Shop for spring at Houston's top charity fundraisers

SHOP FOR A CAUSE

Photo by Painted Peacock Photography

As spring shopping fever surges, two upcoming events will help inspire a thoughtful approach to seasonal fashion and home décor. The Houston Junior Forum and The American Heart Association invite Houstonians to shop for a cause at their charitable affairs.

Photo by Painted Peacock Photography

April Salazar at the 'Shop With Heart" launch at Kuhl-Linscomb in 2022.

During both shopping events, customers can purchase high-end frocks, fun trends, gourmet food, and everything in between from notable retailers. Here are all the details to inspire an elite spring shopping list.

The City Market Benefitting The Houston Junior Forum

Kick off the spring season by perusing more than 65 retailers at the second annual The City Market. The two-day shopping event, held at the Bayou City Event Center on March 30-31, will benefit The Houston Junior Forum, a women's non-profit organization committed to providing charitable services for children, youth, women, and senior adults in the greater Houston area.

The event is the primary fundraiser for the 77-year-old charitable organization. Savvy shoppers will find everything from fashion and accessories to home décor, unique gifts, and gourmet food. Retailers include Boots & Bows Smocking Co, Creek Road Designs, Brenham Kitchens, Freida Rothman, Hila, One Hip Mom, and more. A complete list of retailers is available here.

The City Market has several ticket packages, making it easy to shop for a cause. Shoppers can participate in everything from a preview party to shopping and lunch or a general admission ticket. Prices range from $20 to $275 for the two-day event.

Shop With Heart Card Benefitting the American Heart Association

Prepare for fabulous discounts during a ten-day premier shopping event benefiting the American Heart Association. The Shop with Heart Card runs April 21 through 30, and cards are available to purchase online or for pre-order before they go on sale on March 31. Shoppers looking for a 20-percent discount on regularly priced merchandise and services at many of Houston's premier retailers can purchase a card for a minimum donation of $50.

One hundred percent of the proceeds benefit the American Heart Association. Retailers include Abejas Boutique, Bering's Hardware, The Container Store, Christy Lynn, David Peck, Frock Shop, Intermix, Kuhl-Linscomb, Tootsies, Weidner Hasou & Co, and so many more – a complete list of participating retailers is available here.

The American Heart Association will host an after-hours soiree at Kuhl-Linscomb to launch the ten-day event. The Shop with Heart Card Kickoff event will be Thursday, April 20, from 6-8 pm. Everyone is invited to purchase a Shop With Heart Card to receive discounts at an extensive list of local retailers and restaurants, with a $50 minimum donation. At the event, shoppers will enjoy light bites, drinks, door prizes, and a DJ.

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CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Houston's red-hot restaurateur Ben Berg dishes on his 9 hotly anticipated new concepts

What's Eric Eating Episode 284

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Berg Hospitality Group founder Ben Berg joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss his growing company. Currently, Berg operates eight Houston-area bars and restaurants, but that number will double by the end of 2023.

With that in mind, Sandler and Berg go through all of them with the restaurateur describing each concept and providing an updated timeline for each. They are:

Annabelle’s, an French-inspired brasserie
Benny Chows, a Cantonese-inspired Chinese American restaurant
Buttermilk Baby, a retro-styled soda fountain
Canopy Social, a rooftop bar
Dune Road, a New England seafood restaurant
La Table, a fine dining French restaurant
Prime 131, a live fire steakhouse
Tavola, a Roman-style Italian restaurant
Turner’s Cut, a luxurious steakhouse

Sandler asks Berg what the company is doing to prepare itself for all this growth.

We’ve invested a lot in people. We’ve brought in a lot of hires who have a lot more experience than I do, or, at least, some of them have years more experience. It’s kind of exciting,” he says.

“In the past two years, we’ve created the Berg Hospitality mission, our values. We’re in this position now, three years ago we had 13 or 14 group employees. Right now, we have 32. It’s merging these personalities, getting the strategy correct, and creating an infrastructure to support the stores.”

Listen to the full interview to hear Berg discuss the other styles of restaurant he’d like to do one day. He also shares the one Houston restaurant he’s been visiting regularly.

Prior to the interview, Sandler and co-host Linda Salinas discuss the news of the week. Their topics include: new owners acquiring Weights + Measures, New York City-based coffee shop and cafe Citizens’ plans to open in Montrose; and Bobby Heugel adding daytime coffee service to Refuge.

