Gwen Stefani, Amal Clooney and Others Arrive in Houston This Weekend for Major Downtown Conference

Gwen Stefani, Amal Clooney and Others Arrive in Houston This Weekend for Major Downtown Conference

A giant astronaut now looks over Discovery Green where the PCMA conference will host its opening event

AMAL CLOONEY, LIZ Cheney and Brené Brown will be in Houston this week to speak at the Professional Convention Management Association’s annual conference. Houston First is bringing the conference — for meeting-planners who work on behalf of companies and associations to book conventions — to town. Houston First president and CEO Michael Heckman has referred to the event as “the Super Bowl of our industry,” as the organization hopes to book $200 million in new incremental business over the next five years.


Expecting an audience of 4,000 attendees at the GRB, Houston First is creating a working kitchen to showcase the city’s diverse dining scene. Participating Houston chefs and mixologists from Houston hotpsots like Jun, Kiran’s, Koffeteria, Ishtia, Gatlin’s BBQ, Julep, Maven and others will be serving up their most popular dishes. “Houston's culinary scene is uniquely vibrant, reflecting the city's rich cultural diversity and bold creativity,” says restaurateur David Skinner of Ishtia. “We’re proud to contribute to that dynamic tapestry through food and storytelling."

The conference opens on Sunday night with a massive street fair at Discovery Green, featuring Houston faves and icons like Art Cars, custom cowboy hats and a giant astronaut flying over the park. To round out the festivities, three-time GRAMMY® Award winner Gwen Stefani will perform a 90-minute set at Daikin Park on Tuesday night.

Ex-Tomboy Jentry Kelley Has Become a Beauty-Biz Titan, Believes in Taking ‘Leaps of Faith’

For someone who has never heard of Jentry Kelley or Jentry Kelley Cosmetics, what is your elevator pitch? Simple, clean, no fuss skincare and makeup. If you want clean, yet easy to use, and you are not a self-proclaimed makeup artist, this brand is for you. We are education-focused. When you have the confidence to do it on your own and tools to make it look right, you can look and feel your best every day when you head out to take over the world.

Keep Reading Show less

Decadent pasta and wine awaits at Milton's.

IT WAS LOVE at first bite of the tender, housemade pasta — think mushrooms, garlic and hints of lemon and white wine — at the preview party of new Milton’s in Rice Village, which officially bows Sept. 27.

Keep Reading Show less
Food

A detail of one of Conley's new metal sculptures

IT’S BEEN A while (2017 to be exact) since we featured Houston metal sculptor Tara Conley in our inaugural A Day in the Life of the Arts photo essay. That image of Conley in her Montrose studio, dressed in jeans, a long-sleeve flannel shirt, and a welders mask, holding a blow torch and staring down the camera while crouched behind one of her elegant steel sculptures, certainly conveyed the “work” that goes into being a “working artist.”

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment