50 drops way more than fiddy

Rap star 50 Cent uncorks big win at annual Rodeo Houston wine auction

Fiddy had a grand time at Rodeo Uncorked!

Just what does a Newstonian rap star/mogul/entrepreneur do while spending May in Houston? Rodeo, natch.

Rapper 50 Cent, who has made it no secret that he is spending time in Texas (if he hasn’t already moved here) attended the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo’s 2021 Rodeo Uncorked! Champion Wine Auction & Dinner.

Fifty (born Curtis Jackson) seemed a bit surprised at the amount of money being spent at the auction. “Man there are some people in Texas that got a lot of money,” he noted on Twitter. “I bid $175,000 for a bottle of wine and I still lost.”

One wonders if Fifty was bidding on the Alexander Valley Vineyards CYRUS, Alexander Valley, 2014. That Grand Champion Best of Show wine sold for $200,000 to Lisa Blackwood, Randa and Ray Gilliam, Julie and Alan Kent, and Kristina and Paul Somerville.

Meanwhile, 50 Cent’s Chemin Du Roi Brut, Champagne AOC, Nevada, was the 2021Reserve Grand Champion Best of Show. The bubbly was purchased for $160,000 by Demetra and Frank Jones and Leticia and Stephen Trauber.

“When they told me I won, I almost fainted,” 50 said in a rodeo statement. “I was really excited,” said Jackson. “I’m very proud of this.”

This year’s Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition drew more than 2,600 entries from 18 countries, including Argentina, France, Italy, and Spain, per a press release. Texas wines represented 346 entries, while 351 entries were received from this year’s featured region, Sonoma County, California.

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Party Watch

Contemporary Western art shines at Galveston museum fundraiser

Photo by Jacob McCready

Ryan Horton, Meredith Peebles, Taylor Crowder, Kara Przybyl McIver, and David McIver.

What: Art Untamed, A Night of Contemporary Western Art

Photo by Jacob McCready

Ryan Horton, Meredith Peebles, Taylor Crowder, Kara Przybyl McIver, and David McIver.

Where: The Lancaster Hotel

The Scoop: With cowboy boots traded for cocktail attire, more than 115 artists and art lovers moseyed into downtown for Art Untamed, an evening that lassoed the spirit of the West with a modern twist.

Now in its fourth year, the fundraiser benefiting The Bryan Museum was steered by a dedicated committee including Christine Glover, Linda and Bill Reeves, and Guylene and Jay Lendrum. The event spotlighted 32 Southwestern artists featured in the Visions of the West exhibit.

Guests sipped and mingled during cocktail hour, sizing up 73 pieces ranging from luminous landscapes to storytelling textiles. The live auction, led by crowd-favorite auctioneer Randolph Holford, delivered a flurry of paddles in the air, especially for Bob Stuth-Wade’s radiant Santiago Peak from Chalk Draw, Nathaniel Garza’s moody Three Reasons, and Echo Ukrainetz’s intricate batik honoring cowgirl trailblazer Lucy Mulhall.

The weekend kicked off at The Lancaster Hotel, where partner Jay Shinn hosted artists and VIPs at a reception in the historic property set to celebrate its centennial next year. During the festivities, museum founder JP Bryan captured the mood best.

“A collection is an expression of a soul; it speaks to where our heart is,” he said. “That is why the museum was founded, to share the important story of Texas and the American West through a world-class collection, outstanding exhibitions, and educational programming.”

The evening raised nearly $100,000 to support educational programming and outreach at The Bryan Museum.

Who: Lori Leal Wedemeyer and Barkley Wedemeyer, Sassy Stanton, Bill Pinckard, Mike Glover, Shara Fryer, Barry Silverman, Frank Rynd, Deborah and Monte Stavis, Kelly and Luis Zúñiga, Kara Przybyl McIver and David McIver, Dianne Reynolds, Stephanie and Brent Kindle, Penny and Townes Pressler, Linda and Jerry Dickson, Bob Leibrock, Paulina Padilla, Nocona Burgess, Vickie McMillan-Hayes, Ricardo Robles, and Bob Stuth-Wade.

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