Free Events Thursday
Movie Screening: Ballerina
Friday, January 31, 2014 at 7:30 pm
2337 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005
Director: Bertrand Normand In the grand tradition of the Ballets Russes comes a portrait of five Russian ballerinas from the Mariinsky Theatre. Behind any great ballerina lies the discipline and rigor that comes from decades of training and practice. The five dancers profiled in this revealing film are tough, insightful and exceptionally talented; onstage they reveal no hint of the sweat, pain and hard work of the rehearsal studio. With Ulyana Lopatkina, Diana Vishneva, Evgenia Obraztsova, Alina Somova and Svetlana Zakharova. Language: English Duration: 77 minutes.
Price: Tickets: $8/$6 – RCC members Please buy tickets in advance as seating is limited.
Watch Auntie Mame Outdoors
Friday, January 31 at 6:30 pm
It’s the last free winter movie at Discovery Green! The movie will be facing towards the ICE rink. Feel free to bring blankets or chairs to view from The Lake House deck or White Promenade. Located at 1500 McKinney downtown.
Price: Free!!!
Celebrate Mardi Gras Style
Saturday, February 1 at 10 am-10 pm
It’s Houston’s first Mardi Gras Parade and Festival! The Houston Creole Heritage Festival kicks off with a parade at 8 am beginning at Bell St. and Chenevert and ending at Discovery Green. The free festival, from 10 am – 10 pm, features live music, carnival and festival games, Kids’ Zone, Educational Fair, arts and crafts, and more. Get details about free kids’ bike helmet distribution at this event in my previous post. The nonprofit Houston S.H.O.P. (Sweet Hour of Prayer) Ministries is sponsoring this event, which raises funds to provide academic scholarships and school supplies.
Price: Free!!!
Support Local Artists
Saturday, February 1 at 11 am-6 pm
The First Saturday Arts Market returns! This monthly outdoor market in the Heights features original art, music, and fun. Musical entertainment provided by Renise Dichards and the Wild Things plus Alex, Wendy and Alexis. Located at 548 W. 19th on the Wind Water Gallery parking lot. – See more at: http://www.houstononthecheap.com/free-weekend-fun#sthash.nPrcemoD.dpuf
Art Tour at Asia Society
Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Docent-led tours of Asia Society Texas Center’s exhibitions allow visitors to experience art on a personal level, learn about art historical periods and styles, and hear stories associated with the artwork. Between History and New Horizons: Photographs of Women, Work And Community in Laos For most of the over 100 distinct ethnic groups found in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, textile making has long been considered the domain of women. What constitutes women’s labor in a rapidly changing economy and how do women depict their roles in it? Consisting of professional portraits as well as personal photographs, Between History and New Horizons provides an all-too-infrequent glimpse of contemporary Laos, the perspectives of ethnic women, and the transformation of traditional skills into modern livelihoods.
Price: $5
Lunar NewYear Festival
Saturday, February 01, 2014 at 10 am- 4 pm
9800 Town Park Drive, Houston, TX 77036
Every year the Chinese Community Center hosts the premier event in Southwest Houston, the Lunar New Year Festival. The Lunar New Year Festival is a market place of family fun, Chinese cultural awareness, community outreach, and business promotion. The festival is a multi-cultural Asian celebration showcasing East and West and the diversity of the City of Houston.
With the support of local artists and performing groups, teach celebration attracts over 15,000 local and out-of-town visitors. Supported in part by the Houston Arts Alliance, the festival will be held on Saturday, February 1, 2014 celebrating the Year of the Horse. Starting at 10am and lasting for 6 exciting hours, the indoor auditorium and large outdoor park-like spaces at the Chinese Community Center host an array of riveting, beautiful, and inspiring performances to welcome the Lunar New Year.
Price: Free!!!
Houston Chinese New Years-30 Year Tradition-30 Persons Dragon Dance Team
Friday, January 31, 2014 and Saturday, February 1, 2014
2407 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77098
Shanghai River Restaurant will celebrate its 30 year tradition of Chinese New Years “The Year of the Horse – 4712” with a gala, fun-filled two day celebration Friday, January 31, 2014 and Saturday, February 1, 2014. The celebration will include an exciting 30 persons Dragon Dance Team at 8:15 PM each evening.
Authentic Chinese calligraphy, a good luck Chinese New Year’s menu, and drinks will add to the festivities. (Dinner will be served each evening from 5:00 PM till 11:00 PM., and diners can select either the CNY menu or the regular menu.) Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are preferred by calling Shanghai River at (713) 528-5528.
Price: Free!!!
The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
From: December 22, 2013 – March 23, 2014 (Recurring daily)
1001 Bissonnet, Houston, TX 77005
The acclaimed international tour of The Age of Impressionism: Great French Paintings from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute concludes in Houston at the MFAH. Showcasing the Clark’s renowned holdings of French Impressionist painting, this exhibition features 73 works of art by a stellar lineup that includes Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. Also represented are Pierre Bonnard, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-Léon Gérôme, Jean-François Millet, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.
The Clark launched the collection tour in 2011 at the Palazzo Reale in Milan, coinciding with a three-year expansion of the Clark’s Williamstown, Massachusetts, facility. The MFAH is only the second, and the final, U.S. museum to host the exhibition.
This spectacular presentation tells not only the story of Sterling and Francine Clark’s devotion and passion for collecting but also of painting in 19th-century France, from the Orientalist works of Gérôme; to the Barbizon paintings of Corot and Théodore Rousseau; to the Impressionist masterpieces of Degas, Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, and Sisley; and concluding with the Early Modern output of Bonnard and Lautrec. Portraits, landscapes, marines, still lifes, and scenes of everyday life by 25 artists, spanning 70 years, are all on view.
Price: Free on Thursdays and for members; $23 (Sat. & Sun.) | $20 (weekdays)
Free Events Thursday