Sold-Out Wine Dinner at Tony’s Toasts CanCare’s Hope-Filled Mission

Sold-Out Wine Dinner at Tony’s Toasts CanCare’s Hope-Filled Mission

Martie and Mark Alsop

SUPPORTERS OF THE Houston-based organization CanCare gathered at fine-dining stalwart Tony’s to toast the nonprofit — literally — during a sold-out wine dinner.


A three-course meal, beautifully prepared by exec chef Kate McLean, was served alongside wine pairings selected by sommelier Scott Banks. The crowd, which included Tony’s own Donna Vallone and Harris Health System CEO Esmaeil Porsa, raised more than $100,000 — thanks in part to a very full-bodied raffle prize. Winner Mark Alsop took home two dozen bottles of fine wine.

Co-chair and Kinder Morgan president John Schlosser and CanCare president Darcie Wells each spoke to the guests about the organization’s mission to “provide a survivor by the side of anyone facing cancer,” ensuring that patients experience greater healing and don’t lose hope.

Brad and Patty Jones

Vivek and Ishwaria Subbiah

Brig and Marcia Smart

Peter and Gordana Vickers

Norman and Donna Lewis

Ed and Denise Knight

Esmaeil and Alizia Porsa

Mark and Shannon Nini

Jeff and Barbara Steen

Lisa and Eric Elder

John Schlosser, Mel Edwards, and Susan and Kirby Greteman

Leslie and Val Brock

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