Willie Nelson Love, Nutcracker Market Mania and Food Truck Madness — Houston’s Weekend Guide

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.

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

Nutcracker Market

If there’s one thing that seems to officially signal the start of the Christmas season in Houston, it’s the Nutcracker Market. Every year, holiday shoppers from near and far flock to NRG Center for the ultimate Christmas experience. What sounds more thrilling than snaking through more than 260 merchants while snacking on bites, sipping on drinks and dancing to your favorite Christmas tunes?

The beloved holiday market returns this weekend, bringing with it all the excitement and anticipation of the season. But the event is so much more than a shopping extravaganza – it’s a way to give back to Houston and support its incredible performing arts scene. Proceeds from every event ticket you purchase, plus 11 peercent of all the merchandise you purchase, will go directly to the Houston Ballet Foundation, its Academy and scholarship programs to support the city’s best and brightest aspiring dancers.

Things kick off on Thursday, November 14 and run through Sunday, November 17. General Admission is $20, but be aware: tickets purchased at the door must be paid via cash or check.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

The Great State Of Texas Food Truck Festival

Here in The Great State of Texas, we like to do things bigger and better. And for foodies, things are going to be epically big this weekend.

This Saturday, November 16, the East End will come alive with the first-ever The Great State of Texas Food Truck Festival. The inaugural foodie event will bring together a number of Houston’s best food trucks to showcase the diverse food scene of Houston. Indulge in bites from Smok’d It Up BBQ, Waffle Station, Shake You Up Milkshake Bar (because it’s never too cold for a milkshake), and so many more – like the highly coveted, perfect-for-the-season Alamo Tamales. The festival will also feature vendors and live music performances.

Tickets are $10.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

Willie Nelson at Smart Financial

Regardless of whether or not Texas is your native country, one thing will forever hold true: Willie Nelson is an absolute legend. The pigtail braid-wearing, guitar-picking native Texan has drawn audiences for decades with his iconic vocal sound and genre-crossing country music. Is there really another country artist that could master a rendition of “All of Me,” as made famous by Frank Sinatra?

The 86-year-old Willie Nelson is so legendary, he was even featured in Ken Burn’ most recent 16-hour series, Country Music.

Nelson, who shows absolutely no signs of slowing down, is currently on tour, and will be in Sugar Land this Monday, November 18. You can all but guarantee the entertainer will pull out all the classics from his more than 40 year career, so brush up on your favorites and get ready to sing along.

Tickets start at $59.50.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

The ICE at Discovery Green

Houston may not have frozen lakes, but thanks to Discovery Green you can still enjoy an outdoor ice skating experience. Water via Discovery Green’s Kinder Lake is frozen over and powered by Green Mountain’s renewable energy, to ensure the outdoor skating rink is the largest of its kind in the southwest – and most sustainable too.

Head to the park, slip on your skates and get into the spirit of the season. Proceeds from ticket sales will directly support the Discovery Green Conservancy.

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.

Houston Cinema Arts Festival

The city’s premier celebration of movies, the Houston Cinema Arts Festival returns to town Thursday through Sunday across a variety of venues in the city. A decade into the festival’s existence, 2019 brings one of most exciting and star-packed lineups yet. It  kicks off at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston with Houstonian Trey Edward Shults’s buzzed about drama Waves (unfortunately sold out) Thursday and romps through local premieres of films from such titans as Terrence Malick (A Hidden Life, screening 7 pm Friday at MFAH) and Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story, which is already gaining serious Oscar buzz, showing 10 pm Saturday at MFAH).

Our other picks include the definitive Al Reinert cult 1989 documentary For All Mankind, about the nine manned Apollo missions, complete with a score from Brian Eno (3:30 pm Saturday at Rice Cinema); Solange’s celebration of Houston, When I Get Home, showing twice Saturday at The DeLuxe Theater, 7:30 pm and 9:30 pm (tickets are free); and beloved documentarian and photographer Agnés Varda’s final film Varda by Agnes in its Texas premiere (1 pm Sunday at MFAH).

Then there is Houston photographer Ben DeSoto (who shot for the Houston Chronicle and Houston Post for 30-plus years) taking a trip down the underground musical history of Houston (featuring both local and worldwide acts who would go on to become household names) at Rice Cinema, Sunday, 7 pm; and the obscure but noteworthy Black Rodeo, a 1972 documentary examining a black rodeo as well as the suppressed history of the black cowboy closes things out Sunday night at the MFAH.

Many showings feature conversations and director appearances afterwards.

For a fuller preview of HCAF 2019, read our story here.

For the full slate of films, including ticket prices, schedule, and venues, click here. -Matthew Ramirez

Go to the full PaperCity events calendar listing.