Cute Champagne-Sipping Crowd Gathers at River Oaks Home to Kick Off Handmade Hope Gala

Cute Champagne-Sipping Crowd Gathers at River Oaks Home to Kick Off Handmade Hope Gala

Tiffany LaRose; Adam Greer; Brooke Bentley Gunst

ANOTHER LATE-SUMMER successful kickoff event bodes well for a busy fall social season ahead — even amid Delta fears.


A beautiful River Oaks home was the site of a party kicking off Homemade Hope's "Home Is Where the Heart Is Gala." Brooke Bentley Gunst and her husband Jeff Gunst opened hosted a chic and breezy "indoor-outdoor event … in anticipation of Homemade Hope's annual fundraising event," explained a rep for the event's organizers.

A good-looking crowd, undaunted by soaring temps, and dressed in colorful late-summer frocks and just-before-Labor-Day whites, also sipped Champagne, enjoyed a wine tasting and noshed on charcuterie.

The gala for Homemade Hope — which nurtures and empowers homeless children living in Houston-area shelters, teaching them how to cook nutritious foods, developing their life skills and providing them with emotional and academic support, per the org's mission statement — will take place Oct. 8 at River Oaks Country Club. The gala will have a unique spin: options for indoor or outdoor seating.

Spotted at the kickoff: Blair Bentley, Schuyler Evans, Adam Greer, Brooke Bentley Gunst and Jeff Gunst, Scarlett and Scott Hankey, Tiffany LaRose, Margot Delaronde Marcell and Josh Marcell, Lila Sharifian, and Lisa and Dennis Woods.

Kelly and Sina Fahrtash

Dennis and Lisa Woods

Claudia and Shane Philips; Vina Nichols

Jeff and Brooke Gunst

Lila Sharifian and Omid Sharifian

Michelle and Mike Mann; Margot Delaronde Marcell and Josh Marcell

Nillie Shoukry, Shannon Smith, Tiffany LaRose

Scott and Scarlett Hankey

Young Son; Gabriela Bahlo

Parties
Reyna Group Owner Leads Real Estate Market with Passion and Excellence

MICHELLE REYNA WYMES, a distinguished name in the Houston real estate market, is the owner of the successful boutique brokerage, Reyna Group. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Michelle has deep-rooted connections to the community she serves with dedication and pride.

Keep Reading Show less

The lobby of White Elephant Palm Beach

COVERED IN VERDANT vines and flanked by tall palm trees, the entrance to the White Elephant Palm Beach feels like passing into a stately home, rather than one of the island’s newest resorts. The building is 101 years old, and while the original footprint and façade remain, the interior has a decidedly updated, ultra-luxe beach vibe.

Keep Reading Show less

Photographer Jhane Hoang with two covers she photographed

ONE OF Houston CityBook’s most beloved photographers was recently diagnosed with stage four cervical cancer. Jhane Hoang has been behind the camera for some of the magazine’s most ambitious shoots — including an overnight shoot at the then-new Weiss Energy Hall at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and a cold rainy shoot at the Houston Zoo where the crew used a concessions stand as a staging area for hair and makeup.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment