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    Shelby About Town

    Olivia Newton John brings poodle skirts back to H-Town, Katsuya becomes theTexans' hangout and a historic house turns 100

    Shelby Hodge
    May 29, 2012 | 4:38 pm
    • Olivia Newton-John will headline the Nov. 3 Houston Children's Charity gala.
      Olivia Newton-John/Facebook
    • Hiram Butler in New York praising the late Barry Walker.
      Photo by Liam Alexander
    • Jill Schlenker, from left, Barbara McKnight and Rosemarie Johnson
      Photo by Wilson Parish
    • Sanjay Ram earns national honors from Jaycees.
      Courtesy Photo
    • Charlene Ripley, from left, Neil Tofsky and Susan Vick at the American HeartAssociation event.
    • Hofheinz House celebrated 100 years of entertaining.
      Photo by Wilson Parish
    • Carol Sawyer enjoying a blackberry thyme bellini at Hofheinz House.
      Photo by Wilson Parish
    • Taft McWhorter at the American Heart Association event.

    Fasten your seatbelts Grease fans, Olivia Newton John is aiming her talents toward Houston as headliner of the Nov. 3 Houston Children's Charity gala. Look for the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Houston to be transformed into a '50s fantasy as guests are encouraged to don poodle skirts, letter jackets and any other '50s fashion statements.

    Memorial Healthcare System CEO Dan Wolterman and wife Lori will be honored and a 2012 $65,000 BMW, a Super Bowl package with private air and a Kentucky Derby package with private air will be part of the live auction action.

    Late MFAH curator honored

    Before his death in April, retired Museum of Fine Arts, Houston curator Barry Walker was named one of three honorees for the International Print Center New York spring dinner. The internationally-respected curator, who established the museum's prints and drawings department and later became curator of modern and contemporary art, was recognized last week along with artist Claes Oldenburg and publisher Sidney B. Felsen.

    There to present the honor posthumously was renowned Houston gallerist Hiram Butler. Accepting the award were Walker's sister, Kelly Walker Walsh, and the MFAH's assistant curator prints & Drawings Dena Woodall.

    Among the 250 guests were Ellsworth Kelly, James Rosenquist, Richard Serra, Joe Carole Lauder and former Houstonian Joan Wicks.

    A house celebrates 100

    Catering by Culinaire, which has occupied the historic Hofheinz House since 2005, threw a celebration for the Craftsman-style house last week, 100 years after it was built by O.L. Cochran. The stately home earned its current moniker from Judge Roy Hofheinz. The former mayor and force behind the Astrodome bought the property in the 1950s.

    Chef/owner Barbara McKnight welcomed guests with a spring tasting event that included Texas peaches wrapped with prosciutto and fresh basil, heirloom tomato gazpacho and house-smoked wild salmon on alder wood planks.

    Joining the celebration were guests including Alice and Keith Mosing, Joann and Bill Crassas, Helen Shaffer, Paul-David Van Atta, Jill Schlenker, Carol and Tom Sawyer, Laurette Veres, Rosemarie Johnson, David Gugino, Christine West and Julie Farr.

    Applause for national honoree

    Sanjay Ram, vice president at international engineering firm CP&Y, has been honored with the 2012 Ten Outstanding Young Americans Award, presented annually by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees). He joins the ranks of previous recipients including Presidents John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford, plus Peyton Manning, Gale Sayers, Michele Tafoya and even Elvis Presley.

    You might know him as a member of the board of Leadership Houston or in his role as past president of the HESS Club or chairman of the Mayor's International Trade & Development Council for South Asia. His list of community commitments is lengthy and that civic involvement and leadership was key to his selection.

    LINN Energy goes red for AHA

    Linn Energy once again turned on the tap in support of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign. AHA supporters and LINN employees took over Hotel ZaZa's Room With a View for the fourth annual Red Wine Dark Chocolate evening.

    Part of the fun was unveiling of Art Hearts, created by artists such as Taft McWhorter, Kermit Eisenhut and Shelley Shanks Lockwood in conjunction with Circle of Red members. Those are the female donors with deep pockets and each gets to decide where her own piece of public heart art will be placed.

    Joining the party were Charlene Ripley, Pattie Dale Tye, Susan Vick, Cheryl Byington, Melissa Edwards, Lavonne Cox and Denis Debakey, Paula Beasley and Miguel Herrera.

