In 1836, four white apprentices beat Frederick Douglass nearly blind in a Baltimore shipyard.
He named them years later. Ned North. Ned Hays. Bill Stewart. Tom Humphreys. One came at him with a brick. One swung a handspike into his head. Fifty white carpenters watched. None said stop. They said the Black caulkers were "eating the bread which should be eaten by American freemen." Douglass saw past that.
The white man, he wrote, "is robbed by the slave system of the just results of his labor." The men who owned that system taught poor whites to fight poor Blacks. It kept them both poor.
He escaped to New Bedford, a trained caulker in a free town of Quakers and abolitionists. A shipowner tried to hire him. Every white man on the vessel threatened to walk. He shoveled coal instead. Still no bench for him.
In 1853 he asked Harriet Beecher Stowe to help him build a school where Black boys could learn a trade. There were fathers, he said, "whose minds are tossed by day and by night with the anxious enquiry, 'what shall I do with my boys?'" The school was never built. The question never went away.
Ask it again now. Manufacturing jobs peaked in June 1979 and fell for forty years. In the 1950s, 98 of every 100 American men in their prime worked or looked for work. Today it is 89. Black men lived this first.
Then we told every child that college was the only road. Georgetown researchers project only 42 percent of jobs will require a degree by 2031. We closed the shop classes and called it progress. The old track had sorted Black and brown children into dead ends. We did not fix the sorting. We tore out the ladder and left the wall.
Now hear what we tell the boys. The Pentagon studied who could enlist.
COMMENTARY
WHAT SHALL I DO WITH MY BOY? FREDERICK DOUGLASS ASKED THE QUESTION IN 1853. MARYLAND IS STARTING
TO ANSWER IT.
By Ben Jealous, National Political Commentator
Seventy-seven percent of Americans aged 17 to 24 cannot qualify. Too heavy. A record. A pill. A test.
Three out of four, told they are not wanted. Then the Army did something quiet. In 2022 it opened a course at Fort Jackson for the ones who failed the standards. It taught them until they met them. About 95 percent passed.
Chaz Andrews had wanted to serve since he was 19. He failed the entrance test more than ten times. He was 29 when the course got him through. Nothing was wrong with Chaz Andrews.
Hugh Price saw this coming. He helped start the National Guard Youth
Challenge Program, which lifts dropouts' earnings 20 percent. The military, the former Urban League president wrote, "figured out long ago how to nurture the potential of aimless young people."
He did not want to militarize childhood. He wanted the method. High expectations for everyone. A mentor who knows your name. A refusal to sort children into the ones worth teaching and the ones worth writing off.
Charlie Rangel asked the other half. He came home to Harlem from Korea with a Purple Heart and pushed for universal national service. "If we are going to send our children to war," he wrote,
"the governing principle must be shared sacrifice."
Rangel answered who serves. Price answered how people are made.
Maryland is testing both. Republican Larry Hogan dropped the degree requirement for most state jobs, and hiring without degrees rose 41 percent in four months. Democrat Wes Moore built the first statewide service year in America. That is real. So is this. Congress has not reauthorized the National Apprenticeship Act since 1937.
Further along than we were. Nowhere near done.
My father ran a Head Start center in San Diego in the late sixties. What surprised him was who objected. Not only men who hated Black children. Also, comfortable people who did not want anybody's poor children given a head start, white ones included.
We would rather sort children than teach them.
Douglass asked what he should do with his boys. We still owe him an answer. Ten years after Los Angeles burned, I stood backstage waiting to speak. Jack Kemp was at the lectern, pounding it. Our kids, he shouted. Our kids. Our kids.
An elder from South Central asked me where he was from. Upstate New York, I said.
Then whose kids is he talking about?
All of them, ma'am. They are all American children.
The notion stunned her. It should not stun anyone. It still does.
A country is not a nation until it claims them all.
Ben Jealous is a professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania and former president and CEO of the NAACP.
Texas politics are beginning to rumble, and the loudest tremor may arrive at the ballot box.
On Tuesday, November 3, Texans will choose a U.S. senator, governor, attorney general, all 150 members of the Texas House and a long list of congressional, judicial and county officials. Early voting runs Monday, October 19, through Friday, October 30. The voter-registration deadline is Monday, October 5, and applications for a ballot by mail must be received by Friday, October 23.
Those dates matter because 2026 is shaping up as one of Texas’ most competitive election years in more than three decades. Democrats have not won a statewide Texas election since 1994, while Republicans enter the fall defending offices they have controlled for a generation. That history gives this election its “tectonic” label—but political earthquakes are never caused by polls alone. They happen when voters show up.
The open U.S. Senate contest is drawing national attention. Democratic state Rep. James Talarico faces Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn in the May 26 Republican runoff. A Fox News survey conducted July 23–27 placed Talarico ahead 51% to 48%, exactly within its three-point margin of error. A newer Texas Southern University survey conducted July 27–30, showed Talarico leading 47% to 45%,
TEXAS IS LESS THAN THREE MONTHS AWAY FROM TECTONIC ELECTIONS
By Burt Levine, Political Editor for www.StyleMagazine.com
also within the margin of error. Translation: nobody should order victory balloons just yet.
A Talarico win would make him the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since Lloyd Bentsen’s 1988 reelection. A Paxton victory would extend Republican control of the seat and add another statewide win to a record that already includes three successful attorney general campaigns.
The governor’s race is just as closely watched. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking another term against Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, a civil-rights and labor attorney who previously served as president of the Austin ISD Board of Trustees. Fox News gave Abbott a one-point advantage, while another July survey
placed him ahead 45% to 42%. Both results were within their respective margins of error. If elected, Hinojosa would become Texas’ first Latina governor and its third woman governor, following Miriam “Ma” Ferguson and Ann Richards.
For attorney general, Republican state Sen. Mayes Middleton faces Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson. A July poll placed Middleton at 39% and Johnson at 38%, with 18% undecided. Texas last elected a Democratic attorney general when Dan Morales won reelection in 1994.
Beyond the statewide marquee, every Texas House seat is on the ballot. Contests across the suburbs, South Texas and major metropol-
itan counties could influence the Legislature’s direction on public education, property taxes, insurance costs, health care, water and the electric grid. The top-of-ticket races may attract the television cameras, but state representatives write laws that follow Texans into classrooms, businesses, hospitals and monthly household budgets.
The political ground is also shifting closer to home. Harris County voters will choose between Democrat Letitia Plummer and Republican Orlando Sanchez for county judge. In Fort Bend County, Democrat Dexter McCoy faces Republican Daniel Wong. In Brazoria County, Democrat Eugene Howard faces Republican Rob Giesecke. These county executives influence emergency management, public health, roads, budgets and the everyday machinery of local government—proof that the “down-ballot” is often where politics lands closest to the front porch.
Houston Style Magazine encourages every eligible voter—Democrat, Republican, independent or still deciding—to check their registration, compare candidates, study the full ballot and make a voting plan.
In Harris County, clean air is not an abstract policy debate. It is what children inhale at playgrounds, what seniors depend on during Houston’s hottest months and what working families breathe along highways bordered by refineries, factories and construction zones. That is why Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin’s latest legal victory deserves more than a courthouse nod—it deserves a deep, healthy breath.
Kamin announced that Harris County helped secure a federal court order requiring the Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with the strengthened 2024 national standard for fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, commonly called soot. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected the EPA’s effort to delay implementation and ordered the agency to identify areas violating the standard by February 6, 2027. Harris County joined 10 states, the District of Columbia, New York City and public-health and environmental organizations demanding enforcement of the law.
“The EPA had a legal obligation to protect communities like ours from dangerous soot pollution— inaction on behalf of the federal government is just as bad,” Kamin said. “Our office joined this lawsuit to hold EPA accountable, and this ruling confirms the Trump Administration cannot keep ignoring the law while Harris County families are subjected to the worst air in our state.”
That is democracy doing its job in work boots: local government standing up, courts reviewing the facts and federal agencies being reminded that statutory deadlines are not optional suggestions. The
HARRIS COUNTY ATTORNEY ABBIE KAMIN SECURES COURT ORDER
REQUIRING IMPLEMENTATION OF LIFE-SAVING SOOT STANDARD
By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
Clean Air Act requires EPA to establish health-based air standards and designate areas that meet—or fail to meet—them. Those “nonattainment” designations are critical because they initiate state and local planning to reduce pollution.
Soot may sound like something from an old chimney-sweep movie, but PM2.5 is a modern and serious threat. These microscopic particles can come from vehicle exhaust, industrial operations, construction activity and combustion. Small enough to travel deep into the lungs, they are linked to asthma attacks, heart attacks, hospital visits, cancer and premature death.
