Houston’s Own Mardi Gras, Human Chair Stacks and Margarita Madness — the 7 Best Things to do in the City

Houston weekends are packed full of events, but how many of them are truly worthy of your time? PaperCity’s new events calendar offers a curated look at all the best things to do in the area. But everyone can still use a guru — or two.

PaperCity Weekend Gurus Matthew Ramirez and Virginia Reynolds cull our calendar for your weekend must dos in this weekly series.

Once On This Island

Come out of your winter hibernation and head to the Theatre District to catch Tony Award-winning musical revival Once On This Island on stage at the Hobby Center. The touring show, which first opened in 1990, tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl “in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love.”

Directed by Michael Arden, the story of love and discovery will feature a score of enchanting music (compliments of Anastasia and Ragtime‘s own Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty), plus exciting choreography from acclaimed choreographer Camille A. Brown, known for her work on NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live.

Once On This Island will be in Houston through Sunday, March 1. Tickets start at $40.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

Mixers & Elixirs

Oh Mardi Gras, the season when wearing purple, yellow and green is accepted, when indulging in multiple King Cakes is commended, and when partying for two weeks is all but recommended. We all know of Galveston’s Mardi Gras festivities, but if a drive down 45 isn’t in your plans, then head to the Houston Museum of Natural Science on Thursday, February 20 for its Mixers & Elixirs Mardi Gras celebration.

For $30, you can enjoy live music from Satellite, refreshments from a variety of food trucks and drinks from the cash bar. So slip on those beads you stored away somewhere and grab a masquerade mask before Mardi Gras season officially wraps up.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

The Peking Acrobats

If you enjoy high-flying stunts and heart-stopping tricks, then don’t miss The Peking Acrobats when they perform live at Jones Hall this Saturday, February 22.

The Peking, China-based group loves pushing the boundaries of what many might call “normal” human abilities. For more than 30 years, the group of acrobats and gymnasts have traveled the world, wowing audiences with their crazy flexibility, dexterity, and balance. In 1999, they even won a Guinness World Record for the “tallest human chair stack” – that’s to say, six members stacked up onto seven chairs – while handstanding – for a total of five seconds. No mere trip to the gym is enough to train for that talent.

Tickets to this flying show start at $29.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

Yonderlust at River Oaks District

You know what we Texans love just as much as tacos, brisket, and Dr Pepper? Margaritas. And this weekend is cause for celebration because Saturday, February 22 is National Margarita Day.

While the refreshing cocktail has a host of fun and flirty varieties (often infused with fruit flavors and syrups), the classic margarita is a force to be reckoned with. And this weekend, you can get yours in River Oaks District thanks to Goode Company’s traveling bar, Yonderlust.

The super-cool mobile airstream bar will be in the District to serve up a variety of drinks for purchase to commemorate this all-important holiday. Choose to sip its Damn Goode Margarita (Tequila Arette Blanco, lime, orange liqueur) or Strawberry Habanero Margarita (Tequila Arette Blanco, Ancho Reyes, strawberry, lime, orange liqueur, habanero bitters), or keep it simple with just beer, Prosecco, rosé, or red and white wine.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

National Margarita Day at The Rustic

Downtown’s popular bar The Rustic will also be getting in on the Margaritaville fun by hosting its own National Margarita Day party on Saturday.

The bar will begin the margarita madness at 11 am (because it’s never too early) and celebrate until 4 pm with DJ Gracie Chavez. But the shenanigans don’t stop there. Things will really kick off at 3 pm when Happy Hour begins and the Rustic Rita’s start flowing. Get your tequila cocktail frozen or on the rocks for a mere $3. That’s pretty hard to beat.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

Mind Shrine Tour Kickoff at Satellite Bar

The ascension of the dreamy, chillwave sounds of Mind Shrine feels brisk but earned. I didn’t know who they were a year ago, but I’ve seen them twice since and both times was taken by the maturity of their songwriting, chops and stage presence.

In that short time frame, Mind Shrine have become my favorite young band in Houston. I’m not sure their ages, but they feel like the first band a full generation younger than me that I have gotten behind, and their following has got their streaming numbers into the hundreds of thousands.

They’re about to embark on a two week East Coast tour that will see them perform at Rough Trade in New York City. Surely, this is a very good young band on the rise. Catch their tour kickoff at Satellite Bar this Friday, February 21.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

Rex Orange County at Revention Music Center

The orbit of Grammy-winning artist Tyler the Creator includes everyone from Frank Ocean to Colombian pop singer Kali Uchis to the precociously talented UK-born Rex Orange County, who, as a teenager, landed prominent placing on Tyler’s excellent 2017 album Flower Boy and scored a big hit with “Loving is Easy,” a sweet but charming song that felt like the child of Randy Newman and Hall & Oates.

In 2019 he released Pony, a solid album (his third, if you can believe it) that finds Rex finally putting his disparate influences together in a satisfying way: indie rock, left-field hip-hop, light jazz and the fringe-y, slightly trippy sounds of similar artists like Clairo and Roy Blair. He’ll play Houston for the first time this Saturday, February 22, at Revention Music Center.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.