Out to Lunch!

Springtime means it’s luncheon season in H-Town! The annual Hats in the Park event, chaired by Francine Ballard and Greggory Burk, was once again a glam slam, raising $400K for the Hermann Park Conservancy. ... The Christus Foundation for Healthcare welcomed Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, to speak at its spring lunch, which raised nearly a quarter-million dollars. ... And more than 200 supporters of the Children’s Museum gathered at the River Oaks Country Club for its Friends and Families lunch. Guests enjoyed fig-and-pecan-glazed chicken as keynote speaker Jennifer Arnold, best known as half of The Little Couple on TLC, gave a motivational message — and Sprinkles’ cupcakes to-go were a sweet parting gift.

‘Friends’ by Wilson Parish; ‘Hats’ by Jenny Antill Clifton


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David Ansell, Bennie Flores Ansell, Thuy Tran and James Tiebout

THE ROTHKO CHAPEL held its Inspirit fundraiser — a celebration of the power of art and activism — at the industrial-chic Astorian. The evening featured cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and an onstage conversation with actor Cheech Marin, one of the world’s foremost collectors of Chicano art; 2023 Art League of Houston Texas Artist of the Year Vincent Valdez; and legendary civil rights advocate Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers of America with César Chávez. (She’s 93, by the way!)

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Cheech Marin reflecting outside of The Cheech (photo by David Fouts)

WHEN YOU TALK to Los Angeles-born actor Cheech Marin, regardless of how serious the subject, you can’t help but smile. His pop-culture presence is infused with an astute awareness of politics and history, and a “can do, make do, find a way to move ahead” spirit he connects to the word “Chicano,” a derogatory term that came to signify resilience, creative thinking, and social consciousness. “My dad, who died at age 93, always described himself as a Chicano, because it described him,” says Marin.

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Art + Entertainment