‘Wild’ In-Person Event in Memorial Park Toasts the New Eastern Glades

Daniel Ortiz
‘Wild’ In-Person Event in Memorial Park Toasts the New Eastern Glades

Clayton Katz, Jeffrey Yates, Diandra Breen and Robert Erni

WITH VACCINATIONS ON the rise and decent weather — albeit a little muggy lately — in the forecast, H-Town's spring social season is heating up! Last week at the new Clay Family Eastern Glades in Memorial Park, members of the park conservancy's young professionals group, Urban Wild, gathered in person for the first time since the project's completion last July.


More than 200 supporters celebrated the 100-acre section — which includes the 5.5-acre Hines Lake, walking trails, picnicking areas, wetlands and, as seen on this night, fabulous outdoor event spaces — to the sounds of DJ Aiden Kennedy. Picos provided refreshing margs, and 8th Wonder and Topo Chico supplied additional refreshments. Thanks in part to a selection of door prizes from vendors like Pondicheri, Mirth and Do or Dye salon, the event raised more than $60,000 for Memorial Park Conservancy.

The Eastern Glades is the first of many projects from the Memorial Park Master Plan to be brought to completion. The visionary Ten-Year Plan, funded largely by a $70 million gift from Nancy and Rich Kinder's Kinder Foundation, will also reunite the park's main green spaces on the north and south sides of Memorial Drive via a "land bridge" over the thoroughfare, under construction now.

Adam and Becca Hines;

Caroline Dawson, William Finnorn, Tori Christensen, Meghan Horne

Charlotte Hutson, Nicole Turpin, Keri Miller

Daniel Harrison, Margaret Strode, Thomas Smith

Danielle O'Bannon, Zoe Cadore, Iman Garrett-Price

Erica Matthews, Yvette Salazar, Megan Blaisdell Willis, Grace Salvie

George and Krissy Pepi

Kendra Lynch, Brandon Cook

Lauren Paine, Paige Matthews

Matt Mogas, Louise and Gary Moss

Tara Simon and George Lancaster

Zach Gaitz, Annemieke Lupton, John Montgomery

Parties

Leisa Holland-Nelson Bowman, Frann Lichtenstein, Monica Hartland, Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell

IN WHAT HAS been described as a friend-raiser — as opposed to a fundraiser, since the intimate group of VIP guests weren’t asked to pay to be there — Children’s Memorial Hermann took over a big swath of Memorial Park’s verdant, still new Clay Family Eastern Glades for an over-the-top evening promoting the hospital’s mission and its “world-class orchestra of pediatric specialists,” per a rep. Dubbed Faire la Fête, the fabulous to-do boasted French theme.

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Parties

Aylsworth's interactive installation at Inman Gallery

ON VIEW THROUGH Jan. 13, 2024 at Inman Gallery is Houston artist David Aylsworth’s Something Nice With Swans. It’s a charming, sublime exhibit of Aylsworth’s instantly recognizable abstract oil on canvas paintings, complemented by an installation of domestic objects and tchotchkes pulled from his studio, including a rocking chair, art books, vinyl records, and a working record player with speakers. This cozy nook is filled with clues to the origins of Alysworth’s mysterious shapes and unique combinations of colors and allows visitors to relax, put on a record, and perhaps see his paintings with fresh eyes.

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Art + Entertainment