The River Oaks home of Paige Fertitta transformed into a vibrant literary lounge as Legacy Community Health hosted its annual Little Readers Fiesta, celebrating a decade of putting books and the joy of reading into the hands of Houston’s youngest minds.

  

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Kashay and Steve Crawford.

More than 150 guests turned out for the colorful evening chaired by Lisa Helfman and presented by H-E-B, which brought together literacy champions, pediatric advocates, and community leaders to raise nearly $250,000 for the Little Readers program.

The lively celebration honored the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, a longtime partner in Legacy’s literacy work.

Since 2015, the Little Readers program has distributed nearly 300,000 books to children through a simple yet powerful approach: Every pediatric patient receives a free book and a “prescription to read” at each well-child visit.

Guests mixed and mingled over tequila cocktails from Titanium Tequila and sangria courtesy of Queen Bee Distilling, all paired with a vibrant Mexican buffet that matched the evening’s fiesta theme. Sponsors for the evening included H-E-B, ExxonMobil, Sidney Faust, the Fertitta family, Regina Rogers, Steve and Kashay Crawford, Rebekah and Hao Le, and many more dedicated community partners.

Among those in the crowd were Rose Cullen, Ceron, Frank Billingsleyand Kevin Gilliard, Thomas and Cyndy Garza Roberts, Dr. Julie Baker Finck, Jim Hazen, Sharon Land, Betty Hrncir, Richard Flowers, and Bill Baldwin and Fady Armanious.