Springtime Splendor

Fashion, fun, and funds soar at Houston's $1 million+ Bayou Bend weekend

Houston's stylish convened for a three-day cultural escape as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston hosted the 2025 Bayou Bend Weekend from March 28 to March 30. With its lush gardens and historic charm, Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens set the stage for a memorable weekend of fashion, family fun, and twilight revelry.

Photo by Wilson Parish

Connor Huff, Alanna Flores, Jim and Cherie Flores, and Caldwell Flores.

The festivities launched Friday afternoon with the eighth Bayou Bend Fashion Show and Luncheon, chaired by Gillian Sarofim. Beneath a sweeping garden tent dressed in olive greens and coral-pink blooms by The Events Company, 200 guests feasted on a City Kitchen-catered menu.

The real treat? Texas-born designer Lela Rose wowed the crowd with 37 radiant looks, her Neiman Marcus-presented runway show earning nods from oohing fashionistas and seasoned museum patrons alike.

Saturday's scene shifted into full whimsy for the annual Children's Party, where more than 250 guests wandered into The Secret Garden, a wonderland imagined by chairs Carrie Compton and Jill Wright. Activities like Mary's Magic Bubbles, Face Paint Petals, and The Enchanted Workshop turned the day into a colorful dreamscape for little ones and their grown-up companions.

Sunday evening’s record-breaking Bayou Bend Garden Party was partly thanks to Lugano’s support as principal underwriter, ushering 325 guests to mingle at twilight under a tent blooming in lavender and spring green hues. Cocktail hour was extra nostalgic as guests sipped Fish House Punch, a concoction dear to Ima Hogg herself, its 293-year-old recipe charmingly printed on custom napkins. Jazz Revisited set a mellow groove before Manhattan amped up the night for dancing under the stars.

Thanks to generous support, the weekend soared past expectations, raising more than $1,275,000 for Bayou Bend's operating budget.

Among those spotted in the chic garden crowd—and it’s quite a list—were Irma Castor, Ashlee Schneider, Ann Bookout, Lilly and Thurmon Andress, Kathy Leigh, Kari Dagley, Tiffany McCauley, Susanne and Bill Pritchard, Clayton Erikson, Polly and Murry Bowden, Denise Monteleone, Meredith and Mason Barker, Alanna Flores, Morgan Allen Neal, Kendall Allen Strait, Logan Dresser, Lisa Dodd, Lilly Cullen, Anne Chao, Carolyn Sabat, Rose Cullen, Anne Duncan, Shelli and Steve Lindley, Nancy and Butch Abendshein, Frances Lummis, Eleanor Lummis, Tye Leon, Betsy Goodman, Lauren Gray, Lauren Reckling, Randa McConn, Christiana Reckling, Barbara Gamson, Sima Ladjevardian, Cherie Lindley, Whitney and Jim Crane, Phoebe Tudor, Liz McIngvale-Mackey, Moti Ferder, Josh Gaynor, Stuart Winston, Leslie Duncan, Nancy and Rich Kinder, Will Mathis, Cherie and Jim Flores, Lynne and Joe Hudson, Franci Neely, Karl and Ann Stern, Lisa and Downing Mears, Kate and Steve Gibson, Diane and David Modesett, Kelly and Bill Montgomery, Laura and Keefer Lehner, Janie and Daniel Zilkha, Cynthia and Tony Petrello, Sara Dodd-Denton and Will Denton, Isabel and Ransom Lummis, and Aliyya and Herman Stude.

museum of fine arts houston bayou bend fundraisers

Picnic Chic

Houston toasts nature and leadership at Memorial Park’s annual gala

Photo by Jenny Antil

Chris Ballard, Nancy and Rich Kinder, and Shellye Arnold.

There are gala nights and then there are nights when the trees themselves seem to raise a glass.

On a picture-perfect evening in April, nearly 350 supporters of Memorial Park Conservancy gathered beneath the native canopy of the Clay Family Eastern Glades for The Park Ball, an annual celebration of one of Houston’s greatest natural treasures.

Helping to orchestrate the evening’s blend of elegance and ecology was a roster of event chairs: Julie and Casey Doherty, Betsy and John Garibaldi, Gayle and Richard Hightower, Tammy and Steven Jenkins, Linda Lorelle and Lou Gregory, Gary Moss, Amy and Adam Newar, Carrie and Al Pepi, Carol and John Porter, and Anita and Gerald Smith.

This year’s theme, picnic-chic, was a love letter to the land, a heartfelt homage to the winding trails, sprawling green spaces, and sun-dappled prairies that define Memorial Park’s 1,100 acres. It was also a moment to reflect and to cheer as guests honored Shellye Arnold for more than a decade of leadership and welcomed Chris Ballard as the Conservancy’s newly named president and CEO.

It was springtime, elevated, and distinctly Houston.

Under Shellye Arnold’s guidance, Memorial Park transformed from a beloved local green space into a nationally recognized model of urban parkland — balancing ecological restoration with accessibility and beauty. Her departure was bittersweet, but the love in the air was undeniable. A proclamation from Houston City Councilmember Abbie Kamin officially declared April 10 as Shellye Arnold Day, applauding her tireless work in cultivating a park that serves both people and planet.

The evening flourished with the smooth sounds of the David Caceres Jazz Quintet, whose melodies floated through the canopy as guests strolled the illuminated paths or lingered beneath chandeliers that seemed to twinkle in time.

The night was also a fundraiser, of course — and a successful one. The Park Ball brought in a cool $750,000, every dollar of which will support the everyday magic of Memorial Park: Maintaining the native prairie grasses, protecting wildlife habitats, and ensuring this urban oasis remains a place of escape and exploration for generations of Houstonians.

In the crowd were Chris and Aubrey Ballard, Nancy and Rich Kinder, Veronica Chapa Gorczynski and John Gorczynski, Giles and Andrea Kibbe, Roxann and Tim Neumann, Rogene Gee Calvert, Emily Clay and Bill Schneidau, Kalinda Campbell, Kevin Foyle, Lissa and Farzanah Gangjee, Lisa Helfman, Elizabeth and Tom Howley, George Johnston and Jaime Loera, Chris Newport, Annise Parker, and Dhiren and Anila Shethia.

Photo by Jenny Antil

Chris Ballard, Nancy and Rich Kinder, and Shellye Arnold.

memorial park fundraisers