    Sight 'ems

    Houston Texan Kevin Walters chowing down on creamy rock shrimp, Kobe toban yaki, crispy rice and baked crab hand rolls in the main dining room at Katsuya while fellow Texans receiver Andre Johnson watched the NBA playoffs in the Dragon Lounge where the menu included lobster dynamite, Kobe rib eye and creamy rock shrimp rolls . . .

    In advance of their show Tuesday night at Bayou Music Center (formerly Verizon Wireless Theater), Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Kenny Aronoff headed up a dinner crowd of 30 in the private dining room at The Strip House Monday night. The members of the band Chickenfoot and crew were toasted by band manager Mick Brigden at the appreciation dinner.

    The gang sat down a feast that included seafood plateaus, bone-in rib eyes, New York strips, truffle creamed spinach and potatoes Romanoff.

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    BOOTS & BALLET

    Houston Ballet kicks off 2026 season with Texas-themed fundraising dinner

    Gabi De la Rosa
    Sep 16, 2026 | 12:31 pm
    Houston Ballet season opener
    Photo by Michelle Watson, CatchLight Group
    Honorees Hugh and Carroll Ray and Opening Night Onstage Dinner chairs Kris and Richard McGee.

    This year, ballet aficionados swapped formal attire for cowboy boots, hats, and fringe as they filled the Wortham Theater Center for Houston Ballet's 2026-27 season opener, a triple bill including George Balanchine’s Symphonie Concertante, Lar Lubovitch’s Meadow, and the revival of Stanton Welch’s Pecos Bill. The Western-inspired looks were a nod to the highly anticipated production, which brought a fun Texas twist to the ballet's annual onstage dinner.

    The evening began with Michele Leal, the City of Houston’s director of the Office of Arts, reading a proclamation from Mayor John Whitmire naming September 11, 2026, Houston Ballet Day. The celebratory moment was followed by a pause for silence in remembrance of those lost on 9/11, before the orchestra launched into a spirited rendition of the national anthem.

    The crowd gave a hats-off ovation to Kris and Richard McGee, who chaired the event, which raised more than $320,000 for the Houston Ballet. Co-artistic director Julie Kent honored Carroll and Ray Hugh for more than 40 years of generosity and for helping to inspire and sustain an appreciation for dance in Houston.

    Immediately after the performance, the curtains rose to welcome dinner guests to the opening-night onstage dinner. Completely transformed by Bergner and Johnson Design, the space drew inspiration from Pecos Bill and Texas's natural landscape. Tablescapes included denim, taupe linens, and red gingham napkins set off by centerpieces featuring a colorful bounty of flowers.

    Guests kicked off their Texas-themed meal, prepared by City Kitchen, with a seasonal salad, followed by a main course of beef short rib served with Yukon Gold potato mash, oven-roasted okra, and buttermilk biscuits. Dessert was a classic chocolate pecan tart paired with vanilla bean gelato.

    Boot-wearing VIPs included Kris and Richard McGee; Carroll and Hugh Ray; Sonja Kostich; Julie Kent; Stanton Welch AM; Chad Libertus; Stephanie Tsuru; Melza and Ted Barr; C.C. Conner and David Groover; Jo Furr; Margaret Alkek Williams; David Wuthrich; Bill Stubbs and Kurt Grether; Rose Cullen; Leigh and Reggie Smith; Ileana and Michael Treviño; Shawn Stephens and Jim Jordan; Margaret Cox; Deborah Keyser and James Stafford; Allison and Troy Thacker; Jay Jones and Terry Wayne Jones; Jennifer and Chris Laporte; Leigh and Chris Joseph; Michele Leal; Angie Matula; Akemi Saitoh; Marguerite Swartz; Jerry Ann Woodfin-Costa; Mignon and Steve Gill; Susan and Gary Binney; Christine and Paul Sofka; Sharon Roark; Leslie Alston; Michael Zenker; Michelle Iversen Jeffery; Timothy Wampler; Beth Muecke; Rochelle and Andrew Deiso; Kent Schaffer; Sasha Davis and Geoffrey Oshman; Kevin Potter; Jean and Henry May; Helen and Jim Shaffer; Rini and Edward Ziegler; Erin Patak and Alejandro Aballay; Mitchell George and Stanley Curtis, Jr.

    Houston Ballet season opener 2026

    Photo by Michelle Watson/CatchLight Group

    Honorees Hugh and Carroll Ray and Opening Night Onstage Dinner chairs Kris and Richard McGee.

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