The Tailgate

The Tailgate 2025 wins over Houston with gameday food and fun

A relatively mild late fall evening set the stage for the fourth edition of The Tailgate, CultureMap’s all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit.

For the second year in a row, the (mostly) outdoor event took place at 8th Wonder in EaDo. More than 500 attendees enjoyed a stroll through the venue’s expansive backyard, which was loaded with vendors serving a wide array of food and drinks. Many attendees embraced the gameday atmosphere by sporting jerseys from their favorite college and pro teams.

VIP attendees enjoyed a special meet-and-greet with two Houston sports legends. Former Astro Ryan Pressly, a member of the club’s World Series-winning 2022 squad, and former Texan Owen Daniels, a fan favorite tight end who won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, posed for pictures, chatted with fans, and signed autographs. For those who are curious, Daniels affirmed to this reporter that he’s optimistic about the Texans' chances to bounce back on Monday Night Football after losing their week one matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.

Of course, no tailgate is complete without delicious food. Attendees were spoiled for choice from so many participating restaurants:

Assorted sandwiches from Antone's Famous Po' Boys
A Bad Chx food truck serving chicken tenders and cheesy chicken sandwich sliders
Dry-aged beef kielbasa-stuffed pierogis with honey jalapeño sour cream from Bayou Butchers
BB's Tex-Orleans brought smoked boudin links, fresh from The Best Stop and served with Creole mustard and saltines, and Maw Maw's chicken and sausage gumbo
Pork and chicken sliders from Christian's Tailgate
Classic Chubbies and Sweethearts (buttermilk-fried chicken tossed in bacon jam and Chubbie sauce) from Chubbies Sliders
Motherland pizza from Coastline Pizza
Common Bond's shrimp & grits: blackened Gulf shrimp, cheese grits, Creole sauce, applewood-smoked bacon, cherry tomatoes, and herb salad
Wood-grilled chicken and steak tacos with grilled onions, pico de gallo, and a salsa bar from Little Rey
Gulf shrimp and Texas peach ceviche from Local Foods
Loro's pulled pork sliders with pineapple adobo
Phat Eatery's Malaysian chicken curry
Smash burgers from Pincho Burgers + Kebabs
Cheese and pepperoni pizza from Pizaro's Pizza
Russo's New York Pizzeria served Sicilian arancini and cup char pepperoni al vodka
Pickled green tomato crawfish salad on a roll from Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Savoy brought: lollipop lamb chops, mini lamb and mini seafood empanadas, chicken sliders, and both buffalo and barbecue wings
TASTE Kitchen + Bar also served lamb chops
Nashville Hot chicken sliders on Hawaiian rolls with Thunder Fries (seasoned waffle fries with spicy mayo and ancho chile honey butter) from The Waffle Bus
American Roadside sliders and peri peri "pulled" chicken sliders from Traveler's Cart

Fans had a number of choices for refreshments, including THC seltzers, beer from our sponsor FLIGHT by Yuengling, and other fun beverages, featuring spirits from our sponsors: Patrón Tequila, Teeling Whiskey, and St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

After four rounds of voting, modern Mexican restaurant Mayahuel emerged as the winner in our Top Taco Tournament. At the event, attendees selected the jerk lamb chops from TASTE Kitchen + Bar as their favorite of the night.

Local sports teams also kept fans entertained. The Texans had cheerleaders on hand to sign autographs, along with a game to complete a NFL-style passing drill. The Astros showed off the 2017 and 2022 World Series Trophies. And Houston soccer stars the Dynamo and Dash were on hand to tout their upcoming seasons.

One of the night’s unexpected surprises was how challenging it was to pilot the Yuengling drone. Much laughter could be heard as people ran over obstacles instead of avoiding them.

At the end of the night, there was only one complaint to be made for The Tailgate: It had to come to an end for another season.

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The Tailgate was sponsored by FLIGHT by Yuengling, Puttshack, Mizzen+Main, Sysco To Go, Antone's Famous Po' Boys, NXT LVL Events, Patrón Tequila, Teeling Whiskey, St-Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Caroline Barton, Emily Cary, Samantha Holsomback, Braden Navarre, and Orbit.

