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Chron •

Grinch terrorizes Texas schoolchildren with ‘Santa is fake’ sign

A Texas man has drawn the ire of parents recently after dressing up as the Grinch and standing outside an Amarillo elementary school with a sign that read, "Santa is fake, Jesus is real."

David Harold Grisham, who refers to himself on Facebook as a "street preacher," was accosted by parents of Sleepy Hollow Elementary School in Amarillo on Nov. 27 after what he calls his "Grinch preach." Video filmed by Grisham and uploaded to YouTube shows at least two parents accosting the man during what app
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8 Houston stores you should visit right now for holiday gifts

Whether in need of a last-minute stocking stuffer, a Secret Santa surprise for work or a holiday hostess gift, Houston is full of locally owned shops featuring an excellent selection of presents for all ages and price brackets. While this list is by no means exhaustive, the following stores are sure to help holiday shoppers find something for everyone on their list (and are great for birthdays or any other time of the year, as well).

Stop here on the way to your next holiday party. Grab a chees
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MFAH opens gallery dedicated to Jewish artifacts

The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Gallery for Judaica officially opens to the public on Dec. 3. The small gallery, located near the main lobby of the museum's Caroline Wiess Law Building, currently contains about 30 items in a collection that the museum hopes to continue expanding. Though some of the items in the gallery are on loan or will be rotated out, the exhibit itself is a permanent addition to the museum.

Museum director Gary Tinterow said that when he first joined the MFAH in 2012, the mu
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RodeoHouston is teasing its 2024 concert lineup

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is teasing its 2024 musical lineup with the drop of a genre calendar, the first clue to the popular event's concert component.

The three-week festival, which takes place Feb. 27 through March 17, will include one night each of Christian, hip-hop, Latin, EDM, Norteño, rap, rock and pop performances. Scattered throughout there will also be 11 country performers, and one country rock artist or group.

"Our dedicated team has worked hard to curate a lineup that
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Houston Public Library brings book vending machine to Hobby Airport

Bibliophiles have a new way to indulge their favorite pastime while traveling through Houston thanks to a library book vending machine that was installed in Hobby Airport a few weeks ago.

The BOOKLink kiosk allows Houston Public Library cardholders to check out paperbacks and then return them on arrival back to Houston. Non-HPL members can use an email address to reserve e-books and audiobooks.

The kiosk was installed in the airport's main lobby on Nov. 16 and saw about 20 checkouts in its fir
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Massive new sculpture debuts on MFAH grounds

A colossal new sculpture by American artist Simone Leigh is being installed on the campus of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston this week, and you're likely to see it outside the museum's Kinder building the next time you drive by.

Called Satellite, the 24-foot-tall bronze sculpture evokes traditional African depictions of fertility and femininity. According to the museum, Leigh took inspiration from the D’mba headdresses made by the Baga peoples of Guinea, the ceremonial ladles of the Dan peoples
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Massive pickleball spot opening in Houston's Second Ward

An impressive new spot for pickleball, helmed by two former professional athletes, will host a grand opening on Dec. 2 with a huge bash in the Second Ward.

Called Bumpy Pickle, the sports and entertainment complex is a joint project between former professional soccer player Roberto Escalera and Mark Appel, an Astros first-round draft pick and relief pitcher for the Phillies.

If it seems like pickleball is everywhere lately, you're right. The game, sometimes described as a combination of ping p
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This Houston church is hosting a holiday-themed drag show

Drag Me to Church will be hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church, an open and affirming congregation in Midtown. The event will take place from 6–9 p.m. on Dec. 5 at Kiki, a nightclub in Montrose.

Trinity has always been accepting of queer parishioners, Reverend Hannah Atkins Romero said, but the church wanted to do something more visibly supportive in the wake of such legislation.

"(The church) has tried more and more over the years to be inclusive and affirming," she said.

With that, a drag sho
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Cistern Illuminated exhibition is back at Buffalo Bayou

One of the Buffalo Bayou Cistern's most popular art installations is returning for a second year, this time with all-new interactive elements just in time for the holidays.

Cistern Illuminated will run from Nov. 25 through Jan. 7. The installation by Houston-based artist Kelly O’Brien was first conceived as a way to highlight the 1920s-era cistern's unique subterranean architecture, according to Karen Farber, vice president of external affairs for the Buffalo Bayou Partnership. O'Brien, a licen
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Houston music venue Warehouse Live is leaving EaDo after 17 years

Warehouse Live, the long-running midsize concert hall located in EaDo, is moving to Midtown at the end of the year.

The venue made the announcement via a press release posted to social media on Nov. 20. According to the press release, the venue will be taking over Rise Rooftop at 2600 Travis in Midtown, a nightclub and concert hall with a retractable roof.

The last performance for Warehouse Live's current location will be a festival of tribute bands on Dec. 2. Rise Rooftop will close its doors
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Kehinde Wiley’s pandemic-era paintings come to MFAH

Wiley skyrocketed to fame in 2017 when he was asked to paint the official portrait of President Barack Obama that now hangs alongside other presidents in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. That painting, along with Amy Sherald’s portrait of Michelle Obama, visited the MFAH in 2022. Both Wiley and Sherald were the first Black artists to paint an American president's portrait and a first lady's portrait, respectively.

But even before then, art lovers celebrated Wiley for his style of rein
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Over 100 years later, Camp Logan convictions overturned

The decision, as first reported by the Houston Chronicle, was reached weeks ago and was celebrated Nov. 13 with a ceremony at Houston's Buffalo Soldiers National Museum. That day, the Army issued a press release on the decision, writing that "the records of these Soldiers will be corrected, to the extent possible, to characterize their military service as honorable."

