Farm Fresh! Inside Recipe for Success’ Al Fresco Fundraiser — on the Prettiest Day of the Year

Daniel Ortiz
Farm Fresh! Inside Recipe for Success’ Al Fresco Fundraiser — on the Prettiest Day of the Year

Sippi Khurana, Lisa Sadoughi and Gracie Cavnar

This weekend brought with it perfect weather, the kind of days Houstonians spend all summer longing for. It was fitting, then, that Recipe for Success's annual fundraiser, Fashion in the Fields, took place al fresco on Sunday, at the foundation's Hope Farms venue.


Founder and CEO Gracie Cavnar, clad herself in the prescribed "farm-girl chic" attire, welcomed hundreds of guests for cocktails and brunch. The festively fall meal — centerpieces included colorful pumpkins — was preceded by a fashion show featuring looks from Neiman Marcus accessorized with items by featured designer Lele Sadoughi. Neiman's also popped up a shopable boutique on-site!

Brunch included items from popular restaurants including Bistro Menil, Eunice and Bludorn.

At the event, Cavnar announced the foundation's new initiative, Delivering Hope to Sunnyside, a partnership with Kids Meals to deliver Hope Farms' produce to food-insecure families in the area.

Between a paddle-raiser for the Sunnyside project and a raffle featuring items like a cooking class and dinner package at Hope Farms, the event garnered $185,000 for Recipe for Success.

Sheree Frede and Mary McMullen

Aaron and Kristin Blomquist with Isabelle

Amber Hicks and Jennifer Roane

Melissa Sugulas, Audrey White, Julie Longoria Chen and Bethany Buchanan

Chris Hendel and Lisa Sadoughi with models

Bailey Dalton-Binion, Debbie Bernstein and Nancy Mathé

Betiana Bumpass and Jennifer Henry

Maggie Sheridan and Amber Mees

Maricella Metzler and Cathleen Fishel

Priya and Brad Coffey

Ashkin and Sonali Mittal

Shantel Williams, Myrtle Jones, Travis Torrence, Brandon McClendon and Shari Williams

Stephanie Fleck and Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl

Tammie Johnson and Alice Mao Brams

Parties

Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman, Frann Lichtenstein, Monica Hartland, Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell

IN WHAT HAS been described as a friend-raiser — as opposed to a fundraiser, since the intimate group of VIP guests weren’t asked to pay to be there — Children’s Memorial Hermann took over a big swath of Memorial Park’s verdant, still new Clay Family Eastern Glades for an over-the-top evening promoting the hospital’s mission and its “world-class orchestra of pediatric specialists,” per a rep. Dubbed Faire la Fête, the fabulous to-do boasted French theme.

Keep Reading Show less
Parties

Aylsworth's interactive installation at Inman Gallery

ON VIEW THROUGH Jan. 13, 2024 at Inman Gallery is Houston artist David Aylsworth’s Something Nice With Swans. It’s a charming, sublime exhibit of Aylsworth’s instantly recognizable abstract oil on canvas paintings, complemented by an installation of domestic objects and tchotchkes pulled from his studio, including a rocking chair, art books, vinyl records, and a working record player with speakers. This cozy nook is filled with clues to the origins of Alysworth’s mysterious shapes and unique combinations of colors and allows visitors to relax, put on a record, and perhaps see his paintings with fresh eyes.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment