'Boo Ball' Bash! Night Owls and Ghoul-friends Pull Out Tricks, Treats and $800K for Ronald McDonald House

Daniel Ortiz and Jacob Power
'Boo Ball' Bash! Night Owls and Ghoul-friends Pull Out Tricks, Treats and $800K for Ronald McDonald House

Jose and Carolina Quiros

OF THE MANY festive fetes over the weekend, the annual Boo Ball benefiting Ronald McDonald Houston may have been the biggest, most spook-tacular one! More than 700 costumed partygoers descended upon the Hilton Americas ballroom, where a haunted house — complete with photo opps and bubbly — awaited.

Some of the party's most popular costumes included Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce; various iterations of Barbie; and beautified vampires and witches galore. Chaired by April and Wells McGee, the evening included silent and live auctions, plus a raffle and a "Pick Your Poison" spirit pull. A bidding war broke out in competition for a wine-tastic trip to Sonoma, and a teenage beneficiary of Ronald McDonald House's services presented the night's final prize up for grabs — an adorable puppy!

After the auctions and program, emceed by Lisa Malosky and featuring remarks by organization CEO Cristina Vetrano, party band Hybrid 7 had everyone out on the dance floor, boogying the night away. The total till topped $820,000 — talk about a treat!

Wayne Chapman, Sherry Fuller

Betsy and Elliott Hirshfeld, Matt and Melinda Mogas

Cari and Steve Greenley

Wade Upton and Flo McGee

Cristina Vetrano, Wells and April McGee, Dan Connally

Vicsandra Jones and Melissa Juneau

Diane and John Tully

Seth and Emma Elsenbrook, Kate Archer, Evan Elsenbrook

John and Diane Riley, Lizabeth and Tom Riley

Kaely Suarez with puppy

Ryan and Iryns Herbst

Patty and Greg Glasscock

Michael and Angela White

Ken and Mady Kades

Kristen Cannon, Faith Majors


Parties

Blue Lagoon at Lago Mar

EVEN THOUGH IT still feels like the dog days, Labor Day reminds us summer is ending. If you’re celebrating the long, hot weekend in or around town, cool your jets and get rewarded with these tasty deals. No labor involved!

Keep Reading Show less
Food

Houston Contemporary Dance Company (Photo by Lynn Lane)

DURING A TWO-DAY celebration Aug. 31-Sept. 1 at MATCH, the 2023 Houston Fringe Festival commemorates 17 years of exploring the outer limits of dance, theater and film. The weekend includes a retrospective screening of Houston filmmaker Jonathan Caouette’s Tarnation, and “Anything Goes,” the festival’s signature mash-up showcase, with performances by Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Cai Circus, performance artist and self-proclaimed “internal humorist” Margo Stutts Toombs, and many other returning and first-time performers. For adventurous Houston theater-goers, or anyone in any field of the arts looking to get out of their comfort zone, the Houston Fringe Festival is a smorgasbord of creative ingenuity, heartfelt vision, and irreverent experimentation.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment