YP Social Datebook

Eleven fall parties that should be on every young professional's social calendar

As you can probably tell, we at CultureMap love our young professionals and applaud them for getting started on the path to philanthropy and community support at an early stage in their careers. This fall they are off to a roaring start in supporting everything from the arts to healthcare.

The season is packed with fun and informative gatherings among the city's burgeoning number of young professional groups and everyone is invited to join the organizations and then join the parties. Herewith, a look at a number of YP gatherings that you won't want to miss in the coming months.

The Ensemble Theatre's Act One Young Professionals, "A Nostalgic Night of Games," Saturday, September 12

In celebration of the group's fifth anniversary, Act One is partnering with Time2Play for a night of fun and games at the theater. Think games like Taboo and Sorry and social games like Twister, Simon Says and Wii Skiing.

Admission: $20. Details here.

The Houston Area Urban League's Young Professionals "Opulence Casino Night," Saturday, September 12

The Rice Mansion becomes casino royale when this lively group takes over for an evening of casino games and bingo complemented by a photo booth and raffle opportunities. Guests will also learn about HAUL's community work and ways to get involved.

Admission: $40 to $75. Details here.

KIPP PALS"Back to School Happy Hour," Thursday, September 17

More than 200 young professionals have already signed up for the blast that will take over Giulietta Sociale on Washington Avenue at 6 pm. KIPP teachers and organizers will be on hand to talk about ways of volunteering with the successful charter school program.

Admission free. Details here.

Houston Grand Opera's Opening Night (ON), Wednesday and Thursday, September 23 and 24

ON joins forces with Houston Young Professionals for the Arts for back to back nights of social mixers following performances of HGO's world premiere of O Columbia. The performance and post-performance mixer take place at Revention Music Center, formerly Bayou Music Center.

Tickets: $20. Details here.

Alley Theatre's Scene Season Kick-Off Party, Friday, September 25

This two-act evening begins with cocktails and a tour of the newly renovated theater and continues with party time in the theater where renowned Underbelly will provide catering and A Fistful of Soul will deliver the dance tunes. Guests will be among the first to see the theater's spiffy facelift.

Tickets: $75 or $50 with a Scene membership. Details: here.

Houston Symphony Young Associates Council season kickoff, Wednesday, September 30

With Ting Bresnahan, Valerie Dieterich, Christine Falgout, Alexandra Gottschalk and Catherine Matthews hosting this mixer at Burberry in the Galleria, you can be assured that this will be one power-packed cocktail party. This is an invitation only event with young community leaders and upcoming philanthropists invited via the Houston Symphony.

Details: Darryl de Mello, 713-337-8529 or darryl.demello@houstonsymphony.org

The Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation Young Professionals Group "Jungle Book Gala," Friday, October 16

Party animals with a bent toward literacy will find a wild time at this black-tie dinner and dancing evening taking place at the Houston Zoo's Jaguar Habitat. Organizers promise interaction with the big cats and dancing to a live band.

Tickets: $130. Information is available here.

Houston Ballet's Ballet Barre "Ballet & Bubbles" early evening, Thursday, October 22

This evening provides a sneak peek at the inner workings of Houston Ballet’s rehearsal and artistic process. Participants attend a private company rehearsal at Houston Ballet Center for Dance, followed by a Q&A with artistic director Stanton Welch. Champagne for all!

Admission complimentary for Ballet Barre members, $25 for guests. Information here.

Friends of St. Jude and Young Professionals in Energy "St. Jude Hope Benefit," Friday, October 23

The two YP groups join forces for the Old Hollywood glamour-filled evening replete with food, drink and dancing. The Royal Sonesta Houston is the party site.

Early bird tickets (purchase by October 19): $75, at the door: $100. Details here.

Memorial Park ConservancyUrban Wild's "Bridge Bash," Thursday, November 12

The park's Living Bridge really does come to life when young park supporters gather on the bridge for food, music and fun. Mark Salvie, Nikken Prabanto and Connor Walsh comprise the committee putting the finishing touches on this night under the stars.

Admission: Free for Urban Wild members, $50 for guests. Details: Averil Brannen, 713-863-8403 or abrannen@memorialparkconservancy.org.

Hermann Park Conservancy Urban Green annual fall bash, Thursday, November 19

This event is still in the planning stages but be assured that Urban Green knows how to throw a party. And this will likely be one that you won't want to miss.

Check later for details here.

Hermann Park Conservancy's Urban Green group always parties in the park.

Hermann Park's Urban Green party attendees

Photo by Andrew Richardson

Hermann Park Conservancy's Urban Green group always parties in the park.

