Chron • 9th June 2024

New Houston theater leader is ready to step into the spotlight

Despite coming to lead one of Houston's most popular theaters, Derek Charles Livingston spent part of a recent visit to the Bayou City out from behind the curtain: looking for a gym he liked in his soon-to-be home. As a former fitness instructor, working out is important to him. Livingston has had many titles over his life: community activist, peer counselor, director of new play development at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Soon he'll add another to his resume: artistic director for Houston's S

Chron • 5th April 2024

Sculptor builds 35-foot temple to honor Houston's art community

The encounter with Scranton highlights one of the reasons Best is in town. Though Best, who is in his late 70s, lives in California, he has close ties to the Houston art car community. He's in town for the next several days as the Orange Show's 2024 artist in residence.

Best is well known internationally for his towering, intricate, non-denominational wooden temples, which are built as places of mourning, release and reflection, and then burned to the ground. He's closely associated with the Bu

Chron • 3rd April 2024

Two artists are turning Houston's Sabine Street footbridge pink

Though Buffalo Bayou Park has undergone numerous improvements over the past decade, including the installation of new pedestrian bridges spanning the bayou near Montrose Boulevard and Shepherd Drive, the Sabine Street Bridge predates them all. As a result, it has a sort of neglected, utilitarian air. Whereas the Rosemont Bridge, just east of Montrose, includes decorative ironwork railings and a unique Y-shaped design, the Sabine bridge consists of ugly stairs, patchwork concrete, and generic met

Chron • 2nd April 2024

In Houston’s Botanic Garden, Zimbabwean art is born in real time

At the Houston Botanic Garden Friday morning, artist Passmore Mupindiko was putting the finishing touches on a stone sculpture, a hummingbird perched atop the leaves of what looks like a bromeliad. A visitor to the garden earlier in the week saw Mupindiko's unfinished sculpture and already put a claim on it. That customer is coming to pick up the sculpture later on Friday, and so Mupindiko, working under a pop-up tent just inside the gardens' entrance, is trying to finish it in time.

"It needs

Chron • 23rd March 2024

Houston condo features pool in the shape of ... well, just look

A luxury condominium complex off of Allen Parkway in River Oaks boasts an unusual amenity—a community swimming pool in the shape of, well, let's just look at the photo.

The phallus-shaped pool at Reata at River Oaks was first spotted by longtime technology journalist and Houstonian Dwight Silverman, who shared images of the complex's courtyard on the social network Bluesky. The photos come from the Houston-area Realtor's website, which lists several condos for sale and rent at the 159-unit comp

Chron • 21st March 2024

Houston Pokémon fans battling local toy store 'scalping' rare cards

MadRat Toys owner David Doehring confirmed to the site that he purchased "about 100" of the Pokémon bundles. He told the publication that the shop had to turn to Costco because the packs were sold out elsewhere and unavailable from distributors that sell directly to hobby and toy stores. LoneStarLive confirmed that, unlike distributors, Costco did not have purchasing limits on the packs. Each box includes about 50 cards, and the set of two boxes retailed for about $37 at Costco. The sets are now

Chron • 1st March 2024

MFAH's house museum tells the story of 1950s Houston high society

The museum, which is owned by the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, first opened in 1999 during the Azalea Trail, the biennial garden tour and fundraiser hosted by the River Oaks Garden Club. Pictures from the opening show Houstonians lined up down the home's long drive and around Kirby, waiting for a chance to tour the museum and its iconic gardens.

The story behind Rienzi follows two threads, according to Christine Gervais, director of the museum and curator of decorative arts at the MFAH. The fir

Chron • 1st March 2024

'Out at the Rodeo': Unofficial Pride night returns to Houston rodeo

The gathering is the brainchild of a group of Houstonians who wanted to start hosting Houston Pride events all year long, not just during Pride month in June. Co-founder Eric Hulsey already had experience hosting large gatherings as the founder of Houston Gaymers, a social group and nonprofit for queer video game enthusiasts. A former graphic designer, he decided to make a logo and Facebook group.

Out at the Rodeo hosted their first two rodeo gatherings in 2016 and 2017. Though the event was vo