If a Father’s Day gift put a dent in your wallet, we’ve got you covered. This week, we’ve got everything from new films to an ‘80s classic, Latin funk to a Beatles tribute show, and festivals (for World Refugee Day, Cajun culture and hip-hop, so take your pick), not to mention a couple of good books. Keep reading for ten of our favorite events that won’t cost you more than $10 — in fact, all ten of them are free! Check out the Houston Press calendar for even more things to do.
An Evening of New Films from Israel
Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
6:30 p.m Thursday, free
CAMH Director Bill Arning curated the nine short films from Tel Aviv-based artists that make up the evening’s program, including an excerpt from Dor Guez’s five-part series, The Sick Man of Europe, which examines the military history of the Middle East and the effects of war through a Turkish architecture student recruited to serve at the outset of World War II; Tamir Zadok’s Gaza Canal, a parody of a visitor center video about the construction of a canal between Israel and the Gaza Strip; and the music video for “TYP D.I.S.C.O.” by electro-pop duo the Young Professionals, featuring gender-bending Israeli dancer Uriel Yekutiel.
Second Annual Galveston Cajun Festival
Kempner Park
5 p.m. Friday, free
What better way to spend Father’s Day weekend than with a mouthful of crawfish at the Galveston Cajun Festival? Returning for its second year to celebrate the food and culture of the Gulf Coast, the rain-or-shine festival promises a crawfish-eating contest, crawfish racing, a Cajun gumbo cookoff and live music of the zydeco, country, blues, and Tejano variety. If crawfish isn’t your thing, barbecue and fair food (like funnel cakes) will be available too (as well as adult beverages), and there will be a kids’ zone and plenty of vendors for your shopping needs. The festival runs all weekend, and feel free to bring your own chairs, blankets or umbrellas to protect against the sun.
“The Texas Aesthetic XI: The Search for ‘Texas’ in Contemporary Arts and Culture” Summer Soiree Series William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art
11 a.m. Saturday, free
The annual search for what makes Texas art tick continues Saturday at 11 a.m. with “The Lone Star Lens: Texas Photography Today,” featuring photographers David K. Langford, Michael H. Marvins and E. Dan Klepper. The panel is followed at 1 p.m. by a look at Klepper’s book, Why the Raven Calls the Canyon: Off the Grid in Big Bend Country, about his seven years spent repairing and restoring an abandoned horse and mule operation along the Rio Grande, before the program closes with “The Tejano Spirit,” a curated mix of music arranged by KTRU’s Joey McKeel at 2:30 p.m. The “Texas Aesthetic” exhibit is on view until July 31.
World Refugee Day
Levy Park
4 p.m. Saturday, free
In 2001, June 17 was designated by the U.N. as World Refugee Day. Here in Houston, we’ve been taking the opportunity since 2003 to raise awareness about the contributions of refugees to the city, to honor the strength they’ve shown and to thank the locals that have welcomed those men, women and children into the Houston community. The rain-or-shine celebration will take over the six acres of Levy Park for an afternoon of entertainment, including music, dance, a resource/artisan fair and, of course, food from refugee and immigrant-owned restaurants, with Coreanos, Nom Mi Streets, Waffle Bus, Steel City Pops and Abu Omar set to be there.
Sgt. Pepper’s at 50
Discovery Green
8 p.m. Saturday, free
Generally regarded as one of the [insert your descriptor here – best, greatest, most influential, etc.] album of all time, The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band turns the big five-oh this year and to celebrate, the Fab 40, a collective of over 40 local musicians, return to Discovery Green to recreate the album note for note. The diversity of the group, including rock, classical and ethnic musicians, is a benefit; the classic album utilized a 40-piece orchestra and a variety of instruments to bring classics like “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” “A Day in the Life,” and “Within You Without You” to life.
H-Town Get Down
Miller Outdoor Theatre
8:30 p.m. Saturday, free
Joel Rivera knows what he’s doing; he’s an experienced dancer in multiple styles who’s traveled the country and been featured in People, seen on America’s Best Dance Crew, and has won multiple dance battles. Rivera directs Saturday night’s H-Town Get Down when Houston’s biggest hip-hop dance festival returns to Miller Outdoor Theatre. Presented by Dance Houston, and though centered on dance, the evening is really a celebration of hip-hop culture. Local rap legend K-Rino will provide the music while local companies like Inertia Dance Company take the floor alongside battling freestylers, DJs, spoken word artist Outspoken Bean and street art from local visual artists.
Harmony book signing
Blue Willow Bookshop
7 p.m. Tuesday, free
New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Parkhurst’s fourth novel is told from the alternating perspectives of Alexandra, her 11-year-old daughter Iris, and her 13-year-old daughter Tilly, who is on the autism spectrum. Alexandra and her husband, Josh, are at the end of their rope with Tilly and decide to move the family to Camp Harmony, a settlement deep in the New Hampshire woods run by a charismatic parenting guru. If that sounds ominous, it is; The Guardian described Harmony as “part Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and part We Need to Talk About Kevin” with “shades of Lord of the Flies.”
The Boy Who Loved Too Much book signing
Brazos Bookstore
7 p.m. Tuesday, free
Twenty-five deleted genes on chromosome 7 produces Williams syndrome, a genetic disorder that can cause a host of potentially life-threatening conditions, from congenital heart defects to diabetes, but is characterized most by the “Williams personality”: an almost complete lack of social inhibition. Jennifer Latson’s debut, The Boy Who Loved Too Much: A True Story of Pathological Friendliness, weaves the science behind Williams syndrome with the personal struggles of 12-year-old Eli and his mother Gayle in what Kirkus Reviews calls a “well-researched, perceptive exploration of a rare genetic disorder seen through the eyes of a mother and son.” The Houston-based Latson, a current staff editor for Rice’s alumni magazine, has previously been featured in the Houston Chronicle and Boston Globe.
Brownout with Vodi
Avenida Houston
5 p.m. Wednesday, free
Brownout may have caught your attention in 2014 when they made waves with the release of Brown Sabbath, a union of their Latin funk sound with classic metal hits. Now, three years later and after the release of Brown Sabbath Vol. 2, the nine-piece from Austin is getting back to themselves with the release of Over the Covers. The band, comprised of members from Grammy-winning Grupo Fantasma, will be joined on the bill by the hometown indie six-piece Vodi. Wrestlers will man the turntables at 6 p.m., Vodi takes the stage at 7 p.m. and Brownout goes on at 8 p.m.
Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow @ MKT Square Park – Dirty Dancing
Historic Market Square Park
8:30 p.m. Wednesday, free
Nobody puts Dirty Dancing in a corner, not even ABC. Fresh on the heels of the network’s almost universally panned remake, the original Patrick Swayze-Jennifer Grey coming-of-age dance flick is back, courtesy of the Alamo Drafthouse Rolling Roadshow. The 1987 film sees Grey’s Frances “Baby” Houseman on vacation in the Catskills where she meets Swayze’s Johnny Castle and from there, a match made in ‘80s (and ‘60s) nostalgia. Bring the blankets and lawn chairs to recline as the pair have the time of their lives and let summer love sweep you away.
This article appears in Jun 1-7, 2017.