The 2024 rule lowered the annual PM2.5 standard from 12 to 9 micrograms per cubic meter. EPA estimated that implementation could prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths, avoid 290,000 lost workdays and generate as much as $46 billion in net health benefits in 2032. The agency also projected hundreds of thousands fewer asthma symptoms. Cleaner air is not merely compassionate public policy; it is smart economics.
The victory follows a June 26 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upholding the 2024 standard and rejecting efforts by states, industry groups and the current EPA to vacate it. The
appellate court reinforced a basic principle: Clean Air Act health standards must be grounded in science, not whether compliance is politically convenient.
For Harris County, the stakes are personal. America’s third-largest county includes families living near some of the nation’s busiest roadways, industrial corridors and freight networks. Pollution does not check party registration before entering a child’s lungs. Clean air is not red or blue—it is invisible, essential and shared.
Kamin’s action reflects a broader vision of the County Attorney’s Office as more than government’s legal department. With more than 300 attorneys and staff handling civil matters for Harris County and major county agencies, the office can serve as a shield when public health, local authority and the rule of law collide. Kamin became the first woman and mother to serve as Harris County Attorney when her appointment took effect June 15, 2026.
This ruling does not instantly clear Houston’s skies. It does force the process forward, establish accountability and move communities closer to protections already promised by law. Democracy is not only about casting ballots. It is also about ensuring government keeps its word—and that every resident has the freedom to breathe.
For more information, go to: https://cao. harriscountytx.gov/
From the East Wing to Harris County: Dr. Letitia Plummer Supports Dr.
Jill Biden at Houston Book Tour Stop
An Evening with Dr. Jill Biden Brings Education, History and Women’s Leadership to the Wortham Theater Center
By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
Houston knows how to welcome history—and, when appropriate, send it home with a hardcover.
On Tuesday, July 28, former First Lady Dr. Jill Biden brought her national book tour to the Cullen Theater at Houston’s Wortham Theater Center for “An Evening with Dr. Jill Biden.” Presented by The Progressive Forum, the program featured Biden in conversation with founding executive director Randall Morton about her new memoir, View from the East Wing: A Memoir. Every ticket included a copy of the book, giving the evening the feel of a civic conversation, literary salon and very Houston-sized book club rolled into one.
Among those attending was Dr. Letitia Plummer, the Democratic nominee for Harris County Judge, who met Biden during the Houston stop and publicly reflected on the encounter. Plummer won the Democratic nomination in May 2026 and is advancing to the November 3rd general election.
“Last night, I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Biden at her Houston book tour stop,” Plummer said. “Thank you for the kind words about our campaign and for a lifetime of leadership in education that has inspired so many of us to keep showing up.” Plummer’s message captured the larger spirit of the evening: public service is not only about occupying an office; it is about
returning, teaching, listening and continuing the work when the cameras move on.
Her statement described an encouraging exchange centered on leadership and service without characterizing the meeting as a formal campaign endorsement.
Biden’s View from the East Wing, published by Gallery Books, offers her personal account of life inside the White House during President Joe Biden’s administration.
The memoir moves from Camp David and Air Force One to family pressures, national crises and the closing chapter of the 2024 reelection campaign. In Houston, the conversation explored leadership, resilience and the human realities that often sit just beyond the official photographs.
For many Houstonians, however, Biden’s most enduring connection may be the classroom. Long before the East Wing,
she was an educator, and she continued teaching while serving as Second Lady and First Lady. Her decades of advocacy for community colleges, military families, cancer prevention and women’s health helped expand the traditional expectations placed on a presidential spouse. She did not simply talk about working Americans; she kept grading their papers.
That history made Plummer’s presence especially fitting. A dentist, small-business owner and former Houston City Council member, Plummer has built her public profile around health, neighborhood concerns, infrastructure and community service. Her campaign for Harris County Judge now carries her into a countywide conversation about leadership, preparedness and the everyday quality of life experienced by residents across Harris County.
The two women arrived at the Wortham from different chapters of public life, yet the evening highlighted a shared idea: education can be both a profession and a pathway to leadership. In a region powered by community colleges, universities, medical institutions and generations of women who have turned expertise into service, that message landed with special resonance.
