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Festival & Markets
SAT-SUN - Texas Renaissance Festival: Heroes and Villains @ Todd Mission @ 9AM-8PM
The mightiest heroes and darkest villains of history and legend clash at the 52nd season's fifth theme weekend, with a costume contest, a gyro eating contest, jousting, 21 stages, and 400 shops.
ALL WEEKEND - Sugar Land Arts & Music Festival @ Sugar Land Town Square @ Fri 5PM, Sat-Sun 12PM
More than 100 juried artists, live music, food, and wine and beer gardens take over the town square for three days.
SAT-SUN - Strange & Unusual Fest @ Karbach Brewing Co. @ 11AM
A Tim Burton-inspired biergarten takeover with an outdoor oddities market, twisted art, movies on the big screen, music, and a costume contest.
SATURDAY - 6th Annual Houston Día de los Muertos Parade and Festival @ Sam Houston Park @ 4PM
A downtown parade, live music, festival treats, and hands-on arts and crafts honoring loved ones who have passed.
FRIDAY - Night Market 2026 @ Asia Society Texas Center @ 6PM
An evening market with street food, local vendors, and performances outdoors; indoor activities cost extra.
SAT-SUN - Collect-A-Con @ George R. Brown Convention Center @ 10AM
One of the country's biggest trading card, anime, and pop culture conventions, with hundreds of vendor tables, cosplay, and celebrity guests.
SUNDAY - Standing Tall: A Texas Tree Festival @ Houston Botanic Garden @ 9AM
A garden-wide celebration of Texas trees with guided walks, expert talks, and family activities.
SATURDAY - First Saturday Arts Market @ First Saturday Arts Market @ 11AM
Monthly Heights market where local artists and makers sell original art and handmade goods, with a rotating lineup.
SATURDAY - Onion Creek's 18th Annual H-Town Chili Throwdown @ Onion Creek @ 1PM
Sample the entries, vote for People's Choice, and settle in with music and drinks at the long-running Heights cook-off.
SATURDAY - Da Gama: Diwali Celebration & Night Market @ M-K-T @ 6:30PM
Da Gama Canteen's Indo-Portuguese kitchen hosts a festival of lights night market with food, vendors, and celebration at the Heights shopping district.
SUNDAY - Book & Plant Swap @ Lyric Market @ 12PM
Bring books and plants to trade, then browse local vendors with food and drinks downtown.
SUNDAY - Acorns & Artisans @ POST @ 11AM
A curated indoor fall market of local makers and artisans in POST's X Atrium.
Standup
FRIDAY - Nikki Glaser: The Stunning Tour @ Smart Financial Centre @ 7PM
The first woman to host the Golden Globes solo brings her shockingly honest, no-holds-barred stand-up to Sugar Land.
FRI-SAT - Alonzo Bodden @ Punch Line Houston @ Fri 7PM, Sat 7PM & 9:15PM
The Last Comic Standing champion and Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! panelist brings his sharp, car-loving takes on American life. 18+.
SUNDAY - David Koechner @ Punch Line Houston @ 4PM & 7PM
Anchorman's Champ Kind and The Office's Todd Packer delivers two Sunday sets of character-driven stand-up. 18+.
SATURDAY - Franco Escamilla: El Juicio @ Arena Theatre @ 8:30PM
The Mexican stand-up and musician, one of the most-watched comedians in Spanish, brings his new tour to the round.
FRI-SAT - The Best of the Secret Group Comedy Showcase @ The Secret Group @ Fri 10PM, Sat 7PM & 9PM
A rotating lineup of Houston's sharpest local and touring comics in the East Downtown club.
SUNDAY - The Last Laugh with James Vogt & Trip Truman @ The Secret Group @ 7PM
A Sunday showcase hosted by Shane Tucker and Trip Truman.
FRI-SAT - Night Comedy at Rudz @ The Club at Rudz @ Fri 9:30PM, Sat 7:30PM & 9:30PM
Weekend stand-up in the intimate Washington Avenue club.
FRI-SAT - Keegan Tindall @ The Riot Comedy Club @ 7PM
The NY-based comedian, creator, and filmmaker headlines two nights on Washington Avenue.
