Read All About It! CityBook’s Most Popular Online Stories of 2022 Revealed!

Read All About It! CityBook’s Most Popular Online Stories of 2022 Revealed!

Mayor Sylvester Turner and Lynn Wyatt at the 2022 Opera Ball

People and parties. Is there anything Houston loves more? If so, you couldn’t tell it from our list of the top five stories of 2022 on the Houston CityBook website.


Two of the most widely read stories of the year, based on overall page views, are stories about over-the-top social events, while two are about fascinating people breaking through in their careers and accomplishing great things. One covers a little bit of both.

Here are the fab five for 2022:

Fashion Makes a Splash in The Woodlands

A runway model with Theresa Roemer and fashion designer Cesar Galindo

The suburbs got sexy for the holiday-time Fashion Woodlands function. A runway was staged over the pool at a posh mansion, and models strutted their stuff. A Make-A-Wish kid made the scene, too, with her dream to walk the catwalk as a fashionista coming true.

R&B Star Has Hot and Juicy Houston Heritage

Coline Creuzot grew up in Houston's Third Ward.

Our thoughtful Q&A with rising-star R&B singer Coline Creuzot, granddaughter of the founder of famous Houston fried chicken chain Frenchy’s, seems to have struck all the right notes. “Music is everything,” the Third Ward native told us. “It’s healing.”

Opera Ball, a Top Bash Perennially, Still Dazzles

Jennifer Fink

For decades, the Houston Grand Opera ball has been the grande dame of the spring gala season. The year 2022 was no exception, and readers wanted all the deets! The spectacular function, which raised $1.25 mil, boasted a Moroccan theme, complete with belly dancers and a camel.

Beauty Queen Gets Royal Treatment

Beth Muecke and Nicole Lassiter

Remember your best birthday party ever? Well, this one was better! Former Miss Texas USA Nicole “Niki” Lassiter greeted a milestone birthday by regressing to childhood. Her enchanting bash had a fairy-princess theme, with a dozen Disney characters on hand and tiaras for days.

YouTuber Makes It (Very) Big

Nathan Graham

His YouTube series is called “Unspeakable,” but our story about Nathan Graham, 24, who was number five on Forbes’ list of the richest online content creators, wasn’t unreadable. With kid-friendly shows about crazy pranks and challenges, Graham has more than 30 million subscribers.

People + Places
Leadership in Action: Clothiers Murry and Karen Penner Celebrate Family Business’ 50-Year Anny

Murry & Karen Penner, Owners, M PENNER

How did you get where you are today? We’ve stayed true to the vision of the store’s founder, Morris Penner, who relentlessly sought out unique product, with exceptional quality being a key element. Morris always used to say, “The fastest way to lose a customer is to bore him” and we agree. A percentage of every season’s budget is allocated to something new and unique. While product is key, it’s not enough. Having an excellent staff and discipline in business practices is also critical.

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Christine Johnson and Jody Merritt

A LOVELY AND truly heart-felt tradition continued, when Saks Fifth Avenue and its 5115 restaurant hosted the 14th annual Houston Sweethearts tea.

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Party People

ON JAN. 3, 2025, I observed a big personal anniversary. As of that day, it’d been 20 years since I first moved to Houston — from the Big Apple media circus, by way of my home state of Louisiana — and began working as an editor in the lifestyle-magazine biz here. It’s been two full decades, which is hard to believe! I like to joke that I’m far too young and good-looking to have done anything for two decades. But here we are.

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