Long before online shopping carts, same-day delivery and children requesting school supplies by text message, Rodney Ellis had a practical idea: give Texas families a break when back-to-school bills begin piling up.
On Tuesday, August 4, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis stood alongside educators and members of the Texas House of Representatives to mark the approaching start of the 2026 Texas back-to-school sales tax holiday.
State Representatives Dr. Alma A. Allen of House District 131, Lauren Ashley Simmons of House District 146 and Ron Reynolds of House District 27 joined Ellis at his Precinct One office in Houston. Surrounded by “Tax Relief for Working Families” signage, the leaders highlighted how the annual sales tax holiday helps parents stretch household budgets while preparing children for another academic year.
The gathering came ahead of the tax-free period, which runs from Friday, August 7, through midnight Sunday, August 9. During the three-day holiday, shoppers may purchase most qualifying clothing, footwear, school supplies and student backpacks priced below $100 without paying state or local sales tax.
Depending on the local tax rate, families can save approximately $8 for every $100 spent on qualifying merchandise. That might not buy a new laptop, but it can cover notebooks, pencils, folders or perhaps one more pair of school pants—which, as parents know, children have a mysterious ability to outgrow almost overnight.
COMMISSIONER RODNEY ELLIS AND TEXAS LAWMAKERS KICK OFF TAX-FREE WEEKEND WITH RELIEF FOR
WORKING FAMILIES
HOUSTON LEADERS CELEBRATE THE ENDURING LEGACY OF A TEXAS SALES TAX HOLIDAY CREATED MORE THAN A QUARTER-CENTURY AGO.
By Francis Page, Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
The press conference also celebrated Ellis’ historic connection to the program.
While serving in the Texas Senate, Ellis proposed the sales tax holiday during the 1999 legislative session. His original proposal called for a weeklong exemption on items costing less than $200. The final legislation established a three-day holiday covering eligible clothing and footwear priced below $100.
Texas lawmakers later expanded the program. Student backpacks became eligible in 2007, followed by qualifying school supplies in 2009. The result is a public policy that has grown alongside generations of Texas students and remains one of the state’s most
recognizable forms of direct consumer tax relief.
More than 25 years after its creation, the holiday remains especially important for working families confronting higher expenses for groceries, housing, utilities, transportation and other necessities. Back-to-school season may be filled with excitement, but the price of preparing multiple children can quickly turn enthusiasm into arithmetic.
The tax holiday does not eliminate that financial burden, but it gives families an opportunity to keep more of their money while supporting retailers and neighborhood businesses.
Qualifying purchases may be made in stores
or through online, telephone, mail and custom orders, provided the sale occurs during the official holiday period. Each eligible item must be priced below $100; the exemption is determined item by item rather than by the shopper’s total bill.
However, not every back-to-school purchase qualifies. Jewelry, handbags, luggage, wallets and many specialized athletic items remain taxable. Families should review the Texas Comptroller’s eligibility guidelines, prepare shopping lists and compare prices before joining the weekend rush.
Tuesday’s gathering demonstrated what lasting legislation can look like. A policy born in the Texas Legislature in 1999 continues delivering measurable benefits at cash registers across the state in 2026. For Ellis, Allen, Simmons, Reynolds and the educators standing with them, the message was rooted in both history and household reality: helping students succeed also means supporting the families responsible for getting them ready.
One backpack, one pair of shoes and one tax-free receipt at a time, a Houston-born idea continues to make the beginning of the school year a little more affordable.
More information on Harris County Precinct 1, go to: https://www.hcp1.net/CommissionerEllis
Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Educators, and State Lawmakers to Mark Start of Texas Tax-Free Weekend
LEADING WITH PURPOSE: A CONVERSATION WITH JUDSON W. ROBINSON, III
Rashad Clay, HAUL Intern
Leadership is easy to announce; purpose is harder to prove. Judson W. Robinson III has spent decades doing both—building a public-service career around a straightforward Houston principle: open doors, strengthen neighborhoods and leave the ladder standing for the next person.
Judson W. Robinson, III
As President and CEO of the Houston Area Urban League since 2008, Robinson leads an organization that has empowered Houstonians since 1968. Its work reaches across education, workforce development, housing counseling, entrepreneurship, health and civic advocacy—turning opportunity from
a popular talking point into practical assistance for families, students, job seekers and small-business owners.
