Looking Ahead: Big events on tap in Woodlands in 2020 – Chron.com

Editor’s Note: The Woodlands Villager staff will be doing numerous articles throughout December looking ahead to 2020 and highlighting big events, important news topics and issues that will be on the minds of residents as the next decade kicks off in Montgomery County.

The Woodlands is known for many things — trees, a sense of community, a plethora of shopping and dining options — however one element that draws visitors in droves and also provides activities for local residents are the numerous prominent events and festivals that dot the calendar each spring. The 2020 year is no different, as the “big four” will dominate the township for the first four months of the year. The Inspire Film Festival, The Woodlands Marathon, the Waterway Arts Festival and The Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas are back this year with plans for bigger and better experiences for all. Here are some quick snapshots of the festivities to come.

Nick Wolda, president of Visit The Woodlands, which is the nonprofit tourism and convention bureau arm of the township, said the plethora of events and festivals are helpful in many way, notably providing locals with diverse events and things to do, but also from the standpoint of attracting visitors to the township who spend money in local shops and stores, dine at area eateries and also stay in one of the more than a dozen hotels in the township — all of which generate sales taxes and hotel occupancy taxes for the township.

Inspire Film Festival

Although the organizing team is still planning and coordinating the 2020 event, the Inspire Film Festival is set for its four-day run in mid-February, with the opening night VIP soiree and fashion show on Thursday, Feb. 13, and the festival running through Sunday evening, Feb. 17, when the winning films are announced to attendees.

Jane Minarovic, the founder of the Inspire Film Festival, said the 2020 theme for the festival is “visionaries,” and will include films — ranging from shorts and documentaries to feature length movies — with a central theme of a character or subject being a “visionary” in various ways. The festival is schedule for Feb. 13-17, 2020, at various locations around The Woodlands, but primarily centered at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and The Woodlands Mall ring area.

“We have hit our stride already, it is amazing. It just all pieces together so well. Our theme this coming year is “visionaries.” So our group of films all has a central visionary character. One of the really good examples of that is (Dr.) Jim Allison, he is the cancer researcher at MD Anderson who just won the Nobel Prize. We are showing his film and really hoping he can come (to the festival). What an incredible visionary he is,” Minarovic said.

Related: 4th Annual Inspire Film Festival set for February in Woodlands

Wolda said the festival, which has a host-venue sponsorship agreement with township, has grown significantly.

“(The Inspire Film Festival) Has obviously developed into a signature event for the township,” Wolda said of the four-day festival that draws attendees from around the country and world.

Tickets and weekend-long passes to the 2020 Inspire Film Festival are already on sale, with some packages sold out. Visit the festival’s website at https://www.inspirefilmfest.com/purchase-passes for more information on passes and tickets. For 2020, there are options of the Patron Pass at $325; the Festival Pass for $150; the Teacher Pass for $75; the Student Pass for $50; and for those age 65 and older, the Senior Pass for $75. Ticket sales end for most passes on Feb. 11, however sales of the Senior Pass continue through Feb. 15.

The Woodlands Marathon

Runners love The Woodlands for many reasons, chief among them more than 200 miles of well-groomed and paved trails that wind through the scenic areas of the community. But, running afficianados also love the fact that many highly-rated running races are hosted in the township each year.

The biggest of them all is The Woodlands Marathon, which aside from the 26.2 mile marathon, also includes numerous shorter length races. The 2020 is the second year that the event will be hosted in a week-long format, which was first unveiled in 2019 to rave reviews.

The thousands of runners, volunteers and race fans will inundate The Woodlands beginning the final weekend in February as the second year of the newly reformatted The Woodlands Marathon kicks off on Saturday, Feb. 29, with short distance runs of 5K and 2K lengths. On Feb. 29, The Woodlands 5K Fun Run kicks off at 7:30 a.m.; that is followed at 9 a.m. by the Pathfinder Pediatric HomeCare 2K Fun Run and walk.

Related: Friends and family encourage runners at The Woodlands Marathon

The full Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon, the associated Houston Methodist The Woodlands Half Marathon, as well as the team marathon will be hosted on Saturday, March 7, with the runner’s expo shopping extravaganza set for Friday March 6, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The festivities come to a close with the Taco Nation Finish Fiesta celebration, which begins in the morning and concludes at 1:30 p.m.

Registration is now open for all of the various races with pricing changes as the events draw nearer on the calendar. The Woodlands Marathon is a qualifying marathon for the prestigious Boston Marathon.

Wolda said The Fidelity Investments The Woodlands Marathon is something that both residents and visitors enjoy, and that it like other events supplements the township’s revenue with spending at local stores, restaurants and hotels. Road closures for the races will be announced several weeks prior to the beginning of the weekend.

The Waterway Arts Festival

The 2020 iteration of The Waterway Arts Festival is the 15th in the storied history of the festival, which is arguably the largest arts festival in Montgomery County.