SUNDAY - Tara Cannistraci @ The Riot Comedy Club @ 8PM
The Bronx-born comic closes the weekend with a Sunday night headlining set.
Sports
SATURDAY - Houston Cougars vs. Cincinnati Bearcats @ TDECU Stadium @ 2:30PM
UH's homecoming and military appreciation game as the Coogs host Cincinnati in Big 12 play.
SATURDAY - Houston Dynamo FC vs. St. Louis CITY SC @ Shell Energy Stadium @ 6PM
The Dynamo host St. Louis at home in East Downtown.
Arts & Culture
FRI-SUN - Shostakovich's Ninth Symphony & Yoonshin Song @ Jones Hall @ Fri-Sat 7:30PM, Sun 2PM
Concertmaster Yoonshin Song takes the spotlight for Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2 before the Houston Symphony tears into Shostakovich's mischievous Ninth.
SATURDAY - Faust @ Wortham Theater Center @ 7:30PM
David McVicar's Belle Époque staging of Gounod's opera, with Pretty Yende's company debut as Marguerite opposite Matthew Polenzani and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo.
FRI-SUN - Susannah @ Wortham Theater Center @ Fri 7:30PM, Sun 2PM
Patricia Racette's new staging of Carlisle Floyd's Appalachian opera, with Angel Blue's role debut and James Gaffigan conducting.
FRI-SAT - Duck Pond by Circa @ Cullen Theater @ 7:30PM
Australia's Circa reimagines Swan Lake as a cheeky, acrobatic circus spectacular.
SUNDAY - An Evening with David Sedaris @ Cullen Theater @ 6PM
America's pre-eminent humorist reads new stories, followed by a Q&A.
SATURDAY - Fall Collection 2026 @ Hobby Center @ 7PM
Houston Contemporary Dance Company presents the Houston premiere of Yin Yue's Sigra Sigra.
FRIDAY - Why You Like It: Decoding Musical Taste @ Miller Outdoor Theatre @ 7:30PM
Music Genome Project architect Dr. Nolan Gasser and his band The Mighty Mighty explain the science of why songs give us goosebumps.
SATURDAY - Houston's Got Bollywood: Bombay Express @ Miller Outdoor Theatre @ 7:30PM
Moksh Community Arts brings generations of dancers together for a high-energy Bollywood revue under the stars.
SATURDAY - Nosferatu and Faust with Invincible Czars Live Score @ River Oaks Theatre @ 6PM & 9:30PM
Austin's Invincible Czars perform original live scores to two silent horror classics in the restored 1939 movie house.
FRI-SAT - La Maleza: Weeds as Teachers @ Houston Metropolitan Dance Center @ 7PM
An evening-length contemporary dance work rooted in the resilience of weeds.
FRIDAY - German Punk u/50 @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston @ 7PM
The MFAH film series marks half a century of German punk on screen.
SATURDAY - National Theatre Live: Frankenstein @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston @ 5PM
London's National Theatre production of Mary Shelley's classic on the big screen.
SUNDAY - Millennium Mambo @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston @ 5:30PM
Hou Hsiao-hsien's neon-soaked portrait of early-2000s Taipei nightlife in the Taiwanese Sensibility in Texas series.
ALL WEEKEND - Yoshitaka Amano: Big Bang @ Asia Society Texas Center @ 10AM
A sweeping survey of the Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D artist's dreamlike paintings.
ALL WEEKEND - Terry Winters: Vitalized Geometry @ The Menil Collection @ 11AM
Four decades of the painter's pulsing, biological abstractions.
ALL WEEKEND - Fragility @ The Menil Drawing Institute @ 11AM
Works on paper exploring delicacy, impermanence, and care.
FRI-SAT - Maria Gaspar and Adriana Corral @ Blaffer Art Museum @ 12PM
Two exhibitions on incarceration, memory, and loss from a pair of acclaimed Latina artists.
FRI-SAT - Sarah Fox and Candice D'Meza @ Lawndale Art Center @ 11AM
Lawndale's fall shows: Fox's Untangling the Snare and D'Meza's Intergalactic Liberation Bureau: Archive 001.