Robinson’s leadership story is also woven into Houston’s modern skyline. A third-generation Houstonian and former three-term at-large City Coun-
cil member, he helped advance major redevelopment efforts and civic projects connected to Midtown, Texas Avenue, the Hilton Americas-Houston and several signature sports and transportation landmarks. In other words, his résumé is not merely framed on a wall; Houstonians can drive past parts of it.
“Leading with Purpose,” a new six-week interview series, invites readers to meet the man behind the mission. Robinson reflects on the family values that shaped him, the lessons gained from business and government, and the responsibility leaders carry to protect opportunity—especially for communities too often asked to wait their turn.
The series arrives at an important moment. Houston continues to grow, yet growth means little unless more residents can access quality jobs, stable housing, education, capital and a voice in civic life. Robinson’s message is both hopeful and demanding – lasting progress requires collaboration, courage and sustained investment in people.
Titles may introduce leaders, but service reveals them. Through this conversation, Houston Style Magazine explores how Robinson has transformed legacy into action—and why his next chapter may be just as consequential as those already written.
Interview conducted by Rashad Clay, Fund Development & Communications Intern.
For more information on the Houston Area Urban League, go to: https://www.haul.org/
Northwest Houston’s next growth story is rising where the Grand Parkway meets Cypress Rose Hill Road—and the blueprint looks more like a complete community than another collection of rooftops. Inwood Partners has begun construction on Inwood Rose Hill, a 360-unit garden-style apartment community within a broader 130-acre mixed-use development positioning this fast-growing corridor for more homes, shopping and everyday convenience.
The project follows Radius Development’s July 21 sale of 12.4 acres to Inwood Partners, which broke ground the following day. It is also the first development for Inwood Partners, led by former Hanover executive David Ott. The site is part of a two-sided commercial vision that includes Rose Hill Village and Rose Hill Town Center near State Highway 99.
And here is the name that makes Houston-area shoppers lean forward: H-E-B.
The Texas grocery favorite owns approximately 12.5 acres in the development area. No construction schedule or opening date has been announced, so nobody should start chilling the brisket or planning a grand-opening grocery list just yet. Still, H-E-B’s land ownership is a meaningful signal in a corridor where residential growth is rapidly creating demand for groceries, dining, services and family-friendly retail.
For Houston communities, H-E-B has long been more than a place to grab milk, tortillas and that one item shoppers somehow turn into a full basket. Founded in Kerrville in 1905, the family-owned
INWOOD ROSE HILL RISES: GRAND PARKWAY DEVELOPMENT PLANTS
SEEDS FOR APARTMENTS, MAJOR RETAIL—AND A FUTURE H-E-B
By Francis Page Jr. for www.StyleMagazine.com
company has grown into one of the nation’s largest independently owned food retailers while maintaining a visible tradition of charitable giving, disaster response, hunger relief and local investment. H-E-B now reports more than 455 stores in Texas and Mexico and annual sales exceeding $50 billion.
That optimism is not based on nostalgia alone. H-E-B continues investing across Greater Houston, including two new 57,000-square-foot Joe V’s Smart Shop locations planned for Humble and Orem Drive in 2027. The company’s expanding footprint shows that it still follows population growth—and increasingly helps shape the future retail
ecosystems that grow around its stores.
That history makes the possibility of an H-E-B at Rose Hill Town Center especially compelling. A future store could become both a commercial anchor and a community gathering point, bringing jobs, convenient grocery access and the familiar H-E-B shopping experience closer to households along the northwestern Grand Parkway.
The apartments themselves are designed for the modern suburban renter. Planned one-, twoand three-bedroom homes will range from 585 to 1,425 square feet and average about 912 square feet. Residences will feature large closets, walk-in showers,
built-in desks and contemporary finishes, while select ground-floor homes will include private yards.
Inwood Rose Hill’s amenity package reads like a “staycation included” advertisement: a resort-style pool, fitness center, pickleball court, coworking lounge, private work areas, clubroom, screening room, dog park and landscaped gathering spaces. More than one-quarter of parking spaces are expected to be covered or placed in private garages. Houston-based W Partnership designed the project, with Domain Builders serving as general contractor. State construction records list an estimated completion in October 2027, though project schedules can change.
