Wow! It’s hard to believe that November is here. Before the holiday season gets going, we have some fun and interesting things to do. Shop the annual Nutcracker Market online. You can also watch movies at your Houston home. There’s more, too, so let’s get started.
Houston Ballet is a city institution. The company performs a full season each year. They also have an extensive dance education program, starting with preschoolers and continuing all the way to adults. Like most performers, Houston Ballet has been hit hard by COVID-19. That means that they are depending on everyone living in Houston to come together to support them. A great way to do that is to shop for this year’s annual Nutcracker Market.
The market opens online on Wednesday, November 11th with Wells Fargo Early Bird Day. Tickets for entrance to the market are $30. This allows you to shop for the many participating merchants on the first day of the market. Ticket proceeds will go directly to Houston Ballet, along with 11% of sales, to fund the dance academy, scholarships, and other programs. The market is a great place to shop for unique goods to give to everyone on your gift list. Be sure to look for a few treats for yourself, too. From Thursday, November 12th through Friday, December 11th, access is free for all. One advantage of the online market is that you can shop any time of the day or night that is convenient for you. You can get help or talk with booth owners from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Central Standard Time.
Check out the
Nutcracker Market website to purchase early bird tickets and learn more.
Film Buffs Living in Houston Go to the Film Festival
Houston Cinema Arts Society is also hosting its annual festival event, beginning Friday, November 12th. For 10 days, until November 22nd, the society will be screening over 40 films, including many documentaries. The theme of the festival is Urbana, referencing the very popular genre of music coming out of Spain. It’s also a tribute to Selena and DJ Screw, who both died untimely deaths at a young age. Another feature of the festival is the CineSpace short film competition, as well as the Borders|No Borders short film competition.
There are two ways to participate in the festival. You can curl up at your Houston home and stream films on any device. After the scheduled screening, films will be available for a specific time period, between four and 72 hours. Be sure to double-check territorial restrictions if you plan to watch with friends and family outside Texas. The other way to experience the festival is to go to drive-in screenings. It’s a safe way to experience a film with a large group of people. Tickets for virtual screenings are $10. There are also free live streams. Drive-in showings vary in price from $10 to $30. If you want to see several films, consider purchasing a virtual film pass for $50. This allows you to access all virtual events, an invite to the virtual launch party, and a year-long membership to the Houston Cinema Arts Society.
Visit the
film festival website to learn more about individual films, purchase tickets and passes, and get information about how to see the films.
Kids living in Houston can take art classes at the Russian Cultural Center. Irina Borodina will be teaching. She has a strong background in art education and lots of experience working with kids. All participants will be able to learn different techniques in painting and drawing, as well as foundational terminology. Budding artists will be able to proceed at their own pace in applying what they learn. Classes last 45 minutes. Children seven and under meet at noon, and older kids have class at 1 p.m. Each class is $20. Classes are held in person. CDC guidelines are carefully followed.
Visit the Russian Cultural Center website for the children’s art school to learn more about art classes and find information on how to sign up.
Go Ice Skating Near Your Houston Home at Discovery Green
Everyone living in Houston can get out and enjoy the cool winter weather at the Discovery Green in the ice skating rink. The rink opens on Saturday, November 13th, and will run through January 31st. Because of the ongoing pandemic, things will look a little different than usual. Tickets should be purchased online to decrease personal contact. Tickets will also be time-limited for 75-minutes, to limit the number of skaters on the rink at any time. Skaters will need to wear masks as well. Tickets are $15 and include skate rentals.
Skating hours are Monday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday from 5 to 11 p.m.; Saturday and school holidays from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Save a little money on Cheap Skate Nights when tickets are $8 on select Mondays. There are fun-themed skating events, too. Professional ice skaters perform on Tuesdays. If you love music, plan to come to the rink on Wednesdays, when DJ Mohawk Steve will be spinning tunes for a lively evening. Santa will be skating on Thursdays in December.
Visit
Discovery Green online to purchase tickets, get answers to frequent questions, and see the full schedule of special skate times.
We hope this list will spark your own ideas for fun things to do this November. The pandemic is still with us, but we’re finding creative ways to get together and enjoy life while staying safe.
