HOUSTON – Cooler temperatures might have you wanting to stay inside this weekend, but here are a few freebies that might lure you out for some family fun.
Celebrate the Lunar New Year
You don't have to go to China to celebrate the Lunar New Year. The UT Physicians Clinic is hosting a free spring festival Friday morning. It's happening at the Multi-specialty International District Wellness Center at 10623 Bellaire Blvd., suite C280. Guests will get free gifts including a traditional "lucky red envelope", customized calligraphy and a vegetable and flower seed packet. The fun gets started at 9:30 a.m.
There's also a Lunar New Year celebration for the entire family at the Galleria starting Saturday. The free family-friendly activities include creating Japanese greeting cards, making fortune teller cookie jars, and other arts, crafts and activities. There will also be live performances. It runs from noon until 5 p.m. There are also activities on Sunday and more fun next weekend. More info >
Fruit trees for sale
This weekend is also the largest single-day fruit tree sale in the country, hosted by Urban Harvest, but even if you don't buy, there's a lot of free activities in which to take part. There will be live music and food trucks, as well as environmental and nutritional activities. It all starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Sawyer Yards. More info >
Pinwheels spinning around
On Sunday, you can make your own pinwheels at Discovery Green. There's a workshop at the park's newest public art installation, called Gust. This hands-on event features a Houston piñata and papier mache expert. It starts at 2 p.m. at Hess Deck. The Gust art installation will be on display until March 20. It features 1600 handmade pinwheels, and you can take part by blowing into one of the "activation stations" and setting the pinwheels in motion. More info >
A new hairdo
And finally, a new salon wants to treat you to a free blowout. "Just Roots" is holding its grand opening in Bellaire on Saturday. The salon offers color retouching in half the time of a typical appointment. To celebrate its opening, they're giving free blowouts to guests who visit the salon between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday. There's also music, food and drink, and product and service discounts. More info >