Ready, set, Art Dash!

The Woodlands art parties: VIPs frolic as a horde of art lovers descends on the Waterway

Guests at the eighth annual Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival VIP Party Friday night had a fantastic time getting the highly anticipated weekend-long arts festival off to a great start.

The fete at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott’s Convention Center drew a fun-loving crowd who were wowed by magician and comedian Curt Miller before they started bidding for live auction items including a Hubbell & Hudson cooking class for 10 and featured artist Rick Loudermilk’s cover painting of whimsical geometric trees, “Kaleidoscope on the Waterway.” The high point of the party was the range of wonderful work on display for the Art Dash.

A party guests' vote for their favorite displayed piece — the 2013 People’s Choice Artist award — was introduced this year, and the winner was local wildlife artist and photographer Vickie McMillan, whose piece was added to the night’s live auction items.

“My experience here last year was that the community was really supportive of the artists. They’re really interested in what we do.”

Representing many of the mediums featured at the festival itself this weekend, 150-plus artist-donated pieces were set up together in a temporary gallery for partygoers’ perusal before the Art Dash where, every minute on the minute, different guests with Art Dash tickets whose numbers were called took an allotted 60 seconds to add a beautiful new piece of art to their home at a fraction of its cost while contributing to the night’s entertainment.

Guests hurried from their drink-in-hand conversation into the art area, where they had 60 seconds to either swipe their still-available chosen piece or quickly pick another and then rush back out, prize in hand. The coveted first three numbers to be called to the Art Dash were popular live auction items.

Many of the artists whose work contributed to the Dash attended the party. Returning artist Josh Coté is glad to be back: “My experience here last year was that the community was really supportive of the artists. They’re really interested in what we do.”

Coté and wife Pam live in a converted a water treatment plant, two 50-foot steel water tanks made into a home and studio in Louisiana, Missouri: “It’s like living in a sculpture!” he says.

In its eighth year, the weekend-long Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival (WWAF) features 218 artists and is expected to attract 15,000 visitors. ArtFair Source Book, the definitive guide to American juried fine art and craft fairs, ranks the WWAF as one of the Top 100 Art Festivals in the United States, listing it at a solid nine for fine art sales out of 600 or so such festivals nationwide.

“The spectrum of art and fine craftwork displayed at The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival appeals to a wide range of tastes and budgets,” festival director Jenny Wright says. Those pieces include jewelry, fiber and textile arts, woodwork, metalwork, leather tooling, ceramics, drawings, watercolor, furniture, glassware, pastels, photography, printmaking, sculptures, mixed media in 2D and 3D, digital pieces and paintings. Booth after booth is lined up for leisurely perusing along Town Green Park and next to the walkable Waterway.

Performance lineups on two stages, the Palette Café Stage overlooking the Woodlands Waterway, and the Arts and Culture in Montgomery County Stage, provide live entertainment all weekend long. Foodies too have a stage, The Art of Food Tent, presented by Hubbell & Hudson, which features local chefs’ live demonstrations of signature dishes from cakes to ceviche. Food vendors include local favorites La Lupita, Mama J’s BBQ and Zunum as well as Russo’s New York Pizzeria and Nothing Bundt Cakes.

Children may indulge in their own variety of arts and crafts projects at Artopoly with volunteers from the Woodlands Art League. In its second year, the Early Inspiration Gallery in the Artopoly area allows kids aged 4 to 13 to experience collecting art themselves: They may browse artwork donated by local high school students and art teachers in the tent, and then chose to buy a piece they really like for the price of $5. Proceeds go to purchase art supplies for Title 1 schools.

The WWAF is presented by the not-for-profit Woodlands Waterway Arts Council. Proceeds from the both the VIP Party and the Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival go through its program BAM! Because Art Matters to encourage, support, and promote regional performing and visual arts through community outreach and education.

The Festival concludes on Sunday with hours running from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. See woodlandsartsfestival.com for a quick overview, directions and parking information and to buy tickets. Adult tickets are $10 for one day, or $15 for both days. Kids 12 and under are admitted free.

