Gather up the family and your little ninjas-in-training and head down to Miller Outdoor Theatre on Friday and Saturday, September 26 & 27 at 7:30 pm for two nights of high energy Japanese drumming and dancing at the 12th Annual Houston Grand Taiko Festival. The Taiko drummers will be performing along with Japanese dancers as well as some special guests. The performances are free and covered seating is always first-come-first-serve. So get their early......

If you're still mistakenly laboring under the impression that ballet is dry, dusty and boring, the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater would like the chance to persuade you otherwise. This Saturday and Sunday night at Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Dominic Walsh company is putting on a decidedly modern and contemporary production of the classic ballet Sleeping Beauty, set to Tchaikovsky's original score but with choreography and costumes that are anything but traditional. Dominic Walsh himself......

The Miller Outdoor Theatre (MOT) is rolling out Movies In The Park this week with three nights of cinema comedy classics. Make a batch of your favorite popcorn, load up some drinks in a cooler, grab the kids, the neighbors, your significant other and a blanket and head down to Hermann Park to catch the following films. The Thin Man Tuesday, August 19 - 8:15 pm Everyone’s favorite society sleuths, Nick and Nora Charles......

Can't decide what to do for the Fourth of July and upcoming three-day weekend? Don't know which Independence Day scene is quite right for you? Don't worry, patriots: Houstonist is here to help. Freedom Over Texas For the traditionalist in you, the City of Houston will hold its annual Freedom Over Texas event at Eleanor Tinsley Park in downtown. Sponsored by Chevy, you can all but count on the attendance of truck-owners and NASCAR fans.......

If you're anything like Houstonist, you love Hermann Park (or, at the very least, you recognize that the little statue of Sam Houston which is prominently displayed on our logo actually resides in Hermann Park). Whether you have fond childhood memories of riding the train to the Zoo, rolling down the hill at the Miller Outdoor Theater, and spending hours in the Hall of Paleontology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, or more recent......

We're moving the weekly Live Music Calendar to Wednesdays to make room for our new weekly New CD Releases feature on Tuesday. OK, let's pretend you have a five-day date with some wannabe Sirius radio DJ and you have to wade through everything the city has to offer this week. Decisions, decisions, decisions. Well, good thing you listen to everything we have to say! May we recommend that you start off in familiar territory......

Was your head feeling like someone was pounding on it this morning, like ours was? We keep forgetting that Thursday nights, are not Friday nights. There's that whole having to wake up to a screaming alarm, while fighting a hangover on Fridays, but not Saturdays. Ugh. Well, since pounding started off our day, we figure we'd just continue the trend. We love themes. Tonight, Miller Outdoor Theatre hosts Kaminari Taiko, and all weekend long, at......

Contemporary Dance Showcase at MOT Beginning tonight, Dance Source Houston presents a Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance, to be held at Miller Outdoor Theatre. Now in its 13th year, A Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance, presents a snapshot of the contemporary dance scene in Houston featuring new work and revivals of recent work. This artistic sampler features a range of choreographic styles set to music that ranges from classical to experimental. Featuring the best of......

Falling Apart to Half Time Dance has seen a vast resurgance in the country this year, whether blame lies with Fall Out Boy, or So You Think You Can Dance, we're not sure. But we are sure we are loving all the great talent that exists right here in dancetown Houston, TX. Swayze was so ahead of his time. Companies like the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater has helped to encourage these recent trends, and also......

Goodbye hump day, hello rain. Did anyone else have a sucky Wednesday? And to top it off, the current monsoon over our office is making us have flashbacks of the beginning of the summer. What happened to our 108 degrees and sunny?! We are on a mission to make the most of this wet and soggy day, so we are heading to the Museum of Fine Arts tonight as they present Artful Thursdays. Because......

Houston Shakespeare Festival That which we call a free show , by any other name would smell as free. And with that poor, poor attempt at Shakespearean quote alteration, Houston kicks off the annual Shakespeare Festival. Love's Labor's Lost Directed by Sidney Berger Performances | July 27 , August 2, 4, 8, 10 Romeo and Juliet Directed by Carolyn Houston Boone Performances | July 28 , August 1, 3, 9, 11 Now celebrating its thirty-third......

Beehive: The Musical! Now through July 18th, head out to Miller Outdoor Theater to see the sensational "Beehive: The Musical!"producned by Houston TUTS. Performances are nightly at 8:15pm. Grab the hairspray and come on down to the rockin' 60s musical, featuring more than 35 of the hottest hits of the girl groups and female singers of the era. FIVE WAILING WOMEN, ONE HOT BAND, AND 25 CANS OF HAIR SPRAY A WEEK can only......

No, it's not by driving as fast as we can around loop 610, but it does include city-wide celebrations, all hoping for the same thing: No rain. Here are a few of the events we'll be checking out tomorrow. Where will you be? Tell us, maybe we'll ditch our plans and join you. But probably not. >>Freedom Over Texas Festival Houston's Official 4th of July Celebration. Chevy presents a concert and Independence Day celebration at......

Juneteenth Celebration at Miller Outdoor Theater Happy Juneteenth! Join the city in celebrating the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation when slavery in Texas offically became a thing of the past. Tonight, Miller Outdoor Theater presents “Sarah and Joshua – a Juneteenth Musical” – the premiere of a new musical drama by Texas Southern University playwright Thomas Meloncon in commemoration of Juneteenth. The play tells the story of two slaves in love and the events leading......

Houston Symphony Summer Nights The Symphony must have heard what you said about Miller Outdoor Theatre, readers. Tonight they will perform a concert at the auspicious venue, and - like all Miller events - it's totally free. It might be a little wet, so remember that tickets for the covered seating area are available at the Miller Theatre Box Office between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm on the day of the performance. Remaining tickets are......

Dance, Dance. Double-header Dancing tonight in the form of two of Houston's best dance companies: The Metropolitan Dance Company and City Dance. >>>Summer Dance with the Houston Met Dynamic, exhilarating and high-energy. It’s how critics and the public alike describe the performances of Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. To complete their stellar season they are brining their artistry to Miller Outdoor Theatre for a free performance, Summer Dance: The Best of the Houston Met Season tonight,......

The people have grumbled. Here you are, The Top 10 Least Satisfying Driving Experiences in Houston: 1. I-10 between downtown and the westside 2. Meeting of 59 North and 288 3. 610 past the Galleria 4. 59 South 5. Westheimer past the Galleria 6. 45 through downtown 7. Shepherd Drive from I-10 to 59 8. Richmond west of the Galleria 9. Hwy. 6 between Bellaire and 529 10. 290 in and out of downtown *Interesting......

TGI friggin' F! Has is been a long week for anyone else? Bring on the holiday weekend! Lots going on this Memorial Day weekend, and we hope you are able to get out there and enjoy the sunshine before the rain creeps in on Monday. Oh, and don't forget to thank our veterans (for the day off). For some funky, fabulous, FREE fun, head to Miller Outdoor Theater tonight (through the rest of the......

Houston Metropolitan Dance presents Performance at Hermann Park If you are lucky enough to not be sitting behind a desk at 11:00 am tomorrow, we suggest you head over the Miller Outdoor Theater and check out this event (and then come back and rub it in our faces that you enjoyed a beautiful day on the lawn of the MOT). An interactive performance for all, Danceology 101 invites the audience to experience the charleston and......

The Trinity Irish Dance Company, founded in 1990 by Artistic Director Mark Howard will be performing at Miller Outdoor Theatre this Saturday (St. Patty's, of course) at 8:00 p.m.. Admission is free, we suggest that you maybe pack yourself some Irish Stew and good Irish beer or whiskey and enjoy a night of progressive Irish dance. The company is non-profit and melds both traditional Irish dance and new means of expression into their performances. Many......

The Miller Outdoor Theatre presents a performance (free!) by The Royal Drummers of Burundi, perhaps Africa's most famous percussion ensemble, this Thursday evening. The performance begins at 8:00 pm (you can attend both a free gallery opening AND a free, very cool, performance!). With traditional costumes, dance and centuries old percussion techniques, it should be an amazing performance. Clear your calendar for tomorrow evening - pack the picnic basket and don't forget the wine opener!......

Hello, Houstonians. Its that time of year again: the time when the Astros make idiots out of all of those who gave up on them. In-between yelling at the TV during games, though, here's some stuff to get you out of the house (so you can show off your Astros apparel, of course!) Friday, September 29 the Cultural Arts Series of the University of Houston - Clear Lake joins the UHCL Film & History Club......

There was a long weekend, you see. Consquently, we woke up on Thursday, though it was Wedneday, and you were left last night bereft, unable to figure out the best thing to do with your ten dollars. Remind us when it's Thursday next time, y'all. Friday, September 8 Since the sad demise of Actor's Theatre of Houston, our theatre scene's been missing something around here: now maybe we've gotten it back. Pendulum Theatre's first production......

So it's hard to find a drive-in theater these days, but you can still watch a movie outside if you're in the mood: This weekend, the Miller Outdoor Theatre is showing two classic movies for free. It sure beats rolling your Zenith console TV out into the back yard. Tonight and Saturday the movie is Casablanca, the 1942 classic story of love and political intrigue in North Africa on the eve of World War II.......

Hello Houston! Here's what's up this week for cheap.... Friday, June 23 The summer season begins with a bang at Sam Houston Race Park, where the fantastic new singer-songwriter Jack Ingram plays a free show tonight after the final race. Free with park admission ($3) before 8:30 and $8 after 8:30 pm. (Sam Houston Race Park, 7575 N. Sam Houston Parkway West) Saturday, June 24 Poetically Speaking is a weekly event featuring "inspirational words", of......

So we're coming up on Juneteenth, the celebration of Union Gen. Gordon Granger's reading the Emancipation Proclamation in Galveston on June 19, 1865, freeing slaves in Texas. Though the Proclamation arrived in Texas late, that didn't put a damper on the celebration — and now, 141 years later, Juneteenth is believed to be the oldest celebration of the ending of slavery in the U.S. There are a lot of events going on around town......

The national media occasionally forgets about everything it criticizes Houston for — sprawl, smog, oil, heat, bugs, lack of topography, Enron — and admits, though sometimes begrudgingly, that our fair city ain't such a bad place after all. The latest such nod is from the AP, which is carrying a story touting Houston as a budget vacation spot. "There's lots of Texas-size fun to be had for less than $20 in the nation's fourth largest......

Organizers of the Houston Asian American Festival will have to find a new place to hold their event becuase the Miller Outdoor Theatre wants ... higher caliber entertainment? Since 1985, the Houston Asian American Festival has been held at the Miller Outdoor Theatre near downtown Houston. However, the theatre's chairman said board members want events and performances at the city-owned venue to go in a different direction. "We feel that it is best serving the......

Sometimes, Houstonist feels spoiled by today's ever-fancier movie theaters — do we truly need stadium seating, digital projectors and 12,000-watt sound systems to enjoy a movie? Well, yes, in most cases, we really think we do. Nevertheless, we're intrigued by the prospect of seeing a movie outdoors, so we're excited about two holiday movies in Hermann Park: Friday and Saturday, the movie of choice is 1983's A Christmas Story. Everybody knows what the movie's about,......