YoPros Take It Over the Rainbow for Literacy at 'Storybook' Gala Kickoff

Daniel Ortiz
YoPros Take It Over the Rainbow for Literacy at 'Storybook' Gala Kickoff

Lauren Stanfill, Andrea Coyle, Megan Carrasco

DOROTHY HERSELF GREETED guests at the kickoff for the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation's Storybook gala, which this year has adopted a theme of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."


The cocktail party took place at hip Galleria restaurant Joey, which served fusion bites like Korean fried cauliflower and hand rolls — plus Wizard of Oz-inspired specialty cocktails like the Flying Monkey old fashioned and Ruby Slipper cosmo. Joselyn and Jeff Carnrite, who are chairing the main event on Nov. 18 at the ZaZa, welcomed around 75 supporters and thanked them for their generosity.

Auction items were positioned around the restaurant for guests to peruse; the Elton John Yellow Brick Road package, with two tickets to the upcoming concert and a gift card to Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, was a buzzy one. A custom-made necklace and earrings set with rubies, diamonds and gold, courtesy of Tego Jewelers, will be available at the Nov. 18 gala, where Drywater Band will perform and more Oz characters from J&D Entertainment will mingle about!

Tom and Grace Gosnell

Aliyah Griffin

Samantha Gaitz, Lauren Stanfill

Caitlin Rance

Patrick Mikkelsen, Melissa McDaniel

Hannah Mizwa, Bob Ethington, Kalee Garvin

Melissa Craig, Amy Chronis, Kime Smith, Liliana Cruz

Jeff Carnrite, 'Dorothy,' Joselyn Carnrite

Matt Davidson, Allie Jarreau

Maggie and Sylvain Riba

Victoria Villarreal, Caitlin Rance, Monica Buchanan

Julie Baker Finck, Ron Finck

Lindsey and Devin Sauer

Parties

Sarah Sudhoff (photo by Katy Anderson)

SINCE THE 1970s, Houston’s cultural scene has only grown richer and more diverse thanks to the DIY spirit of its visual artists. As an alternative to the city’s major museums (which are awesome) and commercial galleries (again, awesome), they show their work and the work of their peers in ad-hoc, cooperative, artist-run spaces — spaces that range from the traditional white cube interiors, to private bungalows, to repurposed shipping containers.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

Matthew Dirst (photo by Jacob Power)

FOR FANS OF early music — an often scholarly lot who aren’t afraid to wear their hearts on their sleeves — bad-boy Baroque-era painter Caravaggio certainly nailed something in his dramatic 1595 painting, “The Musicians.” (Simon Schama talks about this in his TV series The Power of Art.) One look at his masterpiece, and you feel as if you’ve stumbled upon and surprised a roomful of dewy-eyed musicians, their youthful faces swollen with melancholy, with the lutist looking like he’s about ready to burst into tears before he’s even tuned his instrument. So no, you certainly don’t need a Ph.D. to enjoy and be moved by the music of Handel, G.P. Telemann, or J.S. Bach, but a little bit of scholarship never hurt anyone. Knowing the history of this music may even deepen your appreciation of it.

Keep Reading Show less