The decision, approved by Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth, comes after a review board found that the soldiers, 19 of whom
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New Heights festival celebrates the neighborhood's walkability

Called the I Love 11th Fest, the free, family-friendly event will take place on Dec. 2. The festival, which will feature multiple musical performances, parties and other events at businesses along the route, is also meant to celebrate the neighborhood's walkability and diversity. It's being organized in part by two groups working to improve access in the Heights.

Those organizations include A Tale of Two Bridges, a group dedicated to increasing walkability and bikeability in the Heights, and Fr
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Could Honeyland become Houston's next great festival?

However, with the announcement of the Honeyland Festival in July, it seemed Houston might finally get the large-scale musical and cultural celebration it deserved. Promising a stacked lineup of both Black recording artists and experts on Black culinary culture, Honeyland organizers said they chose the Bayou City for the festival "as a prime example of Black excellence."

The two-day festival was almost doomed by weather before it even began, with days of rain in the forecast and temps dropping i
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Why is all of Houston getting engaged at this park?

Like many people in the early days of the pandemic, Houstonian Jay Gonzales had a lot of free time on his hands. Though he previously ran a moving business, few people needed his services, so he started looking for something new to do. Scouring social media, he came up with an idea.

He saw lots of outdoor gatherings like gender reveals and birthdays, where people were celebrating with elaborate decorations and giant lit-up letters. That led to the creation of his current business, Superstar Mar
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Two Houston Pride groups come to agreement in trademark dispute

Pride Houston 365 originally sued New Faces of Pride on Oct. 23, accusing the newly formed non-profit of intentionally creating confusion among advertisers, vendors, sponsors and attendees by using a similar name and logo to Pride Houston 365 to promote its events. The lawsuit asked for an injunction preventing New Faces from marketing their events until the lawsuit was heard. New Faces of Pride Houston is also planning a pride parade for 2024.

During a hearing in district court on Nov. 3, Judg
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How to celebrate the holidays in Houston

In Houston, we rarely have the weather's help to get us into the holiday spirit. Instead, we have to depend on other things—grandiose light displays, festive parties, seasonal markets and more. Luckily, there's no shortage of holiday events in the Bayou City. Chron has rounded up some of the best below. Check back often; we'll update this post regularly as more events are announced.

The 39th annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market returns to NRG Center this weekend. One of Houston's most famous
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Woman sues Toyota Center for injuries sustained during concert

A Texas woman is suing the owners of the Toyota Center after she says she was injured when an allegedly drunk concertgoer fell on her during a Karol G performance in September of last year.

The lawsuit, filed in Harris Count on Oct. 25, names Clutch City Sports & Entertainment, L.P.; Pritchard Sports & Entertainment Group Ltd., and Levy Premium Foodservice, L.L.C., and alleges that they failed to provide a safe environment, failed to warn of or eliminate dangerous conditions at the venue, and t
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Houston teens perform plays bearing witness to gun violence

Cotey had already been inspired by the student movement that emerged after the Parkland, Florida, shooting, with survivors like David Hogg and Emma González becoming more politically active in the effort to prevent future mass shootings. Cotey decided to offer his own resources—knowledge of the theater, and a literal stage—to help amplify the voices of other student activists. Thus was born Enough! Plays to End Gun Violence, a reading series featuring short plays written by preteens and teens fr
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Fresh off Rangers lovefest, Creed announces reunion tour

If you're feeling lost: No, it's not 1999, even though "Summer of '99" is the name of the tour, which was announced on Oct. 31. Creed will be joined by a rotating cast of late '90s opening acts including Switchfoot, 3 Doors Down, Fuel, and others. It's the first time the Tallahassee-based rock band has been on tour in more than a decade.

It all started with the Rangers' storybook run to the MLB playoffs. On Oct. 19, GQ published an article detailing the Rangers locker-room listening habits, and
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Giant dream-like sculptures return to MFAH with fall festival

For the second year in a row, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston will present a family-friendly fall festival featuring alebrijes, the large-scale, colorful papier-mâché sculptures inspired by Mexican folk art.

The free event will take place at the museum's outdoor sculpture garden and plaza from 1–5 p.m. on Nov. 5. Six Houston-based Latinx artists have been commissioned to create sculptures for the festival, called Dream with Alebrijes. The event will also include music and dance performances, ar
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Houston receives grant to address homelessness with art

This is the third time Bloomberg has offered the grants as part of its Public Art Challenge, which is meant to address important civic issues in cities across the country. In the previous round, in 2018, five cities were chosen, and the initiative generated more than $100 million in economic benefits for those cities' economies. Houston's project is the first proposal in three rounds to address the issue of homelessness.

Cynthia Alvarado, director of operations for the Midtown Management Distri
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Pride v. Pride: Longtime Houston LGBTQ organization sues upstart

The suit, which was filed Oct. 25 in Harris County, accuses the newly formed nonprofit New Faces of Pride Houston of intentionally creating confusion among advertisers, vendors, sponsors and attendees by using a similar name and logo to Pride Houston 365 to promote its events. New Faces of Pride Houston is also planning a pride parade for 2024.

The suit requests a temporary restraining order and injunctions against New Faces of Pride, preventing them from marketing their events until the case i
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At CAMH’s 75th anniversary show, anything can be art

The Contemporary Art Museum Houston's inaugural exhibit, which opened on Halloween night in 1948, didn't bother with historical landscapes or marble sculptures. Instead, its six founders, an all-male group of artists and architects, focused on the art in everyday life. Presented in a gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts (as the CAMH did not yet have its own facility), the show, titled "This is Contemporary Art," featured more than 150 objects, including items like Eames furniture next to a Jacob L
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