The year’s festival is schedule for April 4-5 and will be centered, as always, along The Woodlands Waterway and Town Green Park. The festival has hundreds of arts and crafts vendors and artists who display and sell work ranging from pencil and ink drawings and elaborate oil paintings to photography, sewing arts and crafts and sculpture. There are ample food trucks and restaurant booths selling diverse items from basic hot dogs to savory seafood dishes as well as craft beer and cocktails for sale. Various stages set up throughout Town Green Park are used for live music, exhibitions and dancing.

A long-time veteran of the local arts scene, Jenny Carattini-Wright was named as the new executive director of The Woodlands Arts Council in mid-2019, and she has bold plans for the 2020 Waterway Arts Festival, which is the signature event of the Arts Council each year.

Related: Art lovers enjoy festive fun at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival

There were also five new board members tabbed in 2019, Carattini-Wright said, and organizers have working hard and have a ton of enthusiasm for the 2020 festival and expanding the reach of the arts council.

“(The arts council) Is really growing and have a fantastic new board now. The (five) new board members are adding a lot of energy and enthusiasm already,” she said in a September interview. “We want ‘fresh and new’ (on the board) and lots of enthusiasm. This is the strongest board we’ve ever had and I just want to help them achieve our goals.”

The 15th annual The Waterway Arts Festival makes its return to The Woodlands April 4-5, 2020, and Carattini-Wright said organizers are hoping the stormy weather that plagued the festival in both 2018 and 2019 stays away this year. And, beyond the festival, Carattini-Wright said creating stability, opportunity for arts outreach and expanding educational programs highlight her to-do list of goals for the arts council in the future.

“We are definitely here for the long run. Any opportunities to create memories for people is good,” she said. “Everything we do matters. When our community comes together for the festival like it does, it is magic. I am hoping for a successful festival (in 2020) and that we can build up our outreach efforts. That is what brings me the most joy, is the community coming together. We have big plans for the future.”

The Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas

Without a doubt, the largest and most financially impactful event each year in The Woodlands is the The Memorial Hermann Ironman Texas, which this year is scheduled for Saturday, April 25.

The Ironman being hosted in the township has led to professional athletes relocating to The Woodlands in order to train year-round, and also provides the township with millions of dollars in revenue via hotel room, shopping and restaurants. The 2020 Ironman is the final year of what was a five0-year host-venue sponsorship agreement with the township, Wolda noted, adding that officials with the township and the event are still negotiating a possible renewal of the deal, but nothing has been finalized.

Related: Thousands compete as crowds cheer them on at The Woodlands Ironman triathlon

“This event generates more than 13,000 hotel nights,” Wolda said of the Ironman, which often sees participants arrive a week before the race to acclimatize to the area and atmosphere as well as examine the race course.

Wolda said aside from the financial impact of the event, the Ironman utilizes about 4,000 local residents who work as volunteers in various aspects of the race, which includes a several mile open-water swim, more than 100 miles of bicycling and a full marathon running element to finish it off.

Wine & Food Week

The largest food festival in The Woodlands is the annual Wine & Food Week, sponsored by H-E-B, which will be hosted from June 1-7 at various locations throughout The Woodlands and many centered at luxury shopping center Market Street and other venues.

Related: Officials: 15th annual Wine and Food Week in The Woodlands considered a success

With events aimed at diverse palates and diners, the annual week-long extravaganza includes events such as “Sips, Suds & Tacos,” The Wine Rendevous and Grand Chef Tasting and the massive H-E-B Wine Walk, which takes over the entire Market Street district for foodie fun.

Tickets are on sale for the event now, but the final line-up of specific dinners, events and tastings is still being developed. Pre-registration and ticket sales can be located on the festival’s website at: https://www.wineandfoodweek.com/p/buy-tickets

The Woodlands Pride

The Woodlands Pride will be celebrating its third festival of inclusion, awareness, education and celebration of the LGBTQ culture, people and lifestyle in The Woodlands and Montgomery County.

The 2020 event will be hosted in late September as it has been for the first two years in 2018 and 2019. The official date of the event is Saturday, Sept. 26 at Town Green Park in The Woodlands.

Related: Looking to 2020: Woodlands Pride officials hope festival continues growth

Although specifics of the 2020 event are still in the early stages of planning, Ryan Elkins, the chief operating officer and one of the founding board members of the festival, said The Woodlands Pride team is already in action with bold plans and ideas.

“We are still in the very early (planning stages of 2020). Looking back on what we’ve done from year one — we didn’t know what to expect — to this past year being year two, growing to right about 6,000 attendees. We changed the entry and we put on wristbands for every patron, and did head count that way. We had a much more accurate count,” Elkins explained. “What we’ve seen is gradual growth. Looking outward, what I anticipate (in 2020) is to continue growing and building off what we’ve done in these last two years. What we hope to do in the third year is to build up the momentum.”

jeff.forward@chron.com