Why, we might ask, are there so many pre-parties held to launch so many official parties? But we already know the answer. There are seven nights in every week and no party animal worth his taxi fare home wants to hibernate even for a single evening in the dark. So as long as the throngs are resolved to party and the hosts are willing to play, why not!

So it was Thursday night when Momentum Audi's Jared Lang, fast becoming the city's prince of parties, hosted a kick-off for the Houston Zoo's Beastly Brunch, an outdoor fundraiser sponsored by the zoo's young professional group, Flock. It's set for Feb. 28.

More than 200 enthusiastic zoo fans showed up to release their inner beasts while DJ Dave Wrangler spun the tunes. They grazed through fields of sushi and other Japanese fare from Sushi Raku and sipped at the Maker's Mark zoo-tini water hole. Adding campy authenticity to the night, Page Parkes models, painted like wild creatures, struck poses around the hot cars.

Many familiar faces in the mix including Dr. Roland Maldonado, Denise Furlough, Mitchell Parker, Katherine Orellana, Bea Valencia, Adriana and José Berlanga, Sharon Aboussleman, Stuart Rosenberg, Miya Shay, Loria and Kent Oliver and Nick Espinosa.