Best bets for your Houston weekend: Dazzling light displays, electrifying stage spectaculars and more
It’s almost the weekend before Thanksgiving, and for some of us, that means the final days of denial before we’re forced to confront the financial, social, and emotional stresses of the holiday season. (Anyone else staring down a calendar chock-full of travel days, shopping outings and obligatory family gatherings?)
Best bets for your Houston weekend: Mind-bogglingly massive holiday markets, dizzyingly dazzling light displays and more
This is the Things to Do newsletter, a preview of local events assembled by the KPRC 2 Digital Team and delivered to your inbox each week. To subscribe, visit click2houston.com/newsletters.
VIDEO: Cypress home shines with Spooktacular Halloween light show
A Cypress man has transformed his home into a dazzling, choreographed light display celebrating all-things spooky. There are strobe lights, multiple songs and oodles of Halloween cheer. The wholesome, family-friendly spectacle is perfect for kids and kids at heart. It’s the sort of heartwarming thing that makes you truly excited to celebrate Halloween
Houston’s Rooftop Cinema Club celebrates spooky season with spine-chilling Halloween lineup
Cinephiles, take your love of movies outdoors with a trip to one of the Space City’s coolest theaters: Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown. The popular open-air, rooftop venue reopened in September after closing in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Come October, the venue will screen several spooky favorites, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Hocus Pocus, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween and The Addams Family.
After over a decade out of service, historic rail trolleys will soon return to downtown Galveston
Electric trolleys first made their debut in Galveston back in 1891 and remained in service until 1938. Fifty years later in 1988, a heritage streetcar system, the Galveston Island Trolley, was opened and continued to operate downtown until September 13, 2008, when Hurricane Ike severely damaged all four of the vintage trolley cars.
Rooftop Cinema Club’s Uptown location will return to Houston’s skyline Sept. 1
Cinephiles, take your love of movies outdoors with a trip to one of the Space City’s coolest theaters: Rooftop Cinema Club Uptown. The popular open-air, rooftop venue will reopen Wednesday after closing in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saturn will reach its closest point to Earth early Monday morning. Here’s how to see it
The ringed planet Saturn, already one of the solar system’s most dazzling sights, will shine bigger and brighter this month. On Monday, August 2, at around 1 a.m. the planet will reach alignment with the Earth and the sun in an event known as “opposition.” During this event, the sixth planet will reach its closest point to Earth and wil shine at its absolute brightest.
The ultimate Galveston bucket list: These are the must-do activities at this Gulf Coast destination
Reeling in the catch of a lifetime at one of the island’s countless fishing spots, sipping a mojito while dining al fresco at the island’s oldest operating restaurant, grabbing a lot of beads at Mardi Gras! Galveston . . . and a bunch of other Galveston-centric things.
West Texas travel guide: This is what you need to do when you go to mile-high Fort Davis
Modern life comes with its conveniences but it’s also got its fair share of stress. Chances are your phone’s constantly buzzing with breaking news, work emails, traffic alerts and the like. And even if you’ve only occasionally peeked at your phone, the stress of so many alerts and updates may have left you feeling a bit burnt out. An escape from the hubbub of city living could probably do you some good.
Good news, Texans: Balmorhea, world’s largest spring-fed swimming pool, reopening
The spring-fed swimming pool and day use area at Balmorhea State Park will reopen to the public on June 26, the Texas Park and Wildlife Department announced. The beloved West Texas swimming hole, the world’s largest spring-fed pool, has been closed for the better part of three years.
Take relaxation to new heights when you spend the night in this quirky shipping container tower in North Texas
Modern live comes with its conveniences but it’s also got its fair share of stress. Chances are your phone’s constantly buzzing with breaking news, work emails, traffic alerts and the like. And even if you’ve only occasionally peeked at your phone, the stress of so many alerts and updates may have left you feeling a bit burnt out. An escape from the hubbub of city living could probably do you some good.
Did you know Texas has its own life-size replica of the Munster Mansion?
Waxahachie residents Sandra and Charles McKee tooke their mutual love for the popular 60′s sitcom show “The Munsters” to an entirely different level. The pair built a life-size replica of the The Munster home, painstakingly recreating the fictional abode room by room by watching and re-watching footage from the show.
Oh, my stars! These 6 Texas state parks offer stellar stargazing
Like one wildly popular Texas tune goes, the stars at night are big and bright and the prairie sky is wide and high, deep in the heart of Texas. But in Houston and the state’s other big cities? Not so much. Ironically, here in Space city, the solar system’s superior celestial sights elude us and Texas’s famous stars at night remain hidden behind some serious light pollution. Those who want to glimpse a meteor as it streaks across the night sky, gaze in wonder at the Milky Way, pick out a distant planet amid a twinkling sea of stars or simply trace a few familiar constellations, will have to motor a good ways away from as many bright city lights as possible. Basically, you need to find a locale with a low Bortle Scale. What is the Bortle Scale, you ask?
This Fixer Upper barndominium listed on Airbnb is the perfect family vacation rental
If you answered yes to any of these questions, weve found you the perfect weekend getaway. The Barndominium, a horse barn turned 5-bedroom home featured on the couples HGTV hit show, Fixer Upper, is up for grabs on Airbnb. Binge your favorite HGTV show while you live it up at this Insta-worthy Airbnb sitting on 16 acres in Lacy Lakeview, Texas. (Cue drum roll)Scroll below for a virtual tour through this fixer upper turned Airbnb. Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)Barndominium (Airbnb)
This is how Typhoon Texas is preparing for opening on Friday
Typhoon Texas is getting ready to welcome back visitors on Friday, May 29. The waterpark will operate by reservation-only to ensure crowds are within capacity limits established by Gov. Typhoon Texas has created a simple online reservation system that allows guests to choose their date, arrival time and size of their party in advance. Typhoon Texas has also introduced a simplified ticketing where guests can purchase a day ticket for $44.99 per person and get the rest of the summer free with unlimited visits to the park, reservation required. All high touchpoints throughout the park will also be sanitized and disinfected and restrooms will be closed hourly for cleaning and disinfecting.
Summer in the great indoors: Heres a list of Houston-area camp programming offered online
But some Houston-area summer camps have already announced they will move their programming online. We will update this list as more virtual summer programs and virtual educational experiences are announced. In lieu of its usual summer camp programming, the zoo is now offering a free virtual camp experience on its website, which includes education videos and activities. For more information, visit www.shac.org, email isd@shac.org or call (713) 659-8111The Houston Public Library has transitioned its summer camp programming into an online interactive camp. The creative writing camp is shifting its programming online this summer.
LIST: These Houston-area museums are open or will open later in May
While some museums are already back in business, others are still evaluating when to open their doors. Here is a list of Houston-area museums open now, those with plans to open soon and those that remain closed until further notice. These museums are open or will open soon:The Art Car Museum reopened and resumed normal hours on May 6. For more information, visit www.thehealthmuseum.org/; 1515 Hermann Dr., (713) 521-1515The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston remains closed to the public. We are aware of the inclusion of museums in the states phase one plan to re-open, museum staff wrote in a Facebook post.