Houston has plenty of ways to celebrate Black heritage and culture during Black History Month.

Here are some events to check out:

🏫 Attend Rice University's Black History Month celebrations, including a documentary on the Black Lives Matter movement in Latin America, an art exhibit and hang-out nights.

• Throughout February.

📜 Learn how to trace Black ancestry at Fort Bend County Libraries' workshop on African American family history research, covering genealogy tools and archival resources.

• Feb. 5 and Feb. 25

🌳Get creative at the African Arts: The Re-Education Project workshops, featuring tie-dye, mask-making, a live DJ and a showcase of music and dance.

• Feb. 7 at Treby Park.
• Feb. 21 at Market Square Park.

📖 Celebrate Black voices at the Houston Public Library's Black Poetry Readings series. Listen or recite your own work.

• Feb. 10, Feb. 20, Feb. 22. Free.

🚌 Take a ride through history on the Third Ward Black History Month Bus Tour, exploring the neighborhood's rich cultural and historical landmarks.

• Feb. 8. Tickets start at $5.

🪦Learn about the discovery of the Sugar Land 95 and the untold story of African Americans in Sugar Land and Fort Bend County.

• Feb. 17. Free.

🚲 Pedal through history with EaDo Bike Co at the 4th Annual Black History Bike Tour.

• Feb. 22. Free.

More events

The 2025 Tour de Houston will head west for the first time in over a decade on April 13, officials announced yesterday.

Why it matters: The ride features new perks for participants, including freebies, enhanced rest stops and a new route.

Pedaling the news: This year's course takes off at Discovery Green and heads west through downtown to Allen Parkway and then Memorial Drive.

Zoom in: There are three course lengths: 10 miles for casual riders and families, 20 miles for intermediate cyclists and 45 miles for the likes of those training for the 150-mile Texas MS 150, which is two weeks after the Houston ride.

• Riders of the 10-mile course will circle back to downtown from Memorial Park, and 20-mile riders will continue west and turn around in the Tanglewood neighborhood.
• The 45-mile cyclists will pedal out to Westside High School on Briar Forest Drive near Texas Highway 6 before turning around.

The intrigue: Proceeds support the city's Re-Plant Houston program, a longtime beneficiary of the ride's registration fees.

• The fees have funded more than $1.2 million in urban reforestation efforts since the inaugural Tour de Houston in 2005, according to ride organizers.

Plus: For the first time, participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt.

• Organizers are also throwing an afterparty with music, food and bike vendors.

If you go: Registration is $45.

• An official ride jersey is also available for $69.

🛣️ Houston recorded its highest number of road deaths in 2024, the same year Mayor John Whitmire defunded some road safety projects and deprioritized the city's Vision Zero pledge. (Houston Chronicle)

• "Pedestrian safety will remain a top priority in all our future infrastructure designs and planning," Whitmire said.

🚔 A group of Houston police officers allegedly beat and repeatedly tased a Black man with disabilities during a 2019 traffic stop, according to a new lawsuit. (Houston Landing)

🚧 Houston's MKT Bridge, a major connector in the city's bike and pedestrian network, is closed indefinitely after pieces of unsecured construction equipment were swept away by floodwater and damaged the century-old structure. (Houston Public Media)

• The equipment was being used in TxDOT's nearby Interstate 10 expansion.

🚨 Gov. Greg Abbott authorized Texas National Guard soldiers to make immigration arrests under an agreement with the Trump administration. (Texas Tribune)

💵 President Trump delayed implementing tariffs on Mexico and Canada for 30 days. (Axios)

The Beer Can House, a longtime Houston treasure decked out in more than 50,000 beer cans, has been recognized as a historical site.

Why it matters: Nestled between modern townhouses at 222 Malone St. in Rice Military, the Beer Can House will now officially recognized as a lasting piece of Houston's offbeat artistic history.

Driving the news: The National Trust for Historic Preservation added the Beer Can House to the Historic Artists' Homes and Studios network last week, alongside 18 other cultural landmarks nationwide in an effort aimed at safeguarding unique artistic spaces.

• The Beer Can House is now among 80 historic locations across 31 states.

Flashback: The home-turned-art project was the brainchild of John Milkovisch, who started decorating his yard with beer cans in 1968.

• Within 18 years, he'd transformed the house into an aluminum landmark, with shimmering curtains, mobiles and wind chimes.

"Cowboy Carter" is going on tour — with shows in Houston, of course.

State of play: Beyoncé announced her highly anticipated tour stops after "Cowboy Carter" won album of the year and best country album at the 2025 Grammys.

• She'll perform at NRG Stadium on June 28 and 29.

The big picture: The tour will have 22 shows April through July, Live Nation announced yesterday.

Flashback: Beyoncé performed songs from "Cowboy Carter" during Netflix's first NFL Christmas Day game in her hometown, breaking streaming records.

Between the lines: This tour is a part of Act II of her three-part project. "The Renaissance World Tour" (Act I) concluded in October 2023.

What's next: General tickets sales begin Feb. 14 at noon at beyonce.com.

• Beyhive presale begins at 7am on Feb. 6 and artist presale is available 11am-9pm Feb. 13 on livemu.sc/beyonce.
• Other presales include Citi card holders and Verizon Up.
• Travel packages are also available for this tour.

More U.S. tour dates