What to do This Memorial Day Weekend

With restrictions on in-person gatherings, Memorial Day Weekend will be different this year. Nonetheless, we rounded up some entertaining ways to spend the weekend while remaining safely socially distanced and maintaining proper health standards. Note: Please check with individual events/organizations for coronavirus- or weather-related updates.

In-Person Events

Italian Dinner + Piano Bar
BB Italia Kitchen & Bar in Memorial is restarting their Live Music Fridays this week, and they’re kicking off this relaunch of the piano bar with performer Sean Cowin.

Urban Harvest Farmers Market
Urban Harvest Farmers Market opens this Saturday from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. With the opportunity to support local farmers and buy fresh produce, please visit the website to learn of how Urban Harvest plans to promote responsible in-person selling and buying practices, some of which include wearing a face mask and ordering all hot foods for takeout. 

Lone Star Flight Museum
The aviation museum officially reopens Saturday and will stay open for visitors on Memorial Day. Admission is on a pay-what-you-can basis through May 31, and for anyone who still isn’t comfortable visiting in-person yet, the museum will continue to offer free virtual tours on social media.

Axelrad Rooftop Drive-In Concert
Axelrad, a beer garden in midtown, is hosting their first-ever Rooftop Drive-In Concert on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. While Flower Graves and el Lago perform on the rooftop of one of Houston’s favorite bars, fans watch the performance on a projector screen from inside their own cars, and can tune into the FM signal that broadcasts these performances. Tickets are first-come-first-serve, so make sure to visit Axelrad’s website to order tickets (pay-by-donation) and secure your parking space.

Houston Museum of Natural Science
Go on a visit to HMNS, which is now back open for visitors - but don’t forget your required facemask. If you don’t feel comfortable enough to get back out there yet, you can also tour their exhibits anytime from home through Google Arts & Culture. And on Friday night at 7 p.m., join the HMNS over Zoom for a superhero trivia night.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston 
MFAH reopens this Saturday, though facemasks and social distancing will be enforced. These exhibits can likewise be toured from home through Google Arts & Culture, and the museum offers a variety of virtual experiences each week, such as coffee with curators or movie screenings.

Ice-Skating at the Galleria
The Galleria has re-opened its indoor ice-skating rink. Before you take on the ice, make sure to visit Ice at the Galleria to learn about its social distancing measures, such as increased indoor ventilation, sanitization stations and enforcement of maintaining 6-feet-apart.

McGovern Centennial Gardens
Hermann Park is open to the public, right now from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., which means the McGovern Centennial Gardens remain an optimal space for going for walks and admiring the beautiful scenery. The park asks that visitors come alone or with immediate family, in order to avoid large groups. To enjoy the park safely from home, check out Hermann Park social media pages for nature classes, guided virtual tours, and more.

Virtual Events

Virtual Campout
This Friday night, Space Center Houston is offering an adventure that anyone can safely participate in from their own home – or backyard. The virtual campout is from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and includes online exhibit tours, STEM activities that families can do together and Fred Haise, a former Apollo 13 astronaut and military service member, as a guest speaker.

Houston Symphony: Living Room Series with Joan DerHovsepian
For only $10, you can access the Houston Symphony’s Living Room Livestream every Friday at 8 p.m. This weekend, Joan DerHovsepian performs pieces by Telemann, Reger, Gliere, Hovhaness and Bach on the viola. Tune in 30 minutes early to watch the prelude: a conversation between Carlos Andrés Botero, Musical Ambassador and a member from Houston Public Library.

HGO Historic Radio Broadcasts
Either tune in on channel 88.7, visit the HPM website or download the HPM App to listen to historic opera performances brought to you by Houston Public Media. This weekend, the performance of Götterdämerung Act I, 2017, streams Friday at 8pm and Saturday at 1 p.m.

Nightclub at home
Missing the Houston nightlife on the weekend? You can recreate that scene while staying at home this Friday night at 8:30 p.m., by listening to DJ Wes Wallace from Numbers Nightclub live stream music on Twitch.

National Memorial Day Concert
In place of the annual concert that would traditionally take place in-person at the Capitol building in Washington D.C., this year PBS is televising the event live, with a variety of performances from different locations. Hosted by Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise, the concert airs this Sunday at 7 p.m. CT.

Memorial City Mall Musical Tribute
This Monday at 2 p.m., you can watch live on the mall’s Facebook page a musical tribute to honor Memorial Day and military service members. The event includes a performance by the Charlie Perez Trio and a Presentation of Colors.

 
Other Fun Ideas

A Cinema Experience from Home
The Austin-based theater Alamo Drafthouse is continuing to provide new movies through Alamo On Demand, a streaming service carefully curated by theater programmers. For $12, rent a cult classic or film festival favorite to watch from home this weekend.

Alley@Home
Go behind the curtain with Alley Theatre, through Alley@Home, a collection of videos on the theatre’s website that let you meet the playwrights, see behind the scenes of your favorite plays or enjoy one of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Online Learning with the Children’s Museum
On the Children’s Museum Houston’s social media pages, you can find daily virtual learning activities sure to keep kids entertained this weekend, such as DIY science experiments, math-based puzzles or arts and crafts projects.

Picnics
Families can create their own fun together this weekend with a basket of food and time spent outside. If it’s at a park or in a public space, make sure to maintain proper social distance. In the case of rainy weather, you can opt for an indoor picnic instead. Or host a virtual picnic with friends over Zoom or Facetime.

Biking Trails
If the weather holds up, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to become familiar with Houston’s plethora of scenic biking trails. Most popular is the 15mi, fairly even Buffalo Bayou Trail, that stretches along the bayou, all the way through Downtown Houston’s Sam Houston Park, Theater District and Waugh Bridge. Other trails to look up include the White Oak Bayou Greenway and the Heights Hike and Bike Trail. See more about family bike rides here.

Buffalo Bayou Audio Tour x Houston Public Media
Enliven your stroll along the bayou by listening to a self-guided tour of Buffalo Bayou, brought to you by Houston Public Media. The 12-minute pre-recordings, available in both English and Spanish, are available on the Buffalo Bayou website.

Online at Discovery Green: OnDeck! Kinder HSPVA
In lieu of the typical noon concerts at the Discovery Green stage, the students of Kinder HSPVA practiced and recorded their own performance for families to tune into. The video performance can be found online at the Discovery Green website.

Online at Discovery Green: Mad Hatter and the No-Good, Very Bad Coronavirus
Support local theater virtually by streaming “The Mad Hatter and the No-Good, Very Bad Coronavirus” on the Discovery Green website. Robb Brunson performs this one-act play, teaching and promoting healthy practices to children of all ages.

Online at Discovery Green: Yoga x YouniverSoul Fest:
YouniverSoul Fest, an organization that combines music, art and yoga, has made practicing spirituality from home that much easier, pre-recording a powerful flow yoga class to stream from the Discovery Green website.

Online at Discovery Green: Writing Workshop x Houston’s Writers in the School
WITS is offering free, weekly creative writing workshop for children second grade and up. This Saturday, from 10:30-11:30 a.m., the class teaches “IDDY-UMMMMS.”