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

A silent auction featured a range of memorabilia.

Viva la Moda

Havana flair fills the runway at Latin Women’s Initiative fashion fête

Photo by Jacob Power

Rochelle Deiso, Ashlee Rubbo, Naimeh Salem, and Samantha Werber.

Welcome to a Havana-kissed fantasia.

Photo by Jacob Power

Rochelle Deiso, Ashlee Rubbo, Naimeh Salem, and Samantha Werber.

The 24th Annual Latin Women’s Initiative Fashion Show and Luncheon, themes Viva la Comunidad, Viva la Moda, unfolded at the Hilton Americas in a whirl of style and unapologetic Latin flair. More than 900 guests slipped into the scene for an afternoon where the stilettos were sharp, the tequila flowed, and the energy never dipped below high-decibel mode.

Luncheon committee chairman Julie Garza and Latin Women’s Initiative (LWI) president Vicky Dominguez welcomed guests into a space transformed by Johanna Terry Events. The marketplace opened early and quickly turned into its own social runway as shoppers browsed, mingled, and paused for Titanium Tequila tastings. Then came the mariachis, weaving through the ballroom to enthusiastic applause.

The fashion show, presented with Tootsies, delivered exactly what the city’s fashion faithful came for: drama, movement, and Latin designers who understand that clothing should enter a room before you do. Under the creative direction of Fady Armanious and production by Lenny Matuszewski, models swept past towering LED visuals in looks accented with jewelry by Brazilian designer Claudia Lobao, while menswear by Festari added a polished counterpoint. Telemundo Houston produced the event videos, and KPRC’s Daniella Guzman emceed the afternoon.

Nearby, an electric Porsche gleamed beside the stage like a very expensive plus-one.

The luncheon honored María Moncada Alaoui, recognized for her generosity and longstanding commitment to Houston’s community causes.

The event raised more than $550,000 benefiting Sunshine Kids, The Rose, Prelude Music Foundation, Finca Tres Robles, A Small Place Farm, and BridgeYear.

Supporting the cause were April Fabre, Lisa Flores, Lisset Garza Ceron, Omar Alaoui, Patricia Herrera, Rosi Hernandez, Gloria Luna Bounds, Trini Mendenhall-Royalty, Becky Reyes, Maritza Gonzales, Vicki Luna-Lerma and Horacio Lerma, Chree Boydstun, Patricia Garcia, Jolene Treviño, Mari Salazar, Leanne Schneider, Hoda Sana, Xochitl Ljuboja, Cathryn Martinez, Monica Alvarez, Cyndya Garza Roberts, Estela Cockrell, Cinthya Reade, Maria Morales, Jovanny and Samuel Orellana, Anna Reger, Hallie Vanderhider, Debbie Festari, Ally Shell, Edna Meyer-Nelson, Zinat Ahmed, Nora Jarrard, Stephanie Tsuru, Laurie Sanders, and Chelsea Collmer.

fundraisers latin women’s initiative