parties

Lance McCullers Jr. and Houston ‘Sweethearts’ Feted at Saks Schmooze

Lance McCullers Jr. and Houston ‘Sweethearts’ Feted at Saks Schmooze

Brigitte Kalai, Ghada Ali, Lance McCullers Jr. and Christine Johnson

OFF-DUTY ASTRO Lance McCullers Jr. was among those honored at the “Houston Sweethearts” event at Saks Fifth Avenue just before Valentine’s Day.

The truly heart-felt annual tradition, always held in early February, offers praise for generous community leaders, and support for the Mission of Yahweh. The annual event was created by Anne Carl, Deborah Duncan, Sylvia Forsythe, Kim Moody, Warner Roberts and Alicia Smith, who were all on hand for this year’s 13th annual celebration.

Pro pitcher McCullers’ fellow 2024 Sweethearts included his wife Tara, who couldn’t make the event as she was home tending to the couple’s new baby daughter, as well as Elsie Eckert, Scott Evans and Stacey Lindseth. The baseball star kindly schmoozed the gathered crowd of about 100.

The Houston Sweethearts Tea took place in Saks’ Designer Rotunda, with new GM Heidi Parkhurst Turney — returning to the Houston store after having served as its assistant manager in the past — offering a kind welcome. “I’m extremely happy to be back in Houston and surrounded by such an incredible group of people,” she gushed.

The Mission of Yahweh has been serving homeless women and children since 1961, according to organizers of the event. Charly Gay, the granddaughter of the founder of The Mission, was on hand to represent the beloved nonprofit. Other VIP guests included Betty Tutor, Brigitte Kalai, Sidney Faust, Cora Sue Mach, Lilly Andress, Christine Johnson, Mary Ann and David McKeithan, Ann Ayre, Nini Hale, Cheryl Byington, Anna Dean, Beth Wolff, Donae Chramosta, Jacquie Baly, Ellie Francisco, Kirk Kveton and Daniel Irion.

Deborah Duncan and Kim Moody

Brigitte Kalai, John Calton and Alicia Smith

Beth Muecke and Stacey Lindseth

Angie Roberts, Lance McCullers Jr and Warner Roberts

Ellie Francisco and Lesha Elsenbrook

Al Lindseth, Stacey Lindseth, Donae Chramosta and Brianna Hurdle

Charly Gay and Pam Lockard

Roz Pastor, Lesha Elsenbrook, Vicki Rizzo and Leisa Holland Nelson Bowman

Stacey Lindseth, Lance McCullers Jr., Elsie Eckert and Scott Evans

Parties
art

Houston Contemporary Artists Celebrate the End of Summer at Gallery Group Show

Messinger's '9 Clouds' and Laszczynski's 'Let It Through'

ON VIEW NOW at Foltz Fine Art is Summer’s End, a very colorful, very summery show of paintings, mixed media, and 3D works by five contemporary Houston-based artists. The exhibit includes works by Matt Messinger, Peter Healy, DUAL, Melinda Laszczynski, and Jonathan Paul Jackson, who along with gallery owner Sarah Foltz curated last September’s well-received group show Texas Emerging: Volume III. Summer’s End runs through Aug. 26, and an artist reception will be held at the gallery Saturday, Aug. 19 from 4-6 pm.

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music

SummerJazz Festival Offers Vibrant, Accessible — and Air-Conditioned — Musical Programming

Mwenso Carnegie Squad

WITH SUMMER FAR from over, DACAMERA continues to roll out some of the hottest musical programming to be enjoyed here — and anywhere else in the South for that matter — with Houston SUMMERJAZZ 2023 (Aug. 17-20). The series highlights the breadth of contemporary jazz, with nods to the music’s Cuban, pan-African, funk, pop, and soul connections. This year’s festival includes performances by the Spanish Harlem Orchestra (Aug. 17), vocalist Gretchen Parlato in her first Houston appearance (Aug. 18), and crowd-pleasing global artists Mwenso & The Shakes (Aug. 19), whose members come from Sierra Leone, London, South Africa, Greenwich Village, Madagascar, France, Jamaica and Hawaii. (Jazz is, indeed, “global” music.) All Houston SUMMERJAZZ concerts take place in the Wortham Center’s Cullen Theater.

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Art + Entertainment