Al Fresco Dinner at Buffalo Bayou Park Fetes $100 Million Gift from Kinders — and Astros Win!

ON A SLIGHTLY balmy night, under a breezy tent on the Grand Lawn of Buffalo Bayou Park, with the Downtown skyline twinkling in the distance, a group of some 400 green-space enthusiasts gathered to support the Buffalo Bayou Partnership and its exciting expansion and development plans.

Guests, who wore sneakers with their cocktail attire per the unique dress code, sipped wine and spirits to the strains of live jazz from students at the Raul Yzaguirre Schools for Success before dinner. Once seated, they divided their attention between the Astros game projected on giant screens and a roster of compelling speakers, all buzzing about the recent $100 million gift from the Kinder Foundation, to realize the Buffalo Bayou East Master Plan.

Nancy and Rich Kinder were on hand, modestly waving off the praise as it came from the podium from the likes of Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who suggested renaming Buffalo Bayou as “Kinder Bayou.” The Kinder’s celebrated gift was described as transformational, as it will further the public-private Partnership’s mission to steward a dynamic network of welcoming parks, trails, and unique destinations along Buffalo Bayou will into the East End, bringing the city’s flourishing interest in green space development to new communities.

After dinner, the party moved to the park’s impressive terrace for more cocktailing and dancing to DJ Felix. An elegant coffee service was also on offer.

“For over 30 years, Buffalo Bayou Partnership has pursued equitable access to vibrant, safe, and inclusive public spaces along the 10-mile stretch of Houston’s historic waterway from Shepherd Drive to the Port of Houston Turning Basin,” noted a rep for the Partnership. “BBP has led award-winning projects such as Buffalo Bayou Park to public art and programming that unite communities all along the bayou.”

Scott and Judy Nyquist

Gala Co-Chairs Jodie Jiles, Sonny Messiah-Jiles, Wendy Montoya Cloonan and Shawn Cloonan

Payal and Manny Chana

Lisa Helfman and Lee Haverman

Murry and Polly Bowden

Sarah Abare and Chris Carlberg

Greg Hartman and Cecelia Alatriz

Geraldina Interiano Wise, Monica Radoff and Isabel David

Anne Olson and Winifred Riser

Laura Conely, Alex Reuter, Zion Escobar and Janice Bond

Jesse Rivera and James Herbst

Jessica Burney and Natalie and Justin Goodman

Lainie Gordon, David Mincberg and Erin Mincberg Spiegel

Lisa Wallace, Jana Giammalva and Richard Dawson