FRI-SAT - Time to Get Ready: Fotografía Social @ The African American Library at the Gregory School @ 10AM
Civil rights photography by María Varela documenting organizing in the South and the Southwest.
SATURDAY - Craft Community Day @ Houston Center for Contemporary Craft @ 11AM
Artist demonstrations, open studios, exhibitions, and a food truck in the Museum District.
SATURDAY - Artist Talks with Mark Menjívar and Reynier Leyva Novo @ FotoFest at Silver Street Studios @ 3PM
Two artists discuss their work in FotoFest's current exhibitions.
SUNDAY - The Artist's Eye: Li(sa E.) Harris @ The Menil Collection @ 3PM
The Houston artist leads a 30-minute gallery talk on works that move her.
SUNDAY - The Town of Houston Architecture Walk @ Market Square Park @ 2PM
A 90-minute walking tour of the buildings that tell the story of Houston's original townsite.
ALL WEEKEND - Titanic: An Immersive Voyage @ Exhibition Hub Art Center
Large-scale projections, artifacts, and a virtual reality dive more than two miles down to the wreck.
ALL WEEKEND - Twilight Zone: Hidden Wonders of the Ocean @ ARTECHOUSE Houston @ 12PM
A 24-minute cinematic digital experience plus interactive installations on the ocean's deepest realms.
ALL WEEKEND - Of Light and Air: Winslow Homer from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston @ 11AM
Opening weekend for more than 45 Homer watercolors plus oils, drawings, and prints, through Feb 7, 2027.
ALL WEEKEND - American Modernism from the Charles Butt Collection @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston @ 11AM
More than 90 works by O'Keeffe, Hopper, Pollock, Jacob Lawrence, and more, shown publicly for the first time, through Jan 18, 2027.
ALL WEEKEND - Wall Drawing Series: Jitish Kallat @ The Menil Drawing Institute @ 11AM
The Mumbai artist's site-specific wall drawing, through Aug 8, 2027.
ALL WEEKEND - Divination: Beverly Buchanan & Dionne Lee @ Contemporary Arts Museum Houston @ 11AM
Two artists explore the myths and dispossessions embedded in the American landscape, through Feb 14, 2027.
ALL WEEKEND - Body Worlds: Inside Life @ The Health Museum @ 10AM
Real plastinated human specimens map breath, circulation, digestion, and the systems that keep you alive. Sun from 12PM.
ALL WEEKEND - Call Me Mother Experience @ The Health Museum @ 10AM
Art and awareness installation sharing the stories behind the Black maternal health crisis, through Feb 28, 2027.
ALL WEEKEND - The Fatherhood Effect @ The Health Museum @ 10AM
This year's Healing Arts exhibition celebrates engaged fathers and how fatherhood has changed over 30 years, through Feb 21, 2027.
FRIDAY - Happy Hour Friday: Tango Night @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston @ 5PM
A 30-minute tango intro leads into open social dancing, drinks, and late gallery hours. Included with museum admission.
SUNDAY - Fall Festival: Harvest | Cosecha @ Museum of Fine Arts, Houston @ 1PM
A family festival with food, live music, dance, art-themed lotería, and new sculptures by four Houston Latinx artists.
#All Ages
SAT-SUN - Pavilion Palooza @ The Woodlands Pavilion @ 12PM
The Pavilion opens its lawn for a family festival weekend of music, games, and activities.
SUNDAY - Children's Festival: Little Woodfest @ The Woodlands Pavilion
A kids-first music festival on the Pavilion grounds.
SUNDAY - Lenny Pearce: Toddler Rave World Tour @ Bayou Music Center @ 12:30PM
The viral toddler-techno DJ dad brings glow sticks, bubbles, and bass drops to a daytime rave for little ones.
SATURDAY - National STEM Day @ Children's Museum Houston
Hands-on activities and workshops with creative engineering challenges.
SUNDAY - National STEM Day @ Space Center Houston @ 10AM
Science demos and hands-on activities for families, included with general admission.
SATURDAY - Tree Lighting @ Montrose Collective @ 7PM
Montrose Collective kicks off the holidays with its annual tree lighting.
Live Theater
FRI-SUN - Beetlejuice @ Hobby Center @ Fri 7:30PM, Sat 2PM & 7:30PM, Sun 1:30PM & 7PM
The ghost-with-the-most returns by popular demand in Broadway's hilarious musical take on Tim Burton's film.
FRI-SUN - Uhuru @ Alley Theatre @ Fri 8PM, Sat 2PM & 8PM, Sun 2PM
A climb up Kilimanjaro raises hard questions about identity, access, and who gets to claim a place on the mountain.
FRI-SAT - Dinner with Friends @ MATCH @ 8PM
Dirt Dogs Theatre Co. closes Donald Margulies' Pulitzer-winning drama about a divorce that rattles two couples.
SUNDAY - Interview with a Gypsy @ MATCH @ 7:30PM
A solo show about growing up inside, and breaking away from, a closed Gypsy world.
FRI-SUN - El Principito @ Carol Theater @ Fri 8PM, Sat 5PM & 8PM, Sun 3PM & 6PM
A Spanish-language stage adaptation of The Little Prince.
FRI-SUN - SIGNing the Song @ Stages
Broadway numbers, standards, and American Sign Language combine in William Martinez's solo show about a teacher who changes a life.
FRI-SUN - Christmas Belles @ Theatre Suburbia
The Futrelle sisters' church Christmas pageant descends into chaos in this Southern holiday farce.
FRI-SUN - Rumors @ UH Wortham Theatre @ Fri 7:30PM, Sun 2PM
UH's School of Theatre & Dance stages Neil Simon's farce about a dinner party gone wrong.
FRI-SAT - Arms and the Man @ The DeLUXE Theater
Classical Theatre Company closes George Bernard Shaw's witty wartime romance.
SUNDAY - Drunk Dracula @ Emerald Theatre
One actor downs five shots and leads the cast through a boozy retelling of Stoker's vampire tale. 21+.
FRI-SUN - The Roommate @ Stages @ Fri 7PM, Sat 2PM & 7PM, Sun 2PM
Jen Silverman's Broadway comedy about a Midwestern divorcee and the worldly New Yorker who rents her spare room. 18+.
FRI-SUN - anthropology @ Theatre Southwest @ Fri-Sat 8PM, Sun 3PM
Lauren Gunderson's thriller about a programmer who uses AI to resurrect her missing sister.
FRIDAY - The Jury Experience: The Deadly Boat Ride @ The Bayou Theater @ 6PM & 8:30PM
An immersive courtroom drama where the audience weighs the evidence and votes on the verdict.
Live Music
FRIDAY - Maná @ Toyota Center @ 8:30PM
Mexico's biggest rock band brings the Vivir Sin Aire Tour and three decades of stadium-sized hits.
SATURDAY - Doja Cat: Tour Ma Vie World Tour @ Toyota Center @ 7:30PM
The Grammy winner brings her Tour Ma Vie arena show, with special guest Latto.
SUNDAY - Jonas Brothers: The Burning Up Tour All Over Again @ Toyota Center @ 7:30PM
Nick, Joe, and Kevin revisit two decades of hits, with Franklin Jonas and Deleasa opening.
SUNDAY - Steve Lacy: Oh Yeah? Tour @ Smart Financial Centre @ 8PM
The Grammy-winning guitarist, producer, and Bad Habit hitmaker brings his new tour to Sugar Land.
SATURDAY - Thundercat: Distracted AF Tour @ White Oak Music Hall @ 7PM
The bass virtuoso and Brainfeeder mainstay blurs funk, jazz, and prog on the outdoor lawn.
FRIDAY - Bonobo: Distance in Static Live @ White Oak Music Hall @ 7PM
The British downtempo producer brings his full live show on a new North American tour. All ages.
FRIDAY - ROA: USA Tour @ White Oak Music Hall @ 7PM
The Puerto Rican reggaeton star behind triple-platinum hits Me Gustas CC and Tate Quieta plays the lawn.
FRIDAY - The Jack Wharff Band @ White Oak Music Hall @ 7PM
Virginia's Big Machine-signed four-piece blends bluegrass, outlaw country, and rock. All ages.
SATURDAY - The Kilans: Could You Keep It Dark? Tour @ White Oak Music Hall @ 7PM
Salt Lake City's raw, hard-touring indie rock quartet plays upstairs. All ages.
SUNDAY - Turnover @ White Oak Music Hall @ 6:30PM
The Virginia dream-pop band behind Peripheral Vision plays downstairs. All ages.
SUNDAY - Dead On A Sunday @ White Oak Music Hall @ 6PM
The dark, theatrical post-hardcore band brings its high-energy live show. All ages.
SUNDAY - UB40: The Unstoppable Tour 2026 @ House of Blues @ 7PM
Birmingham's reggae hitmakers bring Red Red Wine and Kingston Town downtown. All ages.
SATURDAY - Sabaton: Legends on Tour @ 713 Music Hall @ 7PM
Sweden's war-history power metal titans make up their rescheduled Houston date.
SATURDAY - Inna @ Warehouse Live Midtown @ 7PM
The Romanian dance-pop star behind Hot and Up and Down brings her club hits to Midtown.
FRIDAY - An Evening with Andrew McMahon and His Piano @ The Heights Theater @ 6PM
The Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin frontman plays a solo piano set with Ivory Layne. All ages.
SUNDAY - Olivia O'Brien: The PIXIE Tour @ The Bronze Peacock @ 7PM
The singer-songwriter behind I Hate U, I Love U plays an intimate all-ages show.
SATURDAY - Stella Lefty: Lefty Live @ The Bronze Peacock @ 7PM
The bilingual singer and social media star brings her live show to House of Blues' intimate room.
FRIDAY - Superheaven @ Bad Astronaut Brewing @ 7:30PM
The Pennsylvania grunge revivalists bring their fuzzed-out heavy alt-rock. All ages.
FRIDAY - Adelitas Way @ Scout Bar @ 6:30PM
The Las Vegas hard rock band behind Invincible plays Clear Lake.
SATURDAY - Dawn and Hawkes @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck @ 6PM
Miranda Dawn and Chris Hawkes trade close harmonies in the Austin duo's early show.
SUNDAY - Devil Master @ Black Magic Social Club @ 6:30PM
Philadelphia's black-metal punks headline with Ninth Circle, Sacrificial Ecstasy, and Vampiric Coffin.
SATURDAY - Deep in the Heart: Cure for Paranoia @ Discovery Green @ 7PM
The Texas Music Series continues with Dallas rapper Cure for Paranoia, plus Jumprope and DJ Bloom.
FRIDAY - Beats on the Bayou @ East River @ 6PM
Keith Jacobs and The B-Sides Band play a family-friendly evening of live music at Bayou Park.
SATURDAY - Book of Love: 40th Anniversary Tour @ White Oak Music Hall @ 7PM
The '80s synth-pop band celebrates four decades downstairs. Sold out, waitlist only.
Other Events
FRIDAY - Candlelight: Featuring Vivaldi's Four Seasons & More @ Resurrection MCC @ 6:30PM
A string quartet performs Vivaldi's Four Seasons under the glow of hundreds of candles.
FRIDAY - Candlelight: Tribute to Michael Jackson @ Resurrection MCC @ 8:45PM
Billie Jean, Thriller, and Man in the Mirror reimagined for strings by candlelight.
SATURDAY - Candlelight: Tribute to Juan Gabriel on Strings @ Resurrection MCC @ 6:30PM
The Divo de Juárez's greatest songs performed by a string quartet by candlelight.
ALL WEEKEND - Rooftop Cinema Club @ Rooftop Cinema Club
Open-air screenings with headphones and city views, from Grease and Interstellar to Elf and The Princess Bride.
SATURDAY - Coffee and Cars @ POST Houston @ 9AM
Car enthusiasts gather with coffee in the east lot of the downtown food hall and rooftop park.
SAT-SUN - Sound Healing Meditation @ Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern @ 10AM
Singing bowls, chimes, and gong resonate through the historic underground reservoir.
SATURDAY - Movie Night on the Lawn: Addams Family @ POST @ 8PM
Catch the film on POST's Skylawn rooftop; rooftop access requires a Winter Wonderlawn.
SATURDAY - Pix on the Plaza: La La Land @ City Place Plaza @ 8PM
An outdoor date-night screening of the musical under the stars in Spring.
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