Meanwhile, Radius Development owner Richard Buxbaum has said he is negotiating with Lowe’s and Home Depot as potential anchors for Rose Hill Village. If one signs on—and H-E-B eventually moves forward—the intersection could evolve into the kind of live-shop-play destination that turns a highway exit into a neighborhood center.
For now, the cranes and construction crews belong to Inwood Rose Hill. But the larger story is unmistakable: growth is arriving, retailers are watching and H-E-B already has a seat at the table. Around Houston, that is often when a promising development begins to feel like a real community. Here, everything’s better, HEB: www.heb.com.
H Women’s Leadership SUMMIT & Luncheon H
Economic Alliance Houston Port Region – Women
Alliance Summit Celebrates Leadership, Connection and Women Driving Industry Forward
The Women In Alliance Women’s Leadership Summit & Luncheon brought together an impressive room of professionals, executives and emerging leaders on Wednesday, July 29, for a powerful day centered on confidence, connection and career advancement.
Hosted by the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, the event offered attendees practical tools for navigating today’s workplace while building the relationships needed to succeed tomorrow. From thoughtful conversations about communication and salary negotiation to strategies for strengthening personal brands, the summit reminded
By Francis Page, Jr.
guests that leadership is not simply about speaking louder—it is about speaking with purpose.
The luncheon panel, “Women Driving Industry Forward,” featured accomplished leaders from LyondellBasell, Shell Deer Park Chemicals, BGE, Inc. and Gulf Coast Authority Their insights reflected the growing influence of women across the energy, petrochemical, engineering and infrastructure sectors throughout the Houston Port Region.
Guests also enjoyed networking, onsite vendors, a purse raffle, a selfie station and plenty of pink throughout
the venue.
As a proud media sponsor, was honored to support an event that encouraged women to aim higher, build stronger professional networks and create pathways for the next generation.
The summit may have lasted only a few hours, but the inspiration, knowledge and connections are positioned to make a lasting impact.
To get involved with the Women Driving Industry Forward, go to: https://allianceportregion.com/
Linda Toyota, Chad Burke & Frances Villagran-Glover
Elizabeth Fazio Hale – Moderator
Olivia Rivers - Bridge Over Trouble Waters
Chad Burke, Alex Mealer & Arienne Brit
Nellie Macaluso, Linda Fields, Amy Caldwell, Lydia Boek, Cydney Schwarzlose & Elizabeth Hale – Speakers H
Photos By Chris Ochoa & Mark McDonald, Jr.
Houston, get ready to trade streaming from the sofa for applause from a real audience. Houston Theater Week Presented by Huntington Bank returns August 24–30, 2026, with its crowd-pleasing Buy One, Get One Free ticket offer—and the special promotional code HTW26 is the key that opens the curtain.
Now celebrating its fifth year, Houston Theater Week has grown from a post-pandemic effort to welcome audiences back into performance venues into one of the city’s most successful cultural traditions. Since launching in 2022, the promotion has sold more than 118,000 tickets and generated nearly $5 million for local performing arts organizations. That is not merely a good run; it is a Houston-sized standing ovation for artists, musicians, dancers, actors, stagehands, designers and the nonprofit institutions that keep the Bayou City’s creative heartbeat strong.
The 2026 edition offers deals connected to nearly 400 live performances from 21 participating organizations. Houston First Corporation says the initiative is the only program of its kind in the nation to combine theater, music and dance within such an extensive lineup of BOGO offers. In practical terms, that means date night can cost less, family outings can stretch further and first-time patrons can sample something adventurous without asking their wallets to perform a tragedy.
The choices are as diverse as Houston itself. Audiences can explore classics such as Alley Theatre’s Romeo and Juliet, Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance from 4th Wall Theatre Company and The Ensemble Theatre’s A Raisin in the Sun. Music lovers can con-
HOUSTON THEATER WEEK 2026 RAISES THE CURTAIN ON BOGO DEALS
By Reginald Dominique for www.StyleMagazine.com
sider Houston Symphony’s Handel’s Messiah, Houston Grand Opera’s Faust, DACAMERA’s Stewart Goodyear piano program or Mozart and Haydn from Mercury Chamber Orchestra.
Dance and family audiences are also invited into the spotlight. Houston Ballet is offering Pecos Bill, Bay Area Houston Ballet & Theatre presents The Nutcracker, and Main Street Theater brings the beloved If You Give a Mouse a Cookie to life. Theatre Under The Stars adds Disney’s The Little Mermaid, while Performing Arts Houston highlights Harrison Guy’s Dear Prairie View—a title with special resonance for
generations connected to Prairie View A&M University and Texas history.