The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival brings out the an art-loving horde.

unspecified

The rich list

Houston oil tycoon is city's richest billionaire for 2026, Forbes finds

President Trump Meets With Oil And Gas Executives At The White House

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

undefined

The richest billionaires in America have a collective worth of $8 trillion in 2026, a staggering $1.4 trillion increase since last year, says Forbes. American billionaires are so wealthy that it now takes an unprecedented $4.4 billion net worth to be considered one of the richest people in the country. And one local billionaire has regained the title as Houston's wealthiest resident.

Oil tycoon Jeffery Hildebrand, 67, now reigns as the No. 1 richest Houstonian, the 9th richest Texan, and the 88th richest person in America for 2026.

The annual Forbes 400 list is a definitive ranking of the wealthiest Americans, using interviews, financial data, and documentation provided by billionaires and their companies. In all, 43 billionaires across Texas made it on the 2026 list, and 10 are based in Houston.

Hildebrand's net worth has surged $4.7 billion since last year, bringing his current net worth to $14.7 billion. He cofounded Hilcorp, one of the largest privately owned oil and natural gas producers in the U.S., in 1990 and served as its CEO until 2018. He still serves as the chairman of the company.

Hildebrand skyrocketed past several other Houston billionaires to claim the top spot citywide: Kinder Morgan chairman Richard Kinder, Toyota mega-dealer Dan Friedkin, and hospitality honcho Tilman Fertitta.

Kinder, 81, was dubbed Houston's richest billionaire in the 2025 Forbes 400 list, whose net worth has increased from $11.1 billion to $12.9 billion in just one year. He is the 11th richest Texan and the 100th richest person in America.

Friedkin, 61, is the third-richest Houstonian and the 102nd richest American with an estimated net worth of $12.9 billion, up from $9.7 billion last year. He most notably owns Gulf States Toyota, which sold $14.5 billion worth of Toyotas in 2025, per Forbes.

The Friedkin family is also in talks to launch a new NHL team in Texas, with Houston and Austin being eyed as potential home bases, CultureMap reports. Bringing a professional hockey team to Houston would be a major boon for the city, which has been without one since the Houston Aeros folded in 2013.

Fertitta, 69, has a net worth of $12.3 billion and is the fourth richest Houstonian and the 110th richest American. Fertitta owns hospitality corporation Fertitta Entertainment and the NBA team Houston Rockets. He most recently purchased the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and plans to relocate them to Houston under the Houston Comets name in 2027. He also keeps himself busy as President Trump's ambassador to Italy.

There's also one new Houston-based billionaire making his debut on the Forbes 400: Houston Texans owner and CEO Cal McNair.

McNair, 64, took over as the principal owner of the NFL team after his late mother, Janice McNair, transferred her principal stake to him in 2024. Janice, who cofounded the Texans with her late husband Bob McNair, passed away in July 2026. She previously had an estimated net worth of $7.3 billion.

Cal McNair ranks as the 218th richest person in America with an estimated net worth of $7.7 billion.

Here's how the rest of Houston's billionaires fared on this year's list:

Houston pipeline heir Randa Duncan Williams ranks 124th with an estimated net worth of $11.7 billion. Fellow pipeline heirs Dannine Avara and Milane Frantz tie for 128th nationally. Each has an estimated net worth of $11.6 billion. Scott Duncan ties for No. 137 with an $11.3 billion estimated net worth.
Energy exploration chief exec George Bishop of The Woodlands ranks No. 380 with an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion. Last year: $4.7 billion.

Texas' richest billionaires
Walmart heiress Alice Walton, 76, who currently leads as the richest woman globally, is also the richest woman in America, the third-wealthiest person in Texas, and the richest Fort Worth resident for 2026.

Walton's net worth has grown by $12 billion since last year, bringing her current net worth to $118 billion. She is the only daughter of late Walmart cofounder Sam Walton, though she focuses her attention on other endeavors like the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Arkansas. Forbes still lists her residence as Fort Worth.

Walton is one of only 62 women billionaires on the Forbes 400 list, making up just 16 percent of the total list.

forbes 400 forbes billionaires richest americans fort worth dallas alice walton walmart