Houston has recently been named a city you NEED to visit in 2019 by Travel + Leisure and Bloomburg. I would wholeheartedly agree with them. You can fill up a good amount of time during any visit with arts and entertainment options. If you want to stay downtown you can head over to Houston’s Theater District and see a Broadway play, the Houston Ballet or the Houston Symphony! Houston’s Theater District is a 17-block area that alone holds nine professional performing arts groups and includes the 130,000 sq foot Bayou Place with parks, theaters, and restaurants. Houston is also one of only five cities to have permanent resident companies in all the areas of performing arts disciplines – The Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Ballet, Theater Under the Stars and The Alley Theater.
The long list of arts and entertainment only begins with the Theater District! You could easily fill up your time with the more quirky and cool side of the Houston art scene, which is what we chose to do this trip. I’m sharing five of MY reasons to visit Houston for some arts and entertainment!
Art Car Museum {140 Heights Blvd – Closed M/T, W-Sun 11-6}
Truly one of the weirdest and coolest things on this trip was the Art Car Museum, and that weirdness starts before you even enter the building! Everything from there on out is 100% unique to the museum and those that strongly believe in it. Every year a theme is chosen and the first 100 pieces of art submitted are taken, no questions asked. The point of the museum, according to the ‘Art Car Manifesto’ on the website is to bring awareness to “local, national and international artists with an emphasis on art cars, other fine arts, and artists that are rarely, if ever, acknowledged by other cultural institutions.” If you don’t know what an Art Car is, check out this video of the 2018 Art Car Parade in Houston!
River Oaks Theater {2009 W. Gray Street}
Originally built in 1939, River Oaks Theater is everything a weird and quirky old theater should be. At River Oaks you can find foreign and independent films, movies that are more of an “art house” type film and of course your cult favorites playing at midnight – The Room and Rocky Horror Picture Show. I had my first viewing ever of The Room. If you’ve never seen it I highly recommend going, but promise me that you won’t even look anything up. Find some friends and go check it out. I begrudgingly committed to that rule and I don’t regret it! You’re in for a treat because the film writer, director, and star will be at the theater in person March 1st, so, you’re welcome!
Station Theater {1230 Houston Ave – Thurs 8:30-10pm, F/Sat 8:30-11:30pm}
Fans of Improv and sketch comedy? Check out this hole in the wall, tucked away building known as Station Theater. You might be surprised to find such a cool place inside, but its lots of fun. I love good Improv, and Station IS good improv. You can also see some of Houston’s awesome street art on the outside of the building. If you get a chance to the see the SuperNova show, and also catch Baby Knuckle you’ll be in for a treat! Also, an item of note….its BYOB! Yes, bring that cooler and your drinks.
Cezzane {411 Montrose Blvd – above The Black Labrador Pub}
Named the best Jazz club in Houston by the Houston Press, Cezzane is a jazz club where talking is discouraged and there’s a one-drink minimum required. Get there early to get yourself a seat as this is a very small venue. They do offer two shows but are only open on Fridays and Saturdays. The current calendar is updated through April. You will see all sorts of dress here, but mainly people look as though they are going on a date night for coming from work. Enjoy the vintage, throw-back feel and check out Cezzane for your Jazz fix. As a side note, they make a mean Old Fashioned!
Sawyer Yards at the Silos {Main Parking – 2101 Winter Street, North Parking, 1824 Spring Street}
Right away I must admit that I was a very bad blogger for most of this trip. I really wanted to be in the moment and enjoy this trip, not live it out for everyone else on social media. As a consequence of this, I missed some photo opportunities. Do I regret really? Nope, not even a little bit! Located in old warehouses, rice silos and surrounded by an active railroad yard, you’ll find a huge art community. Sawyer Yards is home to one of the largest art communities in the countries! You’ll also find breweries, dining and public art galleries that complement this large community. The whole thing is pretty darn cool. If that wasn’t enough you’ll find awesome events like Second Saturday, where even more vendors grace the outdoor walkways with their goods and wares. Just prepare yourself to spend a good chunk of your day wandering the halls of the different “Streets”, and try not to get lost. There are TEN separate buildings that makeup Sawyer Yards, so don’t feel bad if you can’t explore them all, because you won’t. Second Saturday is the event that I got to go to. One the second Saturday of every month the art is open to the public from 12-5. Artists who make their art on-site choose to open their doors for you to purchase from them as they look on. I found it really neat to be able to meet the artists, and on many occasions see them working. Best thing, its free, no admission costs. You can wander to your heart’s content! Step outside and find a cup of locally made coffee and a funfetti mini-bundt cake to refuel between wanderings. Get your camera and best Instagrammer post ready because you’ll find some really cool street-art/murals here as well.
Here are some of my favorite artists you can find at The Silos!
Read My Other Houston Posts!
