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Gwen Stefani, Amal Clooney and Others Arrive in Houston This Weekend for Major Downtown Conference

Gwen Stefani, Amal Clooney and Others Arrive in Houston This Weekend for Major Downtown Conference

A giant astronaut now looks over Discovery Green where the PCMA conference will host its opening event

AMAL CLOONEY, LIZ Cheney and Brené Brown will be in Houston this week to speak at the Professional Convention Management Association’s annual conference. Houston First is bringing the conference — for meeting-planners who work on behalf of companies and associations to book conventions — to town. Houston First president and CEO Michael Heckman has referred to the event as “the Super Bowl of our industry,” as the organization hopes to book $200 million in new incremental business over the next five years.

Expecting an audience of 4,000 attendees at the GRB, Houston First is creating a working kitchen to showcase the city’s diverse dining scene. Participating Houston chefs and mixologists from Houston hotpsots like Jun, Kiran’s, Koffeteria, Ishtia, Gatlin’s BBQ, Julep, Maven and others will be serving up their most popular dishes. “Houston's culinary scene is uniquely vibrant, reflecting the city's rich cultural diversity and bold creativity,” says restaurateur David Skinner of Ishtia. “We’re proud to contribute to that dynamic tapestry through food and storytelling."

The conference opens on Sunday night with a massive street fair at Discovery Green, featuring Houston faves and icons like Art Cars, custom cowboy hats and a giant astronaut flying over the park. To round out the festivities, three-time GRAMMY® Award winner Gwen Stefani will perform a 90-minute set at Daikin Park on Tuesday night.
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Fall Philanthropy Report: Easter Seals of Greater Houston ‘Impacts Where People Need Us the Most’

Fall Philanthropy Report: Easter Seals of Greater Houston ‘Impacts Where People Need Us the Most’

What year was your organization launched? Founded in Houston in 1947, as the Cerebral Palsy Treatment Center, the organization provided services to individuals with disabilities living in Houston and Harris County. In 1989, the organization changed its name and greatly expanded its services to meet the needs of its clientele. Today as Easter Seals Greater Houston, the organization provides multiple outstanding service programs to children, adults, veterans, and service members with all types of disabilities and their families in Harris and sixteen surrounding counties.

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Októ Joins Mi Luna and Marmo as Hot Spots at Mediterranean-Marvelous Montrose Collective

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THOUGH IT'S BEEN in Houston less than a decade, Sof Hospitality has made major inroads with foodies and critics alike. Its concepts include Doris Metropolitan, Hamsa and Badolina Bakery, all of which deliver the rich flavors of Israeli cuisine in complex, photogenic and delicious dishes. Its newest, Októ, opened earlier this year, one of several energetic restaurants to bow in the Montrose Collective, just in time for the holidays.

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Five Fabulously Diverse Exhibits Are Arriving at Museum of Fine Arts Houston

Bill Viola’s ‘Ascension,’ on display as part of ‘Living with the Gods’ at MFAH

THE ARTIST WHO ushered in the expressionist movement in the early 20th century was not, in fact, Picasso or Matisse. It was Paul Gauguin, whose career spanned the decades just preceding the turn of the century. The French painter is the subject of the Museum of Fine Arts’ latest exhibit, Gauguin in the World, which was organized by Henri Loyrette (formerly of the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris). The show, just one of the museum’s diverse winter season shows, debuted in Australia in June and will be on display through Feb. 16, 2025, at the MFAH, the only U.S. venue for the survey.

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Art + Entertainment