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    Hair-raising Celebration

    Anna Wintour's favorite new Houston salon rocks the kasbah with belly dancers at wild opening

    Clifford Pugh
    Oct 9, 2013 | 11:18 am

    Patrons of Q [the salon] moved to a Moroccan beat at the recent grand opening celebration of the new salon and spa on West Alabama, near The Menil Collection. For one night, owner Joel Quinones and manager Brad Brandt turned the spacious patio into a Montrose kasbah with patterned rugs, plush sofas accentuated with bright scarves and pillows, multi-colored lanterns and areas for hookah partakers.

    A couple of curvaceous belly dancers from BellaDonna Dance Company gyrated through the crowd, who sipped on champagne, cocktails and Moroccan-inspired appetizers from Melange Events.

    The duo came up with the theme because the upstairs salon, with Jonathan Adler-inspired orange-and-white walls, ceramic elephants at every stylist station and mesmerizing artwork by Houston artist Ryan Geiger (one large painting displays the words "Everything"), seemed to call out for an out-of-box celebration. A handwritten note from Anna Wintour is displayed prominently in the salon (Wintour usually stops by while in Houston with her main squeeze, Shelby Bryan, who was raised here) and guests received a goodie bag filled with Stephen Knoll hair care and beauty products, which are faves of the Vogue magazine editor.

    Offering the duo best wishes were Taylor and Shannon Recther, Tracy Vaught, Gaynor and Anthony Banham, Nicole Perdue, Killian and Douglas Gilbert-Smith, Alice Oehmig, Heidi Dugan, Caroline Coleman Stender, Lori Freese, Mandy Zuniga and Sara Dodd.

    Also taking part in the fun were Peter Remington, Jeff Gremillion, Bill Hines, Victor Biega, Pam Mitchell, Greg Morago, Deborah Huston, John Dascoulias, Dan and Pamela Russ and Joan Tankersley.

    Brad Brandt, from left, Alice Oehmig and Joel Quinones at the Q [the salon] Moroccan-themed party.

    Brad Brandt, from left, Alice Oehmig and Joel Quinones at the Q The Salon Moroccan theme party September 2013
    Photo by Daniel Ortiz
    Brad Brandt, from left, Alice Oehmig and Joel Quinones at the Q [the salon] Moroccan-themed party.
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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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