Just Brilliant

Houston Grand Opera bids beloved director farewell at $1.8M gala

Photo by Dave Rossman

Tania Kanga, Nancy Gonzalez, Denise Reyes, Ona Alicia Okeke, and Destiny Fernandisse.

Top this, Houston social scene.

Houston Grand Opera’s latest fête glowed with the kind of radiance you can’t bottle, no matter how many votives you line up. The 2026 Opera Ball, dubbed Brilliance Ball: A Celebration of Light and Legacy, set the Wortham Theater Center aglow, leaving this guest with one lingering question: How exactly does one top this next year?

Chaired by longtime HGO supporters John Turner and Jerry Fischer, the evening was a love letter to opera and a curtain call for honoree Patrick Summers, whose 25-plus years of HGO artistic leadership have shaped Houston’s operatic identity into a global phenomenon.

Nearly 400 guests gathered in white tie finery, drifting through a cocktail hour where caviar-topped blinis made the rounds and martinis appeared out of nowhere. The Events Company leaned into the theme with softly illuminated dreamscape of candlelight, gold accents, and cloudlike white florals.

Soprano Renée Fleming mused over her decades-long artistic friendship with Summers. Accompanied by chief artistic officer Richard Bado on the piano, Fleming’s set included Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro” to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” to a number that could be the closest the chanteuse will get to Hip Hop.

Khori Dastoor paid tribute to Summers’ “unshakable vision,” while the maestro himself reminded the crowd that Houston’s role in the future of opera is significant. The presentation of the Silver Rose award was a gorgeous moment that marked the close of a transformative chapter as Summers prepares to step into his next role as Music Director Emeritus.

Incoming music director James Gaffigan and wife Marta made a transatlantic cameo, flying in just for the occasion before heading back to Valencia the next day. Despite canceled flights and the typical ugh that’s flying nowadays, we did hear the couple made it back to Spain in one piece.

With a starting bid of $150,000, a Steinway Spirio — pre-loaded with Summers’ performances and signed by Fleming — was another star of the show. The Big Beyond ensured the dance floor stayed anything but theoretical well into the night. Some of us, not quite ready for party to end, let Fleming’s Bel Canto album — with Summers at the helm — spill through the speakers on the drive home before we inevitably turned into pumpkins.

The ball raised more than $1.8 million in support of HGO’s productions and community initiatives.

CultureMap seen were Farida Abjani, Tom Ajamie, Margaret Alkek Williams, Abdullah and Asuman Antepli, Ann and Jonathan Ayre, Chris Bacon and Craig Miller, Astley Blair and Viviana Jolie, Kristy and Chris Bradshaw, Zane and Brady Carruth, Theresa Chang, Louise Chapman, Jane Cizik, Cheryl and Mike Clancy, Brittany and Adam Clark, Isabel and Danny David, Anna Dean, Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees, Marty Dudley, Rachel and Warren Ellsworth, Elaine Finger, Jen and Ben Fink, Claire Liu and Joe Greenberg, Matthew Healey and Denise Reyes, Elizabeth Husseini and Richard Husseini, Teresa and José Ivo, Mady and Ken Kades, Brigitte Kalai, Elizabeth and Bill Kroger, Blair and Barbara Labatt, Michele Leal, Sarah and Bryant Lee, Matthew Loden, Beth Madison, David Peavy and Stephen McCauley, Laura McWilliams, Denise Monteleone, Beth Muecke, Terrylin Neale, Kelly and Cody Nicholson, David Peck and Michelle Phillips, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Rosemin Premji, Rebecca Rabinow and Matthew Ringel, Kelly and David Rose, Louisa Sarofim, Dian and Harlan Stai, Sarah and Aaron Stai, Marguerite Swartz, Valerie and Stephen Toups, Phoebe and Bobby Tudor, Jesse Tutor, Geraldina and Scott Wise, and Huda and William Zoghbi.

Photo by Dave Rossman

Tania Kanga, Nancy Gonzalez, Denise Reyes, Ona Alicia Okeke, and Destiny Fernandisse.

fundraisers galas houston grand opera

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Houston Grand Opera bids beloved director farewell at $1.8M gala