Hear the Roar! Tiger Ball Brings in $1.3 Mil

Lynn Wyatt and Richard Flowers
Lynn Wyatt and Richard Flowers

The gorgeous springtime weather that Houston experienced this weekend was more than welcome at the Asia Society Texas Center’s annual Tiger Ball, where a pretty pink carpet and a literal truckload of Japanese cherry blossom trees and branches greeted more than 700 guests on Saturday.


Ten-thousand other blooms imported from Thailand, Holland and Oregon and artfully arranged by Richard Flowers of The Events Company set the scene for a gala celebrating the springtime beauty of Japan, all executed by chairs Kathy and Marty Goossen and Akemi and Yasuhiko Saitoh.

A cocktail hour and silent auction — a curator-led museum tour in London, anyone? — kicked off the evening, which honored none other than Lynn Wyatt. Guests, dressed in a colorful combination of black-tie and traditional Asian attire, also perused the new exhibit of ancient Chinese bronze statues and enjoyed the sounds of Japanese taiko drummers before heading into a stunning pavilion erected in the Asia Society’s parking lot. Once again, galagoers were greeted by towering cherry blossoms and origami-inspired cranes and lanterns.

Dinner was, unsurprisingly, inventive and delicious. Anokonomiyaki pancake was served with smoked duck, and the dessert spread included matcha panna cotta, and flambeed-cherry-topped ginger ice cream. After the meal concluded, the dance floor filled up and partygoers — Lynn included! — got their groove on. The evening’s total til topped $1.3 million.

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