'Arabian Night' Christens Thompson Hotel, Breaks Fundraising Record for Mercury Orchestra

Priscilla Dickson
'Arabian Night' Christens Thompson Hotel, Breaks Fundraising Record for Mercury Orchestra

Noor Riddle, Ally Shell, Stacey Lindseth, Kendra Smith, Donae Chramosta

EVENT CHAIRS KENNY and Gaby Owen were thrilled to welcome hundreds of Houstonians to Mercury Chamber Orchestra's annual gala, this year held at the brand-new Thompson Hotel off Allen Parkway.


In addition to being one of the first mega events held at the glam newcomer, the fundraising fete, which adopted a theme of An Arabian Night, made headlines for breaking Mercury's fundraising record. It brought in more than $420,000 thanks to an exciting auction (items included a tour of Chinatown led by Chris Shepherd, and a week-long stay at Casa Angelina in Zihuatanejo, Mexico) and a raffle, which featured a pair of DeBoulle diamond earrings.

Divine Décor Design brought in elegant flowers, furniture and more, transforming the Thompson's Vesper Ballroom into a mystique-filled setting that provided the perfect backdrop for a dinner of Moroccan-spiced steak, Mujadara rice, and zaatar asparagus.

After dinner, Artistic Director Antoine Plante led the chamber orchestra in a moving performance of selections from Mozart’s Ronda Alla Turca, Tchaikovsky’s Arabian Dance, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and Dizzy Gillespie’s A Night in Tunisa.

Linda & Mike DeMasi

Mike & Jo Anne Donovan, Lesley Crawford, Gary Swagerty

Kristen Shults, Kari Dial, Maria Alejandra Nebreda

David & Kelly Rose, Courtenay Vandiver Pereira & Sabata Pereira

Gaby & Kenny Owen

Brian Riter, Gaby & Kenny Owen, Antoine Plante

Brian & Stephanie Dubiski

Mickey & Debi Barret

Mathew & Mya Melton

Robert Navo & Ginny Hart

Shane & Marissa Gilroy

Gilbert Cruz & Natalie Keshemberg, Dahlia Chaudhury & Khalil Bryant

Summer Boots, Gaby Owen, Monica Jhunjhunwala

Rudy & Debbie Festari, Antoine Plante, Daniel Irion, Kirk Kveton

Ralf van der Ven, Megan Hendrix, Justin Garcia

Stephen & Kim Perich

Travelle & Zach Ellis

Parties

'Blue Elephant with Christmas Tree,' 'Blackhole Sun' and 'Close Conversation' by Workman

NEXT SATURDAY, SEPT. 2, G Spot Contemporary Art in the Heights hosts a debut exhibition that also marks the end of an era. In a show titled Work(Man) In Progress, musician, engineer, producer, and former co-owner of Houston’s legendary SugarHill Studios Dan Workman will showcase yet another side of his creativity with an exhibit of his colorful, abstract, and often humorously titled fountain pen and ink creations. The exhibit is a vibrant and completely delightful collection of drawings that revel in sheer pleasure of putting ink to paper and seeing what unexpectedly materializes. “My creative success in music production liberated me from the weight of forming an identity as an artist,” says Workman in his artist statement. “I’m not in conversation with anything other than my sense of humor.”

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment

Brad Paisley performs at the 2022 Houston Rodeo. (Photo from @rodeohouston on Instagram)

YESTERDAY THE HOUSTON Livestock Show and Rodeo won the 2022 Fair/Rodeo of the Year at the 16th Annual Academy of Country Music Honors in Nashville. Last year, RodeoHouston marked its 90th anniversary and featured performances from top acts across multiple genres including George Strait, Gwen Stefani, Journey, Khalid and EDM hitmakers Marshmello.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment