At Twinkling Al Fresco Dinner in River Oaks, Pretty People Gather to Support Pioneering Pediatrics

Priscilla Dickson
At Twinkling Al Fresco Dinner in River Oaks, Pretty People Gather to Support Pioneering Pediatrics

The host committee included Edie Lee, Allie Fields, Stephanie Fleck, Anne Lee Phillips, Hostess Melissa Juneau, Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell, Casey Hedges, Monica Bickers and Alex Stillwell

THE BACKYARD OF Melissa Juneau’s gorgeous, pink-hued River Oaks home was the floral-filled setting of an exclusive, no-detail-overlooked dinner by celeb Aaron Bludorn, all to benefit Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital’s Fetal Center.


“The dinner took place in an air-conditioned clear tent erected over Melissa Juneau’s backyard and pool, which was adorned with spectacular twinkling chandeliers and glittering strings of lights,” noted a rep for the dinner’s hosts. “The beautiful dinner tables nestled between olive trees featured unique, ombre floral arrangements, ranging from white and light pink to dark purple and cabernet flowers, and table settings with spring green and blush china, gold matte silverware, and a place card matching the event’s beautiful hand-delivered invitation.”

Bludorn, who personally addressed the well-scrubbed crowd as dinner was served, offered a standout menu that included fried stuffed squash blossoms, short rib and fig ravioli, beef tenderloin and lobster “surf and turf,” and, for dessert, lemon sable Breton and devil’s food cake. This followed an ample, no-waiting cocktail hour, at which drinks such as Vespers — James Bond’s preferred martini — poured through ice sculptures to ensure a nice chill. A big-band-style group from Las, Justin & the Swing Beats, played Sinatra and pop tunes throughout the meal.

Jay and Allie Fields

Katie and Scott Arnoldy

Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell and Amalia Stanton

Deneige Dooley and Melissa Juneau

Dinner was served under twinkling chandeliers, on a checkerboard floor over the pool.

Aaron Bludorn and Cherif Mbodji

Vegas' Justin and the Swing Beats performed during dinner.

Stacy Johnson and Laura Davenport

Bill Baldwin, Fady Armanious

Brad and Jill Deutser

Spectacular arrangements highlighting cabernet roses filled every table.

Courtnay Tartt Elias and Lauren Gow

The host committee was a who’s-who of pretty ladies determined to make a difference for high-risk moms and their babies — Monica Bickers, Allie Fields, Stephanie Fleck, Casey Hedges, Edie Lee, Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell, Anne Lee Phillips and Alex Stillwell. Their guests — do-gooding docs — shared inspiring stories of babies saved from terrible afflictions with groundbreaking surgical procedures performed on babies in the womb.

Children’s Memorial Hermann delivers more than 4,400 babies and performs more than 5,700 pediatric surgeries each year.

Wellness+Giving Back
With Expertise in Blondes, Extensions and More, the Janelle Alexis Team Is a Go-To Salon

YOU CAN'T LIMIT Janelle to one title – Hairdresser. Her career and business has been established and built on a strong foundation. Using her two business degrees + one more in-process, this enables Janelle and the team to deliver not only a customer-focused experience, but a foundationally solid business. There is much more than meets the eye, and in sharing a little bit about Janelle, she was not only an international hair extension educator for over 14 years, but brings extensive expertise to blondes. She rounds this out with her previously launched namesake cosmetic line, which is a perfect complement to her belief that “Beauty is our Business”.

Keep ReadingShow less

Houston’s own Wayne Wilson stars in and helped create Cirque du Soleil’s new ’Songblazers’ show.

WHEN CIRQUE DU Soleil’s newest show, the country-music-inspired Songblazers, hits Houston Aug. 1 — only the second city, after Nashville, to get it — a few folks in the audience will recognize a familiar face on the stage.

Keep ReadingShow less
Art + Entertainment

A next-gen artificial heart from BiVACOR has successfully been implanted in a patient at Texas Heart Institute. The patient survived more than a week, until a donor heart was found for a transplant.

THE PIONEERING CARDIOVASCULAR inventors and surgeons at The Texas Heart Institute (THI) in the Texas Medical Center have made another huge leap forward in the treatment of heart disease, officially announcing yesterday what they’re calling a “monumental advancement."

Keep ReadingShow less
People + Places