houston

Fun Facts

The lightning whelk is the official state shell of Texas

The King Ranch in Texas covers an area larger than the state of Rhode Island

Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center offers more than a million square feet of rentable space.

Your Itinerary

If you have two hours
For artists currently displaying at Lawndale Art Center, just pleasing visitors isn’t enough. They want you to think about art, nature, and vanity. AJ Liberto and Jessie Robinson have assembled their installation, Wicker Chairs and Half-and-Half, creating art through the use of space and composition. For an exhibit that looks at how hypercritical we are of our looks, Cory Wagner transformed a gallery at Lawndale into a winding, mirror-lined passage. Ann Marie Nafziger asks viewers to consider their relationship with nature in their everyday environment, while Mequitta Ajuha displays self-portraits celebrating her East Indian and African American heritage. All these exhibits are on display through January 10. 713.528.5858; lawndaleartcenter.org

If you have two days
Each year, 10,000 book lovers descend on the Jewish Book & Arts Fair. Highlights of this 36th annual blockbuster at the Jewish Community Center, which takes place November 2–16, include book signings and author talks by Curb Your Enthusiasm screenwriter Alan Zweibel, Seagram CEO Edgar Bronfman, and Martin Fletcher an NBC News bureau chief based in Tel Aviv. New Jewish films include the documentary The Powder and the Glory, about arch-rival beauty queens and cosmetics creators Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden. The Yuval Ron Ensemble — best known as composers for the Oscar-winning short feature West Bank Story — will perform music that fuses Middle Eastern, Sephardi, and Sufi influences. 713.729.3200, ext. 3231; jcchouston.org

If you have a long weekend
Escape the big city to learn about winemaking in Bryan, Texas, 90 miles north of Houston. The Messina Hof Winery and Resort offers tours each weekend, and lets you sleep it off at the Villa, which Arrington’s Book of Lists named the Most Romantic Bed and Breakfast in the USA. Messina debuts its new vintages November 14–15, beginning with a Wine Premiere Dinner on Friday night culminating in a wine and food stroll the next day. Stations of food and complementary wines are set up throughout the grounds of the 31-year-old vineyard. Messina Hof Winery is four-time winner of the Top Texas Wine award at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and also won Best in Show at the 2008 San Antonio International Wine Competition. Messina’s 100 acres include the Vintage House restaurant and the Wine Master’s Room wine bar.

Convention & Visitor's Bureau