No amount of precipitation could rain on the pirate parade that was Bayou City Art Festival Downtown's art grabbing frenzy.
When more than 350 buccaneers blitzed Hermann Square Park for "Art Heist: Treasures of the New World" Saturday, they stole Mother Nature's thunder to clear the skies for a happy raid in benefit of the festival's Art Relief Fund and its 14 partnering agencies.
Party captains Julie Pettit and Susan Fowler stayed the course and followed the format of previous heists. According to ticket level, corsairs would have seconds to pillage a collection of pieces donated by this year's participating artists and get out of the way for the next wave of attacks. KHOU Ch. 11 anchor Len Cannon, as emcee, kept the throng of bandits well behaved as they pored over the trove of riches.
When all the loot had been spoken for — and more cash had been accrued through the silent auction and raffle — executive director Kelly Kindred could smile knowing that more than $50,000 had been raised for the Art Colony Association, the nonprofit that oversees the Bayou City Art Festival.
Adding to the Caribbean ambiance were high-energy tunes courtesy of DJ Sun and a feast prepared by Melange Catering.
In the crowd were Laura Veale, Cortney Hancock, Clare Leppert, Carol Buckley, Kathleen Sanchez, Robyn Vermeil, Heidi Armstrong, John Lopez, John de la Cruz, Dana and Chris Breining, Freddy Lopez and Kelly Reynolds.
Allie Danziger, from left, Jenny Selber, Laura Littlejohn and Kaitlyn Dubose at Bayou City Art Festival Downtown's Art Heist.
