Rain or Shine! Trivia Night for Charity Kicks Off Pride Weekend

Hailie Durrett
Rain or Shine! Trivia Night for Charity Kicks Off Pride Weekend

Brit Burk, Drew Hope and Vitor Burk

A TORRENTIAL RAIN storm didn’t stop the participants at the second annual Big Queer Quiz from raising money for Grace Place! Teams gathered at Houston Cider Co. and sipped beers such as the Prider Cider, a raspberry lemonade hard cider brewed for Pride month, as they competed against each other in categories about LQBTQ+ history.


The festivities were taken indoors when a rain storm blew through, but emcee Amir Diamond kept the partying going. Grace Place, whose mission is to help youths and young adults experiencing homelessness, has been working overtime as the heatwave continues (and brings with it extreme afternoon rain). “We were able to kick off our annual campaign, which is centered around keeping our youth cool, says Courtney Sellers, Grace Place’s executive director. “The funds raised will go toward buying a much-needed ice machine to keep youth refreshed and allow them to focus on enjoying life.”

Local nonprofit Kindred Kitchen catered burgers and fries topped with caramelized onions, cheese and a special sauce for the 130 trivia-goers. Kindred Kitchen gives at-risk youth culinary and job readiness training that will prepare them for food and hospitality positions.

Natalie Ferguson, Amir Diamond and Zach McKenzie

o Jaynes, Camille Boudreaux, Stephanie Handler

Melissa Rodriguez, Matthew Gibson, Kenny Bacak, and Sarah Yates

Amy Tanguay and Gus Helpers

Courtney Sellers and Becca Saenz

Guests make their way indoors during surprise rain storm

Houston Cider Co. owner Justin Engle

Chef Royere

IT’S NOT EVERY day that a Houston chef is graced with one France’s most prestigious honors. But that day arrived for The Post Oak’s executive chef Jean-Luc Royere who received the Ordre du Mérite agricol in a private ceremony on April 16. The award is an esteemed honor bestowed to French citizens by the French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture and the culinary arts.

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People + Places

Denise Reyes and Matthew Healey (photo by Katy Anderson)

THE OPERA BALL, one of Houston’s perennially elegant, must-hit galas among the society set’s top tier, tilted marvelously mod and disco-deluxe this year, with sophisticated Spanish hints, thanks no doubt to ball chairs Isabel and Ignacio “Nacho” Torras. They are, of course, the arts patrons behind two of Houston’s most popular and trendy restaurants — MAD and BCN Taste & Tradition.

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Parties