Brad and Joanna Marks, Sarahbeth and Pierce Bush

SOMETIMES CALLED THE mother of all galas, the always spectacular Houston Grand Opera Ball returned to the Wortham Center foyer with a roar, with a haul of $1.25 million and a rousing party. It was the event’s first time in the theater center since Hurricane Harvey and then the Covid pandemic displaced it from its longtime home. And, for many, the splendor of its colorful “Le Voyage à Marrakech” theme was worth the long wait.

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Parties

Tomahawk steak with flaming Mezcal and herbs

DOWNTOWN'S GRAND OLD Four Seasons Hotel has been making huge strides in modernizing and sexing itself up, with largescale renovation projects over the course of a few years. But none of those efforts may be quite as impressive as its food and bev updates in recent months.

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Food

Martha Turner, who was was photographed by Gittings Photography as part of CityBook's 'Leaders & Legends' portrait collection last year, has passed away at 81.

Martha Turner, who for the last 40 years, has been virtually synonymous with luxury residential real estate in Houston, has died at age 81, according to numerous reports.

Turner, a former music teacher from Hemphill who once lived in a mobile home and sold wigs to make ends meet, founded an eponymous company that today is worth billions — and one that's credited for changing the way real estate is sold.

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