. Yes, all the reserved seat tickets are sold out online, but for the determined, $20 standing-room-only admission will be available at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis. Get there early if you’re interested.
Sneaker culture is real, and the H-Town Sneaker Summit will return on Sunday, August 1, from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Bayou City Event Center for all your sneakerhead needs. Whether you’re deep in or just someone who looks on with interest when sneaker-related stories pop up in the news (like back in February when a pair of Barack Obama-owned custom Nike Hyperdunks sold at auction for $25,000), you can buy, sell, trade, or just try your luck at winning some prizes while you’re there. General admission tickets can be purchased here for $35, or you can nab a $65 VIP ticket, which includes early entry, general admission line skipping, a gift bag and VIP room access. Online ticket purchase is heavily encouraged, but tickets will be available at the door until capacity is reached.
As with many local traditions, a COVID-19 hiccup hit the Houston Shakespeare Festival (HSF) in 2020. Though live performances are still absent in 2021, a cinema-centric HSF will return to Miller Outdoor Theatre beginning this Tuesday, August 3. For five consecutive nights, you can enjoy five different Shakespearean film adaptations during Shakespeare Night at the Movies: the opening night film, Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V; Akira Kurosawa’s samurai-filled Macbeth take, Throne of Blood on August 4; A Midsummer Night’s Dream with James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland on August 5; Branagh’s stab at a comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, on August 6; and the “rabid flamboyance” of Baz Lurhmann’s Romeo + Juliet on August 7. Each film will be proceeded by a lecture from HSF Executive Director Dr. Rob Shimko at 7:40 p.m. with the screenings set to follow at 8:30 p.m. Free covered seating tickets will be made available here two days prior to each screening, or you can grab a blanket or lawn chair and head for the no-ticket-required pod seating on the Hill.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2021.
