While walkways fringed with twinkling lights added to a contemplative milieu leading up to the serene grounds of the Rothko Chapel, the thumping bongos and reverberating trumpets from Cuban band El Rectorado del Son beamed through the silence — in a way suggesting the Houston landmark's dual vocations of contemplation and action.
Meaning executive director Emilee Dawn Whitehurst wasn't shy to get on the dance floor and bust a move.
Brisk autumn temps delighted the 180 guests at "Moonrise Party on the Plaza." While they strolled around sipping on Hendricks Gin and Monkey Shoulder Triple Malt Scotch Whiskey potations, the candle-lit reflection pool in which Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk appears suspended on water couldn't have been more beautiful.
Tables decorated with mini obelisks set up underneath strings of lights draped from mature trees provided yet another ambiance that added to the evening. A video projection by Lynn Birdwell and Travis Johns highlighted some of Rothko's programs, including the 1978 visit from the Turkish Whirling Dervishes.
Stationed opposite to the living wall of bamboo were representatives from the Houston Astronomical Society manning a handful of powerful telescopes. Venus, double stacked stars, even a nebula in the form of a faint halo circling a dead star could be observed with guidance from the informative experts.
As for the sustenance, Canopy outdid itself with a buffet teeming with Cuban sandwiches, seafood and seasonal veggies.
Basking in the moonlight were Lynn Wyatt, Gayle and Mike DeGeurin, Katherine and Mark Yzaguirre, Eric and Katherine Houston, Marcela and Fernando Brave, Jennifer Elkins, Cullen Geiselman, Daniela and Rex Koontz, Kellye Sanford and Fritz Lanham, Bennie Flores Ansell and David Ansell, Caro and Dan Price, Nicole Laurent Romano and Joey Romano, Mila Golovine and Stephen Fox.
Marcel Witte, left, and Travis Johns at Rothko Chapel's Moonrise Party on the Plaza.
