Art party

Festival ends with a mad dash for "stolen" art at colorful garden party

Susan Fowler, from left, Claire Bond, Jenn Char, Mary Paulette and John De laCruz.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Michael Piana, from left, Pandora Snethkamp and Ed Parsley.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Nancy Loncarich, from left, Suzanne Vaughn and Julie Whitten.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Sandy Zilker, from left, Sharon Dennard and Patrick Palmer.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Ray and Liz Fitzgerald.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Lily Jang at Art Heist.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
J.D. Adamson, from left, Paul Pettie, Jeff Gremillion and Tony Gibson.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Nicola Parente, from left, with Terri and David Blackmon.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Nancy Keely, from left, Lisa and Jess Vanove and John Kelly.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Mike Stockage, from left, Karen Huitka-Pearson and Mike Pearson, Tina Bomar andBill Miller.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Kimberly and Kurt Roe.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Kim Weller, from left, Mike McRoberts and Jill Vanzelfden.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Barry and Michelle White.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Terri Dirrado at Art Heist.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Dustin Walk, left, and Anthony Martinez.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
Cheyenne Admire, from left, Stacey Lang, Chris Vierra, Maggie Vierra andChristine Gentil.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz
The crowd in the festive tent at Art Heist.

Photo by © Daniel Ortiz

With Mother Nature smiling upon Memorial Park — mostly clear skies, lovely temperate weather plus an ever so gentle breeze — Sunday was lively for the 43rd Annual Bayou City Art Festival. Word from the artists is that attendance peaked on this last day of the juried fair.

Headliner blues chanteuse Marcia Ball surely was a big draw. And so was the Art Heist, the yearly garden party that has patrons on a mad dash to steal art from a collection of 112 pieces donated by festival participants. Chaired by Art Colony Association board members Claire Bond and John De la Cruz, the fundraiser was themed after the 2014 Pantone Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid.

With only 15 seconds on the clock, attendees' only misdeed was taking too long to choose their loot and get out of the way for the next swindler.

After Mayor's Office director of boards and commissions Jenn Char read a proclamation that declared March 30, 2014, Bayou City Art Festival Day, around 220 guests anxiously waited for their numbered ping pong ball to be pulled from a bingo cage by emcee Lily Jang of KHOU Channel 11. With only 15 seconds on the clock, attendees' only misdeed was taking too long to choose their loot and get out of the way for the next swindler.

Goodies from Jackson and Co. and bevs from Deep Eddy Vodka added to the colorful fun, and so did the gorgeous orchids all guests received as a memento of the happy occasion.

Spotted among the crowd were Phoebe Tudor, Kevin Bryant, Nicola Parente and Aaron Courtland, Miya Shay and Gene Wu with their little darling Winston, Jeff Hoffman, Gerardo Guerrero, Deborah Elias, Dr. Roland Maldonado, Edward Sanchez, Michelle and Barry White, Paul Pettie, Jeff Gremillion, Terri Dirrado, Sandy Zilker, Patrick Palmer, Michael Piana, Mary Paulette, Bart Truxillo, Shanna Jones and Felice Sloan.

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a sort of homecoming

Houston director Wes Anderson headlines fundraiser for historic theater

Photo by Lars Niki/Getty Images for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

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Acclaimed Houston-born filmmaker Wes Anderson may call Paris his home these days, but he’s always ready and willing to come back home to support a worthy cause.

The Oscar-winning auteur will attend an evening celebrating his 30-year career in filmmaking, presented by Arthouse Houston. Titled “Wes Anderson Homecoming Soiree,” the event takes place at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts’ Zilkha Hall on Friday, July 17. It will also benefit the preservation of the historic Garden Oaks Theater and founding of a new Arts & Film Center.

The evening will include a “Founders Experience,” followed by a reception with food and drinks, live music by the Kelly Doyle Trio, and a silent auction. After that, Anderson will introduce a quintet of his short films he selected for the occasion. These shorts include Bottle Rocket (which he later expanded into his 1996 feature-film debut), and The Swan, one of the shorts from The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More, his only-on-Netflix collection of mini-Roald Dahl adaptations.

Donors at the Founders level will be treated to a meet-and-greet and Q&A with Anderson and friends prior to the show, including a celebratory toast, and a signed show poster. Top-tier donors (starting at $100,000) will have naming rights within the new Arts & Film Center and four complimentary tickets to the event. Proceeds will directly help the effort to preserve one of the city’s few remaining historic cinemas, as well as create a new cultural hub where cinema, live performance, production, and education converge.

Houston won’t be Anderson’s only American stop next month. From Friday, July 10, to Sunday, July 12, he’ll be in Los Angeles for the Hollywood Bowl’s “Music from the Films of Wes Anderson” concert series, featuring performances from Beck, Jackson Browne, Devo, Bill Murray, and others.

For tickets and more info on the event, go here.

wes anderson houston fundraisers preservation