This week we have Friday the 13th, the latest Project Row Houses round opening on Saturday, and Fran Watson‘s campaign kick-off on Wednesday! Head to MerlexPicks.com for more events and as always, subscribe to my newsletter and share with friends!

RSVP Now:

• How To Make a Monster Workshop by Wizard of Barge on October 18
• Balvenie Whisky – An Evening of Raw Craft: Season Three on October 17 (free)
• The National Women’s Conference: Taking 1977 into the 21st Century on November 6-7 (free)
• Jack Honey Art, Beats, & Lyrics: Houston on November 10 (free)
• Two Can Play That Game the Play on November 17 (discounted)
• Silent Trap Party on November 25 (early bird discount)

DESIGN DIALOGUE: DESIGN LESSONS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Monday, October 9, 2017, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
In this design dialogue series, let’s discuss how successful entrepreneurs use design concepts. In order to succeed, a product must first foundationally meet a customer’s basic expectations and then exceed those expectations with an excellent user experience. After 6:00 PM, press the intercom & mention Station Houston to get access. Learn more here. 

CAMPAIGN KICKOFF PARTY AND HAPPY HOUR
Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Come out and celebrate the official kick-off of Fran Watson’s “People First” campaign for Texas Senate in District 17. This Black woman’s campaign launch event will be a great way to start thinking about local politics as elections are less than a month away! Light refreshments will be served and you definitely want to check out Crú’s happy hour. Learn more here. 

EXHIBITION OPENING: EYES OF THE STORM: HCC’S VISUAL ART RESPONSE TO HURRICANE HARVEY
Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Participants, using art materials supplied in the gallery, will create a piece reflecting their experience of Harvey and then attach it to the gallery walls in a pattern indicating their location in the city. The exhibit will include a video of interviews with the participants, an oral history of a history-making event, a storm that tore down houses and built community. Learn more here. 

RICE ENTREPRENEUR ORGANIZATION: FUELING YOUR COMPANY’S CAPITAL NEEDS
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Listen to angel investors, VCs, lenders, and entrepreneurs discuss their experience with funding. Learn what investors are looking for and what you need to make your business attractive to investors. Hear from entrepreneurs about the pitfalls and successes of pitching and closing deals. Includes a networking happy hour with light snacks from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. Learn more here. 

LECRAE – ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER TOUR
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Houston-born Christian rapper Lecrae is coming to the Revention Music Center. His latest release and eighth studio album, All Things Work Together, came out in September. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and tickets start at $29. Learn more here. 

WELL-BEHAVED WOMEN SELDOM MAKE HISTORY
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
The remarkable Kopp sisters are back! In Amy Stewart’s third installment of their true-life tale, one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs finds herself defending her inmates against accusations of so-called morality crimes, while life gets complicated at home. Head to Brazos Bookstore for a lively night of storytelling and rambunctious women’s history. Learn more here. 

BLACK LINES POETRY
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Black Lines Poetry is a monthly Poetry Show that includes featured poets, and a variety of art forms. This event is a Houston Poetry Slam open qualifier featuring two poets: Christopher Diaz and Erica Nicole. Savannah Blue Arts Outreach serves the Houston community through the presentation of modern, cutting edge performance poetry events, workshops, and youth literacy outreach. Tickets are $10 with a portion of proceeds going to families affected by Harvey. Discounted on Goldstar. Learn more here. 

ART & INCARCERATION: POETRY, THEATRE, MUSIC IN & ABOUT CAPTIVITY
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
For this interdisciplinary performance, Ensemble Pi presents music, text, and theater works that focus on the rise of mass incarceration, the racial disparities it reveals, and the emotional toll it takes on inmates and their families. Learn more here. 

CONCERT: NICK HAKIM, NORVIS JUNIOR, JON BAP
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Nick Hakim is a soul singer from D.C. touring on his debut album Green Twins. Norvis Junior and Jon Bap both have their own unique sounds that I think will translate well to a live performance. Advance tickets are $13.  Learn more here. 

THE SECRET GROUP ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY
Thursday, October 12, 2017, 10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.
Exactly one year ago today, The Secret Group opened their doors and what a ride it’s been so far. On October 12th, they’re throwing a free party featuring special guest DJs + drink specials + ticket giveaways all night long and they can’t wait to share it with you!  Learn more here. 

EXHIBITION OPENING – MONA HATOUM: TERRA INFIRMA
Friday, October 13, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
The work of London-based artist Mona Hatoum (b. 1952) addresses the growing unease of an ever-expanding world, one that is as technologically networked as it is politically fractured by war and exile. Her work explores how shifting geographic borders and institutional structures limit, if not violently define, how we comfortably find a home in the world. Learn more here. 

MFAH MIXED MEDIA
Friday, October 13, 2017, 7:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
MFAH Mixed Media returns for a fall bash celebrating “The Glamour & Romance of Oscar de la Renta”! Show off your Oscar de la Renta-inspired threads & dance the night away with drinks, food-truck bites, and access to the new exhibition. Tickets are $25 for this event featuring DJs from Houston and Los Angeles. Learn more here. 

WADADA LEO SMITH’S TEN FREEDOM SUMMERS
Friday, October 13, 2017, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The first full production in the American South of Wadada Leo Smith’s major work on the American Civil Rights Movement. More than a three-performance musical event, Ten Freedom Summers is a multimedia project that incorporates archival news footage and evocative but abstract cinematic imagery edited with a musical sensibility. $13. Learn more here. 

