TIME TO PAINT the town! This season, a trio of art fairs hits Houston, beginning with the Houston Art Fair (formerly the Houston Fine Art Fair), where nearly 50 local and international galleries exhibit Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at Silver Street Studios. On the same weekend, the Texas Contemporary event is held Downtown at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Opening-night festivities include a collaborative performance with the Houston Ballet’s Oliver Halkowich and multi-media artist Chris Doyle. And a week later, the semi-annual Bayou City Art Festival returns to the streets of Downtown with hundreds of outdoor booths.
AN INTERVIEW WITH Brad & Joanna Marks, owners of IW Marks Jewelers
What were your biggest challenges of 2020? Our biggest challenge was definitely dealing with the economic shutdowns due to the virus.
<p><strong>How did you adjust and overcome obstacles? How did you reset? </strong>We are expanding our selling to include online through our website and social media platforms. </p><p><strong>What's the secret to rising above obstacles and persevering in tough times? </strong>The secret to staying hopeful and forward-thinking is believing in God, yourself, business and employees. </p><p><strong>What did you learn about yourself, your business or your community that might inspire others? </strong>We can overcome anything with what we have been through this last year. </p><p><strong>What's new for 2021 that you're excited about?</strong> I am very excited about expanding our business to include online sales. </p>
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Crawfish at Goode Co.
Spring has sprung — and so has mudbug season. Check out the fun al fresco events, creative workshops and crawfish pop-ups going on across H-Town this weekend. And don't forget to soak up the sun!
Attend an Al Fresco Movie Night
<p>As part of its <a href="https://asiasociety.org/texas/events/front-lawn-film-nights-crazy-rich-asians" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Front Lawn Film Night series</a>, the Asia Society will screen <em>Crazy Rich Asians</em> on Friday night starting at 8pm. Sit in on a whirlwind adventure full of love, family drama and <em>mahjong</em> in a designated "lawn pod" (eight-foot circles spread out across the green space) that fits up to four people. Reserve a pod for $40 ($30 for members) — and add on the candy and popcorn package for just $10!</p><p><strong>Pinch Pots, Not Each Other!</strong></p><p><strong></strong>In search of family fun this weekend? The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft is teaming up with Hands-on Houston to offer <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/462806914904615" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">to-go ceramic kits</a>, available for pickup at HCCC between 11am and 1pm on Saturday. The kits, designed for those age 5 and up, are free, and inspired by the current exhibition <em>Forms of Inheritance: The Work of Anna Mayer</em>.</p><p><strong>See Art & Sea-</strong><em><strong>food</strong></em></p><p>Score crawfish, art and more at <a href="https://bisonggallery.com/event/curated-vendor-popup/" target="_blank">Bisong Art Gallery</a> on Saturday! A pop-up market from 12pm-5pm includes wares by local vendors, plus mudbugs and drinks.</p><p><strong>Get Your Crawfish Fix Another Way</strong></p><p>Goode Company is helping Houstonians get their crawfish fix this weekend with a special while-supplies-last event in its Westpark parking lot (between Goode Co. Seafood and Goode Co. Taqueria)! <a href="https://www.toasttab.com/goode-company-crawfish/v3/?mode=fulfillment" target="_blank">Order online</a> for pickup on Saturday or Sunday, or simply show up and roll the dice; the pop-up begins at noon and goes until the goods are sold out. Available items include boiled crawfish with seasoned corn and potatoes (in 2.5, 5 or 10 pounds), pints of campechana, and cocktail kits for margaritas and hurricanes. Advance orders must be placed by Friday at 5pm.</p><p><strong>'Goat' For It at the Arboretum!</strong></p><p>The ruminants return to "mow" 2.6 acres of the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center for five days, beginning Saturday. Bring the kids to check them out: About 120-150 goats will be grazing — but don't try to pet them! Plus: We were sad to see a lot of our plants go during last month's freeze — but what better time to start fresh? The Arboretum hosts a <a href="https://houstonarboretum.org/event/diy-mosaic-flower-pot/" target="_blank">virtual tutorial</a> for decorating mosaic flower pots on Saturday and Sunday from 1pm-3pm. Tickets include all supplies needed.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="1001" data-rm-shortcode-id="3a32954ecc48f6dd5fe276ae82abf19d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://www.houstoncitybook.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxNzczMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODQ1OTAwNn0.RNUFeqc4_hIjacjrJYtQGoTikaOs7OgoGXy51vNbkGg/image.jpg?width=980" data-width="1500" id="28b43" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Houston Arboretum & Nature Center (photo by Anthony Rathbun)</small></p><p><strong>Gather the Brunch Bunch for Yoga</strong><br/></p><p>What better way to start off the day than with brunch and yoga? On Sunday at 11am, get both at <a href="https://shopatmarketstreet.com/events/brunch-and-yoga-picnic-experience/" target="_blank">Market Street</a>, where Fancy Picnics will be setting up a beautiful brunch spread, complete with mimosas, and a 45-minute yoga class. (The whole thing, including the fresh-flower mandala centerpiece, is 'Gram-worthy.) Limited availability.</p>
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Photo courtesy NETFLIX© 2020
MOXIE, A FILM based on Houston young adult author and Bellaire High School English teacher Jennifer Mathieu's book of the same name, drops today on Netflix.
<p>Directed by <em>SNL</em> alumna Amy Poehler and produced by her production company Paper Kite — the force behind Comedy Central's critically acclaimed <em>Broad City</em> and equally critically acclaimed series <em>Russian Doll</em> by Netflix — the film tells the story of a feminist uprising at a high school.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img class="rm-shortcode" data-height="2446" data-rm-shortcode-id="f10b48658f13a4424fd377fb06e1c6f4" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-runner-src="https://www.houstoncitybook.com/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxMzk0Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTM1MTg5MX0.seajXYD0mLd08RYOf1_nMEIXTdd9zRYay3UV0AObZc4/image.png?width=980" data-width="1618" id="fbb3b" type="lazy-image"/>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Jennifer Mathieu by Daniel Ortiz for 'Houston CityBook'</small></p>
<p>In the film, 16-year-old protagonist Vivian, played by actress Hadley Robinson, stumbles upon some feminist zines and cassettes her mother, a former "riot girl" played by Poehler in the film, had hidden, and uses them as her inspiration to start secretly publishing and distributing a feminist zine at her high school. The zine, created in response to the sexist behavior of some of the male students and administrators at her school, helps kickstart the formation of a feminist club that develops into a full-fledged feminist movement.<br/></p><p>Poehler's production company acquired the film rights to Mathieu's novel ahead of its release back in 2017 after obtaining an early copy of the book and seeing its big-screen potential. What sets Mathieu, a former "riot girl" herself, apart from many other young-adult authors, and perhaps what won Paper Kite over, is her honest approach to the heavy topics she is known to explore in her books, which in the past have addressed issues like sexism, abortion and molestation.</p><p>"I'm a big believer that teenagers can smell hypocrisy really quickly and can tell when someone is trying to preach or lecture to them," Matthieu told <em>CityBook</em> 2017. </p><p>"I wanted to write a book where girls — and guys, too — could see that being a feminist is not about hating men or about women being better than men," she added. "I want young people to know that feminism is about liberation from all of these really restrictive gender roles that tell boys that they can't cry or that they should be good at sports, or that tell girls that they have to be thin, quiet and super pretty to be of any value."</p>
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