Weekendist Feb. 27-March 1: Rienzi and Rodeo, Galleries Galore

Yeehaw, cowpokes! With the rodeo in town, this weekend looks to be a busy one. Here's what your amigos at Houstonist are up to.

ALL WEEKEND

• Hitting the gardens at Rienzi (free, 1406 Kirby Drive) before the Azalea Trail madness begins next weekend.
• A Different View, photos through the viewfinder, by Elaine Mesker-Garcia, at Taft Street Coffee, 2115 Taft Street
• Last chance to see last chance to see NY artist Paul Villinski's Emergency Response Studio installation at Rice Gallery (always free, exhibit closes March 1

FRIDAY

• 6 p.m. - Opening receptions at the Houston Center for Photography, "Unite and Untie" and "Beauty Knows No Pain."
• 6 p.m. - Saint Arnold Spring Bock Heights Pub Crawl. Pick up your punch card at any of the four participating bars between 6-7 p.m., get it stamped at all four bars, and get a free pint glass!
• P.M. - Earl Gilliam at The Big Easy, 5731 Kirby. $5 cover.
• P.M. - Steel Lounge Underground at the Contemporary Arts Museum. Featuring the Southern Backtones and DJ Sun. The CAMH is always free and always awesome.

SATURDAY

• 9:30 a.m. - Houston Rodeo Run and Parade, Downtown. So maybe you can't afford tickets to the cookoff or the Jonas Brothers, but sitting on the sidelines at the 5 and 10K and the parade later Saturday morning are free. Rodeo runners often wear costumes, and Houstonist will be running our first race ever (the 10K). Have a beer ready for us at the end please?
• 1 p.m. - Spoken Honestly: Tracy Tesmer Photo Show at The Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby.
• 6 p.m. - Junkyard drive-In sponsored by the Aurora Picture Show. Get a prime bucket seat to screenings of vintage industrial films on the subject of OIL! Shown on the banks off Buffalo Bayou in a former auto junkyard.
• After dark - Weekly star viewing at the George Observatory in Brazos Bend State Park. Tickets range from $2-3 plus admission to the park. The observatory is about an hour south of Houston (you have to get away from the lights) and is one of Houstonist's favorite things about the city.
• P.M. - Young Mammals CD Release Party at Aerosol Warfare.

SUNDAY

• Noon - Target Free First Sunday at the Museum of Fine Arts. Free admission, underwritten by Target, as well as family-friendly activity stations set up throughout the museum.
• 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. - Photos by Tracy Manford, a.k.a. The Fuzzball at The Coffee Groundz, 2503 Bagby.