WEEKEND MIDNIGHT MOVIES: FRIDAY THE 13TH
Friday, October 13, 2017 – Saturday, October 14, 2017
Every Friday and Saturday night at 11:55pm, it’s another Midnight Movie Classic at the Landmark River Oaks Theatre. A group of teenagers have a sleepover at a remote summer camp, but the mysterious “Jason” keeps knocking them off—one gory slice-and-dice at a time. If you want to know where the slasher craze started, this is the one to see. Tickets are $11. Learn more here. 

TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY HOMECOMING GAME AND TAILGATE
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Kicking off with the Homecoming Parade through Third Ward, Saturday marks the end of a week of events to celebrate TSU’s homecoming. The football game versus Alabama State begins at 2:00 p.m. and tailgating will be taking place all day! Look at the full lineup of events on the homecoming website. Learn more here. 

DIMENSIONS VARIABLE
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
“Dimensions Variable” brings together a wide range of arts, from music and design to fashion and performance, all in conversation with the exhibition on view (featured above). It’s quite a lineup all on top of Mickalene Thomas’ exhibit and you should definitely go. Learn more here. 

MUFARO’S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS AN AFRICAN TALE
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
All ages welcome for this special Children’s Theatre production. The story of a happy African father, Mufaro, who has two beautiful daughters. Tickets are $10.  Learn more here. 

LECTURE: HOUSTON CRACKDOWN: IT WAS BIGGER THAN POLICING
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Maco L. Faniel is CERCL’s 2017 Scholar-in-Residence at the African American Library at the Gregory School. The 1980s war on drugs was federal mandate carried out in a local space. Houston was one of the major staging locations. Faniel will explain how multiple community, governmental, and media organizations aided in the interdiction practices of local government and the Houston Police Department. Also, this beautiful library is free to visit with exhibits about Houston’s Black history! Learn more here. 

MLK SKI WEEKEND OFFICIAL MEET & GREET
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Join MLK Ski Weekend at Prospect Park for the Official Houston Meet & Greet and indulge in drinks, food, music, networking while learning about the trip! This event is free of charge and you can anticipate a great time with cool friends in HTX! Ask questions and meet others attending MLK Ski Weekend.  Learn more here. 

PROJECT ROW HOUSES ROUND 47 OPENING + FREE MARKET SQUARE
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
The Act of Doing documents a community-led effort to preserve the legacy of Third Ward and amplifies the questions of place, displacement, ownership, and creative community organizing taking place. In conjunction with the opening of the Round, Free Market Square will organize a family friendly market with vendors and performers from the Third Ward and communities across Houston. The lineup for this round is a who’s who of Houston’s Black artist community and this free event will be really fun! Learn more here. 

MIYAMOTO IS BLACK ENOUGH
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
APERIO presents MIYAMOTO IS BLACK ENOUGH, a contemporary music group that combines new compositions and poetry in the creation of groundbreaking, genre-defying performances. Featuring slampoet Roger Bonair-Agard (2013 National Book Award Longlist), cellist Jeffrey Zeigler, composer and steelpan player Andy Akiho, and drummer Sean Dixon, their unique sound-world produces a musical experience that synthesizes the multi-cultural backgrounds and influences of all four artists.  Learn more here. 

GALVESTON ARTS CENTER: GIOVANNI VALDERAS, REGINA AGU, AND CHRISTIE BLIZARD
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
GAC presents three exhibitions by Texas-based artists in partnership with the 2017 Texas Biennial with artist talks beginning at 6:30. During ArtWalk, GAC invites you for a sunset “Projections Promenade” through downtown Galveston with Pablo Gimenez-Zapiloa, a mobile projection performance. Learn more here. 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 | SCREEN ON THE GREEN
Saturday, October 14, 2017, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
The galaxy needs saving again, and Peter Quill’s band of guardians are the heroes for the job. Head to Discovery Green for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 at the Bank of America sponsored event Screen on the Green! You are welcome to bring blankets, and chairs to view from the hill, but no glass containers.  Learn more here. 

ETTA’S SUNDAY BRUNCH
Sunday, October 15, 2017, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Enjoy delicious brunch staples from Etta’s Kitchen at Bar 5015 like Belgian waffles, chicken & biscuits, shrimp & grits, and of course mimosas! The Waxaholics will also be on hand to provide the music. This gets crowded quickly so show up early for a seat. Learn more here. 

DREAM TOGETHER! AAPIS STANDING UP FOR IMMIGRATION RALLY
Sunday, October 15, 2017, 2:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
OCA-Greater Houston and community partners will host a national AAPI Immigration/DACA Rally in light of recent executive and legislative immigration news from the Federal Government. OCA-Greater Houston invites and urges all AAPIs and allies to participate in the rally to voice their support of a welcoming immigration policy for everyone. Learn more here. 

MARKET SEGMENTATION WORKSHOP WITH MICHAEL SKLAR
Sunday, October 15, 2017, 4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.
One of the key determinants of a startup accelerating or running out of money is target marketing. Come hear Michael Sklar share a story of how he picked the right market segment to target that led to his company being acquired by VMware in 18 months. Time-permitting, the session will end with an active discussion of market segmentation issues faced by participants in the session. Learn more here. 

SYMPHONIC SPOOKTACULAR
Sunday, October 15, 2017, 7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Get into the Halloween spirit with creepy classics of the orchestral repertoire, but don’t be scared — this concert is spooky fun for the whole family! This show is produced by the Houston Symphony and free! Bring your picnic blankets and snacks and enjoy this fun concert. Learn more here.