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    Say Cheese

    FotoFest opening night party draws photo-loving crowd from around the world

    Joel Luks
    Mar 19, 2014 | 12:16 pm

    Blame it on the camera-equipped smartphone — everyone is a photographer nowadays. But only a select few have the eye to transform the fast growing populist genre into fine art that stops viewers dead in their tracks to ponder composition, content and affect.

    There's no question that Houston's affinity for photography roused a large crowd to pour into Spring Street Studios for the opening bash of the FotoFest 2014 Biennial Saturday. The collection of images by notable international talent filled the walls of the warehouse, offering artsy consumers a first look at the organizer's 15th show, themed "View From Inside: Contemporary Arab Photography, Video and Mixed Media Art," which runs through April 27.

    Surely guest curator Karin Adrian von Roques and FotoFest founders Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss would love nothing more than to relive the moment.

    Remarkable photographers such as Jerusalem-born Steve Sabella traveled from London and Khaled Hafez from Cairo to mingle with the who's who of the city's art cognoscenti, which included gallerists Anya Tish, Deborah Colton, Barbara Davis and Terry Hamman. Plus Contemporary Arts Museum Houston director Bill Arning and partner Mark McCray, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston photography curator Anne Wilkes Tucker, Houston Arts Alliance CEO Jonathon Glus and on and on.

    Case in point: It was the trending affair of the weekend. Surely guest curator Karin Adrian von Roques and FotoFest founders Fred Baldwin and Wendy Watriss would love nothing more than to relive the moment.

    Only major players — and there were many — enjoyed access to a party tent erected for the occasion. After noshing on a buffet catered by City Kitchen that dished up plates of chicken tagine, hummus and baba ganoush and the formalities of opening remarks, it was up to the exotic grooves of the Kinan Azmeh Quartet to liven up the ambiance.

    Spotted in the crowd were Simone Anna Blumenthal, Moe Boughaba, Abdel Elkhadiri, Rudeina Baasiri, Steven Evans, David Klonkowski, Dania Dandashli, Wadih El Hajj, Wafa Abdin, Diane Barber and Karen Neimeier, Victoria and Marshal Lightman and Edge of Arabia artists Hamza Serafi and sisters Raja and Shadia Alem.

    Shadia Alem, from left, Barbara Davis and Raja Alem.

    Shadia Alem, from left, Barbara Davis and Raja Alem at the FotoFest opening party March 2014
      
    Photo by Morris Malakoff
    Shadia Alem, from left, Barbara Davis and Raja Alem.
    unspecified
    news/society

    Roman Reverie

    Top Houston chef and Michelin sommelier help symphony raise $900,000

    Joel Luks
    May 14, 2025 | 2:03 pm
    Houston Symphony wine dinner and auction 2025
    Photo by Priscilla Dickson
    Houston Symphony executive director and CEO Gary Ginstling, Margaret Ginstling; chairs Elia and Michael Gabbanelli.

    When spring gala season reaches full crescendo, few evenings deliver the kind of multisensory bacchanal as the Houston Symphony’s Wine Dinner and Collector’s Auction. On May 2, a sold-out crowd of 365 stylish guests made a grand entrance at Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts, where fine wine, lavish décor, and a five-course feast awaited.

    Houston Symphony wine dinner and auction 2025
      

    Photo by Priscilla Dickson

    Houston Symphony executive director and CEO Gary Ginstling, Margaret Ginstling; chairs Elia and Michael Gabbanelli.

    A revelry worthy of Dionysus himself. In black-tie, of course.

    Leading the charge were Elia and Michael Gabbanelli, gala chairs and proud heirs of the famed Gabbanelli accordion family — a fitting touch of musical lineage. They were joined by Jack Matzer, whose stewardship of the collector’s auction helped orchestrate the evening’s finale: More than $900,000 raised for the symphony’s Education and Community Engagement initiatives, which bring music to schools, hospitals, and underserved venues.

    The foyer buzzed with energy as guests in all their finery sipped champagne and circled the silent auction, eyes gleaming at the fabulousness of oenophilic riches. Standout lots included six vintage bottles of Red Bordeaux, two bottles of 1982 Château Margaux (yes, the unicorn vintage), and a week-long Tuscan getaway for those dreaming of vineyard vistas and sun-drenched serenity. Bidding was brisk and focused — more than one guest looked ready to conduct their own blind tasting right on the spot.

    At the dinner hour, the scene shifted dramatically as guests were ushered onto the Jones Hall stage, transformed by The Events Company into a sumptuous Roman mirage. Towering candelabras crowned with coral and ruby blooms stood sentry over lace-red linens strewn with votives, pomegranates, and overflowing grapes. Four statues, wreathed in greenery, added a mythic flair—as if Bacchus himself might pop out to pour the next glass. And the next.

    But it wasn’t just about the wine. Culinary star chef Danny Trace of Potente crafted an ambitious five-course menu that married elegance and indulgence. A standout starter of heirloom tomato and whipped burrata with cucumber ribbons gave way to Potente’s signature black truffle pasta, then diver scallops with sweet corn risotto and a show-stealing veal perigeux with goat cheese polenta. Dessert? A double chocolate cake kissed with Chambord and crowned with caramel crunch pearls.

    Wine pairings, curated by John and Lindy Rydman and Lisa Rydman Lindsey of Spec’s Wines, were introduced by master sommelier Steven McDonald, the Pappas Bros. Steakhouse wine expert who earned the sommelier award at the 2024 Michelin Guide Texas ceremony. Guests clinked, tasted, nodded in approval — oenophiles united in appreciation.

    Among those spotted in the stylish crowd were Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Betty and Jesse Tutor, Janet Clark, Gary Ginstling and Margaret Lederer, Joan and Robert Duff, Margaret Alkek Williams, Barbara Burger, Lydia Gold, Quentin and Aerin Smith, Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees, Vicki West and Ralph Burch, Mary Lynn Marks, Bob Weiner, Robert Sakowitz, David Peavy and Stephen McCauley, Aggie Foster and Steve Simon, Virginia Clark, Brigette Kalai, Farida Abjani, Jennifer and Scott Allison, Carey Kirkpatrick, Ken and Mady Kades, and Sippi and Ajay Khurana.

    houston symphonyfundraiserswine
    news/society

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