
You can tell retrograde has ended when Cinco de Mayo lands on a Friday.
Greater East End Management District's Cinco de Mayo, Photo by Dan Joyce
Noon to 10 p.m. May 5. Navigation Esplanade, 2600 Navigation. For information, visit eastendhouston.com. Free.

Houston's man power is on full display at the Houston Dragon Boat Festival.
Photo courtesy of David Mandell
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday. Allen’s Landing, 1005 Commerce. For information, call 713-205-7373 or visit texasdragonboat.com. Free.
New York theater producer Matt Murphy tells us Sex Tips was born while he was chatting with his wife about trying to find inspiration for his next big project. “‘I want to do a faux sex tips seminar, but I need to base my advice on something,’ I told her. She said, ‘Well, there’s this book all my friends passed around in college, Sex Tips for Straight Women From a Gay Man.’ And there it was, the greatest title for a show since I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.” Still running off-Broadway, the aptly titled, laugh-out-loud interactive sex romp is coming to Houston courtesy of Lott Entertainment Presents. Murphy, who adapted the show for the stage, says it is also likely to rev your engine, just in time for your own Saturday night escapades. “The feedback I never tire of hearing is that our show improves people’s sex life,” he says, laughing. “It’s fun, a little titillating, and people blush a little. But it’s also a great refresher course.”
7 and 9 p.m. Thursday. Continuing 7 and 9 p.m. May 5-6, 7 p.m. May 7. Alley Theatre, 615 Texas. For information, call 713-220-5700 or visit lottentertainmentpresents.com. $37 to $57.
From eating sushi for lunch to texting with emojis, puzzling over Sudoku and catching Pokémon, “Japanese culture is more a part of your daily life than one might think,” says Patsy Yoon Brown, executive director of Japan America Society of Houston. But she hopes Houstonians will explore things they are less familiar with this Sunday at Japan Festival Houston, starting with a stroll through Hermann Park’s recently expanded Japanese Garden. Then peruse the vendors, beat the heat with kakigori (Japanese shaved ice), try your hand at kinyo sukui (a goldfish scooping game), be amazed at the martial arts displays and cosplay competition, and channel your inner tween for a performance by J-pop group Jr. Exile.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Hermann Park, 1700 Hermann Park. For information, call 713-963-0121 or visit houstonjapanfest.org. Free.

Chance the Rapper's signature smile precedes him, as does his onstage energy.
Photo by Violeta Alvarez
8 p.m. Sunday. Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, 2005 Lake Robbins. For information, call 281-363-3300 or visit woodlandscenter.org. $30 to $89.95.
Natalie De La Garza, Clint Hale, Steve Jansen, Vic Shuttee and Susie Tommaney contributed to this post.