TIME TO PAINT the town! This season, a trio of art fairs hits Houston, beginning with the Houston Art Fair (formerly the Houston Fine Art Fair), where nearly 50 local and international galleries exhibit Sept. 29-Oct. 2 at Silver Street Studios. On the same weekend, the Texas Contemporary event is held Downtown at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Opening-night festivities include a collaborative performance with the Houston Ballet’s Oliver Halkowich and multi-media artist Chris Doyle. And a week later, the semi-annual Bayou City Art Festival returns to the streets of Downtown with hundreds of outdoor booths.
Flora Choy, Vanitha Pothuri and Blanca Beltran-Robinson
To honor the publication’s annual Star Impact Maker award winners, guest joined Kwan-Wong for cocktails in a main hall of the European Gallery of the Audrey Jones Beck building before heading into a more intimate space for a dinner catered by Tony’s. The meal was served amid art dating to the Middle Ages, and live Baroque music by Ars Lyrica. Table settings festooned with linens of gold and emerald greens and voluptuous multi-colored florals further set the scene.
Kwan-Wong herself made remarks, as did her young daughter, who touted her own new nonprofit, Girl Chess Power and Beyond. TV anchor Gina Gaston served as emcee. Honorees were introduced to fanfare — flower bouquets, and a sashay through the room runway-style — included Leela Krishnamurthy, Natesan Krishnamurthy, Parmis Khatibi, Nikan Khatibi, E. Michelle Bohreer, Chi-mei Lin, Rosalinda Martinez, Zeenat Kassam Mitha, Jacqueline St. Germain, Thanh Le and May Le.
After dessert, guests were invited to sip cocktails as they perused the MFA’s extraordinary art collection.
Photos by Annie Mulligan, Hung Truong and Thang Nguyen
Connie Kwan-Wong and Zoe Wong
E. Michelle Bohreer
Brigitte Kalai and Susan Boggio
Unique florals for the dinner table
Gina Gaston and Bradley Bailey
Peter and Theresa Chang
Tiffany Houck, Keryl Douglas and Clarease Yates
Libi Label
Peta Gay Labetter
Thanh Le and May Le
Brigitte Kalai, Alicia Smith and Deborah Duncan
There was no shortage of cowboy boots, hats or fashionable fringe at the Hilton Americas-Houston, where the fourth-floor ballroom was transformed to display the splashy, colorful "Paint the Town" theme. The event offered a chance for supporters to applaud all of the Trailblazer honorees over the years, plus the class of 2025, which included Beth Briscoe, Christy Stern, Lisa Schutzenhofer, Michelle Verbois, Rainey Janke and Teresa Jordan.
The fashion show featured spring styles from Saks Fifth Avenue, and took place against a vibrant backdrop and light tubes hanging from the ceiling. KHOU's Mia Gradney and Len Cannon emceed the program, which had Rodeo representative Pat Mann Phillips and Trailblazer honchos Wendy Lewis Armstrong and Ann Massey give remarks to the crowd.
In the past decade or so, the Trailblazer ladies have supported education and literary in Houston with two programs: Rodeo ROPES (Reading Opens the Path to Education Success) has collected and distributed 620,000 children’s books through the nonprofit Books Between Kids. The group also created SPURS (Students Pursuing Unlimited Reading and Writing Success), a program that organizes a writing competition and leads Rodeo Read Along, a weekend storytime on Rodeo grounds.
Alison Cravey, Heather Kolos, Kim Price
Vanessa Kriegel, Roxy Sanford, Heather Lebure, Amanda Baldwin
Charity Stone, Lisa Schutzenhofer, David Stone
Susannah and Edd Compton, Matt Perrien, Susan Whller Scott
Christina Greene McAllen and David McAllen
Stedman Grigsby, Breston Hall, Kirby Janke, Ryan O'Smith
Darlene Dye, Kelly Larkin, Terry Agris
Cynthia Wolff, Heidi Rockecharlie, Karen Payne, Elsie Eckert
Stacy Behringer, Christy Maloy, Allison Smolik, Jaclyn Diaz
Erin Jackson, Katie Clapp, Autumn Jackson, Stacee Howse
Sandra Crook, Jennifer Hoff, Denise Blonde, Kathleen Mach
Romeo Saenz, Chris Miller
Heidi Turney, Nicole Lasseter
Lesley Briones, Cinthya Reade, Nina Altuve
Robin Young Ellis, Tina Bradley, Dominique Bartholett
Honorees Lisa Schutzenhofer, Beth Briscoe, Christy Stern, Michelle Verbois, Teresa Jordan, Rainey Janke
Rachel Regan and Jayne Johnston
Jan Rountree, Susan Coburn, Chelsea Coburn
Jim Wynne, Pat Mann Phillips and Keith Steffek
Megan Strickland and Sheryl McAndrew
Kristina Somerville, Julia Morales and April Salazar
Kirby and David Lodholz and Ann Massey
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