What: LCA Houston International Mothers Day Soiree.
Where: Asia Society Texas Center.
The scoop: To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the gala that honors prominent philanthropic mothers of Houston, founder Ruchi Mukherjee asked guests to dress in "Bollywood chic' and many in the crowd of 250 enthusiastically complied. The evening's emcees,KPRC Channel 2 anchor/reporter Andy Cerota and Dr. Sippi Khurana, sparkled in lush Indian eveningwear. Cerota looked dashing in a dark sherwani (a long coat-like garment worn in the Indian subcontinent; this one came for Poshak Hillcroft) while Khurana exuded Bollywood glamour in a Lehenga choli (modeled after a three-piece evening outfit worn by women in ancient India).
Murkherjee wowed the crowd in a sparkling Gharara, a richly-embroidered style from Lucknow, India, where she was born. (It consists of a mid-thigh length tunic and a pair of wide-legged pants, ruched at the knee to flare out dramatically.) She accessorized the outfit with jewelry from her mother.
Other guests sparkled in colorful saris and other native gowns.
The theme extended throughout the building, with an auto-rickshaw photo space, a wall size image of the streets of Mumbai, sari-clad models and a live henna station. Guests were treated to Indian street food, including spinach and feta samosas, and other East-meets-West lite bites and drinks, courtesy of Kiran's, Raja Sweets, Ginn's Courmet, and Radio Milano.
New York-based TV Anchor Rohit Vyas flew in to present awards to honorees, including Merele Yarborough, Dr. Monira Kundi, Toni Tate, Denise O'Brian, Ishwaria Mohan Subbiah, Shabnam Shaikh, Jill Shull, Carrie Brandsberg-Dahl, Brigitte Kalai, Jane Seam, Rekha Muddaraj, and Y. Ping Sun.
Media Appreciation Awards were presented to FOX26 morning news anchor Rita Garcia and CultureMap (John Dascoulias accepted the award on behalf of the lifestyle website) and special elite sponsors: Howard Tate, Amplified Solutions founder Rob Todd, Teresa Reading, and Amerapex Corporation president and CEO Bashar Kalani.
Event co-chair Shawntell McWilliams surprised Mukherjee with a certificate of special Congressional recognition from U.S Rep. Al Green for her work in social causes for women and the underprivileged.
Who: Seen in the crowd were Staci and Quan Henderson, Sobi Qazi, Ella Markovsky, Kanchan Singh, Logan Lester, Rebecca Brinkley, Sameera Faridi and Anas Ahmad, Farida Abjani, Dr. Vanitha Pothuri, Dinah Lin, Keith McWilliams, Mehrnaz Gill, Donatella Bendkenstein, Mika Rao, Robert Tijerina, Janine Iannaelli, Mario Gudmundsson, Maha Rasheed Khan, Yasmine Haddad, Sharron Melton, Shaila Patel, Anika Jackson, Michael Pearce, and Melissa Rascon.
Shawntell McWilliams, Ruchi Mukherjee.
