What happens to a Heights Saturday when the weather moves one event onto a day that already had two? This coming Saturday, October 10, shows what happens. The First Saturday Arts Market called off its October 3 date and is holding the makeup on the 10th. The Houston Heights Association already had its 41st annual Fun Run on that day. Love Croissants had also planned its community grand opening for that Saturday.
The three events sit in different places, and one city permit decides the order. The City of Houston will close Heights Boulevard between 4th Street and 19th Street in both directions from 7:00 to 11:30 a.m. Everything else that day is arranged around those four and a half hours.
Why the Market Landed on the 10th
The First Saturday Arts Market has been held on the first Saturday of each month from September through May since March 2004. Its rain date has always been the second Saturday. The organizer's notice calls October 10 a "weather makeup for Oct. 3." That rule is why the market is on the 10th. Nobody picked the date to join the busiest Saturday of the fall. The rain-date policy did.
The rule is useful to know past this month. Any time weather cancels a first Saturday between September and May, the market moves one week later, and that week may already have other events on it.
The Day on One Clock
Here is the full Saturday, with a Sunday item added, in order. All times come from the organizers and the city.
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 5:30 a.m. | Fun Run packet pickup | Marmion Park, 1800 Heights Blvd. |
| 7:00 a.m. | Heights Blvd. closes, 4th to 19th St.; 10K starts | Heights Boulevard |
| 7:15 / 7:20 a.m. | 5K run, then 5K walk | Heights Boulevard |
| 8:00 a.m. | Kids 1K; after-party begins | Marmion Park |
| 8:30 a.m. | Awards | Marmion Park |
| 11:00 a.m. | First Saturday Arts Market opens | 540 W. 19th St. |
| 11:15 a.m. | "Little Shop of Horrors" director's cut, presented by Buchanan's Native Plants | River Oaks Theatre |
| 11:30 a.m. | Heights Blvd. reopens | Heights Boulevard |
| Time not announced | Love Croissants community grand opening | 801 W. 16th St. |
| 6:00 p.m. | Arts market closes | 540 W. 19th St. |
| Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Heights Mercantile farmers market | 714 Yale St. |
The overlap to watch is between 11:00 and 11:30. The arts market opens on 19th Street half an hour before the boulevard reopens, and 19th Street is the northern end of the closure. Anyone driving to the market in that window will reach the edge of the race zone before Heights Boulevard is open again.
The Morning Belongs to the Boulevard
The Fun Run has been held every year since 1985. The Association says it "has not missed a single year." The course explains why the closure covers so many blocks. The 5K starts at Marmion Park on 18th Street, runs south to a turnaround at 5th Street and comes back. The 10K runs that loop twice, and the Kids 1K turns at 15th Street. Both adult courses are USATF certified.
Part of the money raised stays on the street being closed. The Association says proceeds go "directly into the community for beautification, restoration, maintenance and education." If you are not up for an early in-person start, there is a virtual option. You can complete your distance on any trail, any time between registering and race day.
Midday Moves to 16th Street
Love Croissants was the first of the three events on the calendar, and it is the only one that stays after Saturday. Chef Omar Pereney opened his first standalone café, now part of his Culinary Matters group, at 801 W. 16th St. Community Impact's October 1 update lists the opening date as October 1. The café is 1,500 square feet and has a large outdoor patio. Its drive-thru stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The menu now goes beyond pastry. It includes a breakfast croissant sandwich with scrambled eggs and onion jam, and a turkey-avocado club made with smoked turkey from Bar-A-BBQ. The Saturday grand opening will have samples, entertainment and giveaways. The Houston Business Journal report carried by KHOU says more details are still to come, and no start time has been announced. Check the café's own channels before you plan the rest of the day around it.
The café's late hours matter later in the day. A drive-thru open until midnight on a Saturday is still serving long after the arts market packs up at 6:00.
The Afternoon Is on 19th Street
The arts market's lot sits between Adore Dentistry and Penzeys Spices, with street parking under the mural and in nearby lots. More than 40 visual artists will show painting, sculpture, photography, jewelry, glass, ceramics, fiber, wood, printmaking and mixed media. Vivre Coffee Collective will be serving all day. Live music returns this month with David and Alyson Fahl. Admission is free.
One detail sets the market apart from a typical pop-up. It is one of the few in the country where current artists help jury new applicants. That means the artists already selling at 540 W. 19th St. help choose who joins them.
The Evening Stays on 19th Street
When the tents come down at 6:00, 19th Street has two places that were not there for last fall's markets. Atlas, a destination-themed cocktail bar and speakeasy, opened at 729 W. 19th St. by July 21. It is the brand's third Texas location. Beez Kneez held its Houston grand opening on July 20 at 1015 W. 19th St. It brings its Austin "Grandma's House" concept to the Heights, and it opened here as part of Bear Hug Hospitality.
For a sit-down dinner a few blocks off 19th, two summer openings are within reach:
- Angie's Pizza, 1002 W. 11th St., chef Angelo Emiliani's wood-fired pizzeria, with the separate cocktail concept Bar Angie upstairs.
- Spice in Heights, 1111 Studewood St., Suite A, a Mediterranean restaurant with a menu developed by executive chef Kausik Roy and a bar pouring Mediterranean-inspired cocktails.
Sunday Is Quieter
The Heights Mercantile farmers market runs Sunday, October 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 714 Yale St., with produce, meat, cheese, kombucha, flowers and live music. The Houston Heights Association lists no event of its own that day. After a Saturday with three big events, Sunday has one.
What Comes Next on the Calendar
The rest of the fall is more spread out, and a few dates are already set:
- October 22, Boos & Brews, listed on the 19th Street Heights site.
- October 24, the announced opening of Hiatus Day Spa at 629 W. 22nd St., Suite 1, in Clock Tower. It is the Dallas-based spa's second Houston location.
- October 31, the Donovan Halloween Party, 9 a.m. to noon at Donovan Park, 700 Heights Blvd.
- Mid-November, the target opening for Zio Al's Pizza & Pasta at 250 W. 19th St., Suite E. A September 16 report noted the permit schedule runs through January 2027, so the date may slip.
- December 12, Lights in the Heights, 6 to 9 p.m. on Highland and Omar streets between Studewood and Beauchamp. The Woodland Heights Civic Association hosts it in neighboring Woodland Heights.
There is also one closing to note. Herand's Kitchen at 2601 Baylor St. closed in September after less than three years. Further out, Brooks Running plans a 4,466-square-foot store at Houston's MKT, 600 N. Shepherd Drive. Construction is scheduled to start in late 2026, with completion around spring 2027.
For the next Saturday like this one, check the First Saturday Arts Market's rain date and the city's street-closure schedule, which is posted ahead of race weekends.
If you live in the Heights and would like to talk through how a weekend like this one affects your street, The LaRose Kaileh Group follows the neighborhood's calendar as closely as its market. Request a Private Consultation.
