Some might have called it "pretty in pink Japan style" as Asia Society Texas Center celebrated Japan at its annual gala and for the salute washed the walls of its modern home, designed by Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi, in swaths of cherry blossom pink lighting.
Adding diplomatic exuberance to the evening was Japanese Ambassador to the United States Kenichiro Sasae.
The black-tie and national dress gala was a sellout with 650 guests having cocktails on the lawn and then moving indoors for the seated dinner in the education center, the terrace and in the gallery. That was after they savored sushi bites in the grand hall.
Donna Cole and Glen Gondo chaired the evening that brought in $840,000. And that was a nice introduction to the fundraising evening for Asia Society's new executive director Bonna Kol. Of course, it was a familiar scene for deputy director John Bradshaw Jr., who has been on board since the center's opening.
Celebrating an early arrival of cherry blossom season were Anne Chao, Kathy and Marty Goossen, Divya and Chris Brown, Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron, Nancy Allen, Chinhui and Eddie Allen, Shahla and Hushang Ansary, Mandy Kao and Sushila and Durga Agrawal.
Willie and Linda Chiang.
