parties

VIPs Alight to Celebrate CityBook's 'Leaders & Legends' at Sunny Schmooze

Jhane Hoang
VIPs Alight to Celebrate CityBook's 'Leaders & Legends' at Sunny Schmooze

Jim Crane and Lynn Wyatt at CityBook's 'Leaders & Legends' party

A WHO'S WHO of Houstonians — from the arts, big business, the media, philanthropy, pro sports and much more — came together to celebrate CityBook and Gittings Photography’s 2022 “Leaders & Legends” portrait series, presented in partnership with Residences at The Allen and Bentley Houston.

The annual event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid, so the VIP guests were thrilled to gather in person for the occasion, in Residence’s at The Allen’s sunny hospitality space, in the shadow of its rising hotel and condominium tower. Along with CityBookExecutive Publisher Lisa Holthouse and Editor Jeff Gremillion, The Allen developer Roberto Contreras, himself among the Leaders & Legends honored, welcomed guests with warm remarks.

Many other honorees, all of whom were featured in the magazine’s mid-spring issue, were also on hand, including Astros owner Jim Crane, society doyenne Hallie Vanderhider, fundraising legend Carolyn Farb, popular locavore restaurateurs Benjy Levit and Aaron Lyons, noted gallerist Mimi Sperber-Wasserberg of Off the Wall and Marilyn Oshman, founder of the Orange Show organization and the Art Car Parade.

China and Roberto Contreras IV

Lisa Holthouse and Ray Childress

Page Parkes

Connor Walsh and Chae Eun Yang

Vanessa Barrow

Hallie Vanderhider, Fady Armanious and Ally Shell

Lucinda Loya and Felicia Stone

Randy Hale, Michael Holthouse, Kim and Dan Moody

Aaron and Stefanie Lyons

Amanda Mills and Mark Sullivan

Josh and Trisha Weisman

Carolyn Farb and Danny Nguyen

Katelyn Leonard and Jack Vielhauer

Demola the Violinist and Bianca Bucaram

Leslie Siller and Cheryl Byington

Roberto Contreras

Mario Gudmundsson and Marcelo Saenz

Hamilton Rowan and Mimi Sperber-Wasserberg

Karen deGeurin and Peter Remington

Bentleys on display

Kathy Flanagan and Lloyd Gite

Leisa Holland Nelson and Marilyn Oshman

Franklin and Cindi Rose

Chris Hendel and Beth Wolff

Lisa Gochman, Chloe Dao and Lindsey Word

Todd Ramos

Leaders & Legends is an annual portrait series that seeks to honor both icons of the city, responsible for its growth and prominence, as well as Houston’s current leaders, charting the path forward.

Guests enjoyed fun, fabulous treats from Monarch Hospitality including lobster “corn dogs,” timber-smoked Wagyu carpaccio under glass, caviar “twinkies,” foie gras and cognac mousse served in little ice cream cones and adult Cosmopolitan popsicles. DJ TK kept the scene lively.

Father-and-son UH basketball coaches Kelvin and Kellen Sampson were also among the community luminaries featured in the 2022 “Leaders & Legends” collection.

From Your Site Articles
Style
promoted

Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

Leadership in Action: John Kuykendall Traded Newcaster Dream for Success in Luxury Retail

John Kuykendall, Showroom Manager, Sub-Zero, Wolf and Cove

How did you get to where you are today? Growing up I had envisioned myself as a news anchor, living in NY and enthusiastically saying into the camera “Good Morning America!”. To this day, I am still a news/political junkie. My mother owned fur salons so specialty retail, luxury retail was in my blood through the family business. Eventually, mom shuttered the stores and I was recruited to a large specialty retailer. Over the next 30 years, I was in commissioned sales on the sales floor, became a department manager, worked my way up to buyer and store manager. Although I never became a newscaster, I did live in NYC for a few years. But Texas is home and with aging grandparents, I felt the pull to come back to my roots. A headhunter approached me. I never envisioned myself in the high-end appliance market, but there are so many similarities. Clients want a memorable experience; whether shopping for diamonds and fur or remodeling their kitchen.

Keep Reading Show less
food

The Truffle Masters Returns — with a New Competition — Benefitting Southern Smoke

THE TRUFFLE MASTERS is returning for its 11th year on March 3rd. Now a Houston tradition of sorts, the competition sees top chefs creating a dish using black truffles all benefitting Southern Smoke.

Keep Reading Show less
style

Sneak Peek: Check Out Houston-Based Foreign Fare’s Spring 2025 Collection

Arianna Vetere

A new look from the soft landings collection

FROM THE OWNERS of popular Montrose haunts Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart is another jetset-focused business. Owners Thy and Matthew Mitchell launched Foreign Fare in the fall of 2023 with long-haul travelers in mind. The pieces are wrinkle-free and designed to be functional as well as stylish. The line was recently featured in Travel & Leisure as a “first class look.”

Keep Reading Show less