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Hottest headlines of 2024

Fabulous fêtes sparkle in Houston's most-read society stories of 2024

Courtesy of LCAHouston

2024 LCAHouston International Mothers’s Day Honorees.

Editor's note: As we look back at the most-read society stories from 2024, we see Houston philanthropists filling the tables and dance floors at lavish luncheons and glittering galas. Readers also savored a peek inside a glam Houston Rodeo VIP tent, mourned the loss of a Houston-born movie star, and more.

Here are the 10 most popular society stories of the year:

1. Houston moms sparkle with international flair at fashionable luncheon. One doesn’t have to meander far from home in Houston to have a worldly experience. On Saturday, May 11, 2024 — a day before Mother’s Day — a stopover for the 11th Annual International Mother’s Day Luncheon presented by LCAHouston sure beats the layover often necessary to gallivant across the globe. Leave the luggage at home for this one, kids.

Courtesy of LCAHouston

2024 LCAHouston International Mother’s Day honorees.

2. Peek inside Rodeo Cook-off's most over-the-top tent: champagne, caviar, and Big stars. In the Texas-sized universe that is the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, few things are more exclusive than the private tents of the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, which turned 50 this year. And arguably, the hottest, most in-demand wristband for the Bar-B-Que Contest (we know it as the Cook-off) is the Cotton ‘Q Clu b, hosted by Cook-off sponsor Cotton Holdings. We peeked inside.

3. Intrepid actor Shelley Duvall, who grew up in Houston, dies at 75. Shelley Duvall, the intrepid, Texas-born movie star whose wide-eyed, winsome presence was a mainstay in the films of Robert Altman and who co-starred in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, died on July 11, 2024. She was 75.

4. 3 Houston A-list chefs headline fundraising dinner honoring Julia Child. Three of Houston’s best chefs teamed up to pay tribute to a culinary icon. Chris Williams (Lucille’s), Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn, Navy Blue), and James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd collaborated on a meal that honored the legacy of Julia Child, February 8 at the historic Eldorado Ballroom.

5. Music legends turn tunes into $1.25 million raised for Texas Children’s. Let's pack 16 Grammy awards from among 47 nominations, American Idol fame, a bunch of Billboard chart-topping hits, and a touch of Broadway spirit into a big party ballroom. One could say that "An Evening With Legends" truly “had it all,” which also happens to be the title of Katharine McPhee’s 2010 single that reached No. 2 on the adult contemporary charts.

Texas Children's Evening With Legends 2024 Katie Dillon, David Foster, Katherine McPhee, and Lisa McCoy. Photo by Jenny Antill; Courtesy of Texas Children’s Hospital

6. Sold-out crowd toasts Houston's culinary stars at 2024 Tastemaker Awards. A sold-out crowd filled Silver Street Studios on March 27 for the 2024 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. Held annually since 2014, the ceremony recognizes the best of the best in Houston dining. It draws a who’s-who of chefs, bartenders, restaurateurs, and other notables who gather to celebrate Houston’s dynamic culinary scene.

7. Young professionals celebrate Houston Symphony’s grand finale. Ravel’s full Daphnis et Chloé with chorus and music director Juraj Valčuha on the podium. Former Houston Symphony dirigent Christoph Eschenbach leading the massive Symphony No. 8 by Bruckner with more horns and Wagner tubas than one can count. As the 2023-24 Houston Symphony season came to a sweet and satisfying cadence, it was the Young Associates Council group that marked such a celebratory coda with a gathering at Asia Society Texas Center on Wednesday, May 22.

8. Alex and Reagan Bregman get Wild at star-studded launch party for bomb new food line. Only Alex Bregman, his tireless crew, and his endless business and charity interests could make Major League Baseball’s quiet offseason seem so 24/7. The latest: Wild Sol, the spicy and saucy new Southwest food brand that Alex and his wife Reagan have created — and just toasted with a totally fire launch party at EaDo hotspot Chapman & Kirby.

9. Pulitzer winner Anthony Doerr headlines Houston's sold-out Poets & Writers Ball. All the literary light shined bright at the 2024 Inprint Poets & Writers Ball featuring Pulitzer Prize winning author of All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr. The record-breaking evening at the River Oaks Country Club celebrated both the power of literature and Houston’s foremost literary organization and raised over half a million dollars for Inprint’s many literary performance and educational programs, as well as support for Houston-based emerging writers.

10. Magical moonlight soirée celebrates 100 years of MFAH’s artful women. Something for the kiddos, a luncheon for sartorialists, and a pastoral evening soirée. Such was the bustling weekend at the former home of the First Lady of Texas, Ima Hogg, concluding on April 14 with the 2024 Bayou Bend Garden Party, themed “Moonlight Sonata.”