Houston Theater Week’s growth proves that access matters. When tickets become more affordable, the arts become less like an exclusive invitation and more like a citywide conversation. A discounted seat can become a child’s first ballet, a senior couple’s long-overdue night out, a student’s introduction to Shakespeare or a family’s new holiday tradition.
It can also support nearby restaurants, parking operations, hospitality workers and downtown businesses before and after the performance. Every
curtain call represents a larger creative ecosystem working behind the scenes.
Houston First President and CEO Michael Heckman described the program as a win for the public, the performing arts community and the city. Houston Theater District Board Chair Meg Booth emphasized that the heart of Theater Week is giving people an affordable opportunity to try something new. After nearly $5 million in ticket sales, the history is clear: Houstonians will show up when the arts reach out.
Tickets go on sale Monday, August 24, 2026, beginning at 12:00 a.m. The BOGO promotion continues through Sunday, August 30. Use promotional code HTW26 when purchasing eligible tickets, and carefully review each organization’s performance dates, seating levels, availability and restrictions. Offers are limited, may vary by production and generally cannot be combined with other discounts.
Explore the complete and evolving lineup through the official Houston Theater Week website. Choose your show, invite someone special and let Houston remind you why nothing—not even the best screen—can replace the electricity of live performance.
Special Offer Promotional Code: HTW26
A complete list of this year’s shows is available at HoustonTheaterWeek.com.
Tickets can be purchased starting August 24. The special offer promo code for Houston Theater Week is HTW26.
Trill Burgers, the award-winning smashed burger concept founded by Houston rapper and entrepreneur Bernard Freeman, known as Bun B, is coming to Rice University beginning Aug. 17 for new student orientation.
The Houston-based restaurant will operate at the Rice Memorial Center throughout the fall and spring semesters, serving its signature beef and vegan burgers to Rice students, faculty, staff and visitors. The partnership marks a return to Rice for Bun B, who previously served as a distinguished lecturer at the university in 2011, 2013 and 2015. During his time at Rice, he cotaught the Religion and Hip-Hop Culture course with Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Distinguished Professor of the Humanities.
Trill Burgers joins other Houston-based dining concepts, including Local Foods and Dandelion Cafe, as part of Rice University’s campus dining offerings. The Rice location menu will feature the OG Trill Burger, which was named “Best Burger in America” by Good Morning America in 2022. The burger includes two smashed all-beef patties, pickles, caramelized onions, Trill Sauce and American cheese served on a Martin’s potato roll.
Additional menu offerings include the Vegan OG Burger with plant-based smashed patties, vegan sauce and vegan cheese; Triple OG Burger; Vegan Triple OG Burger; single-patty Lil G beef and vegan burgers; and Trill’s seasoned
TRILL BURGERS BRINGS AWARD-WINNING HOUSTON FLAVOR TO RICE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
By Lisa Valadez for www.StyleMagazine.com
Bun B - Legendary Houston Rapper, Educator & Trill Burgers co-founder, and UGK icon
fries. Menu items will be available individually or as combos, and students will be able to use campus dining dollars, known as Tetra, for purchases.
The Rice location is part of continued growth for Trill Burgers, which was established in Houston in 2021 by co-founders Bun B, Andy Nguyen and Nick Scurfield, with executive chefs Mike Pham and Fernando Valladares.
The brand currently operates three brick-and-mortar locations in Houston, Spring
and Missouri City, with a fourth Houston location planned at 7616 Westheimer Rd. Trill Burgers also returns to Reliant Stadium this fall for a fourth consecutive season serving Houston Texans games.
Trill Burgers earned additional recognition in 2023 after receiving a Gold Buckle Foodie Award for Best Classic Fair Food at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The brand also serves as an Official Show Sponsor of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and oper-
ates Trill Town, a 9,000-square-foot immersive outdoor space at the event.
Initial hours at the Rice location will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The restaurant will be open to the Rice community and the general public, with guest parking information available through Rice University parking services: https://parking.rice. edu/.
Rice University is a private research university located on a 300-acre campus in Houston. The university serves undergraduate and graduate students across multiple academic disciplines and is recognized nationally for its academics, research and residential college system.