In the restaurant of the week segment, Salinas and Sandler share first impressions of Ojo de Agua, the Mexico City-based all-day cafe that just opened in River Oaks District.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. Listen to it Saturdays at 2 pm on ESPN 97.5.

Houston named 4th most populous city in U.S. — with the greatest housing growth — in new Census report

welcome, newstonians

Well, this explains rush hour.

Houston is the fourth most populous U.S. city, and saw the ninth largest numeric population gain of any U.S. city in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest findings.

From July 2021 to July 2022, Houston added 11,223 new residents, bringing its total population to 2,302,878. By comparison, San Antonio (population just under 1.5 million) is the seventh largest.

Harris County also led the way with the highest numeric gains for housing units in the nation, at 32,694, coinciding with recent reports deeming Houston the most active real estate market within the last decade.

Together, Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land ranked No. 5 in the list of the 10 most populous U.S. metro areas (as opposed to the cities, themselves). Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington ranked one place higher at No. 4.

Texas cities and towns dominated every list in the new Census Bureau report. "Texas was the only state that had more than three cities on both the 15 fastest-growing large cities and towns by numeric change and by percent change lists," the report says.

Fastest-growing cities
Six out of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the United States are in Texas, and with one Houston suburb – Conroe – landing at No. 11. Conroe had an 6.3 percent population increase from July 2021 to July 2022, bringing the city's total population just over 101,400.

The north Austin suburb of Georgetown had the highest growth rate in the nation, at 14.4 percent, bringing the city's total population to more than 86,500 residents. Surrounding Austin suburbs Kyle and Leander landed in No. 3 and No. 4 with the same population growth rate of 10.9 percent.

The not-so-little Dallas suburb Little Elm zoomed all the way up to No. 5 with an 8 percent population increase, bringing the city's total population to more than 55,300 residents. New Braunfels, which is outside San Antonio, came in at No. 13.

The top 15 fastest-growing large cities in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Georgetown, Texas
No. 2 – Santa Cruz, California
No. 3 – Kyle, Texas
No. 4 – Leander, Texas
No. 5 – Little Elm, Texas
No. 6 – Westfield, Indiana
No. 7 – Queen Creek, Arizona
No. 8 – North Port, Florida
No. 9 – Cape Coral, Florida
No. 10 – Port St. Lucie, Florida
No. 11 – Conroe, Texas
No. 12 – Maricopa, Arizona
No. 13 – New Braunfels, Texas
No. 14 – Lehi, Utah
No. 15 – Medford, Massachusetts

Largest population increases
When it comes to most populous cities overall, Texas takes five of the 15 top spots with Houston claiming No. 1 in the state. After Houston's No. 4 national rank with its population of over 2.3 million, San Antonio earned No. 7 with over 1.47 million residents, and Dallas at No. 9 with just under 1.3 million residents. Austin barely made it into the top 10 with over 974,000 residents, and Fort Worth ranked No. 13.

The top 15 most populous American cities are:

No. 1 – New York City
No. 2 – Los Angeles
No. 3 – Chicago
No. 4 – Houston
No. 5 – Phoenix
No. 6 – Philadelphia
No. 7 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 8 – San Diego, California
No. 9 – Dallas
No. 10 – Austin, Texas
No. 11 - Jacksonville, Florida
No. 12 - San Jose, California
No. 13 - Fort Worth, Texas
No. 14 - Columbus, Ohio
No. 15 - Charlotte, North Carolina

Greatest housing growth
The report also discovered that housing inventory skyrocketed by 1.6 million units between 2021 and 2022. Texas had the third fastest housing growth with a rate of 2.3 percent, versus Utah, which had the fastest growth at 3.3 percent.

In addition to Harris County, the only other Texas county that made the top five for the highest housing growth was Travis (No. 3).

The full report can be found on census.gov.

It only takes 3 steps to get medical cannabis in Texas

Easy As 1, 2, 3

As the Texas Legislature convenes for its 88^th session, many patients, physicians, and advocates are pushing for expansions to the Compassionate Use Program, the state’s medical cannabis program.

Since 2015, the program has expanded twice, allowing for more than 150 conditions to qualify for medical cannabis.

For thousands of patients in the state, medical cannabis provides a safe alternative to opioid medications and effective relief for symptoms like pain, insomnia, anxiety, nausea, muscle spasms, and more.

Texas Original, the state’s leading medical cannabis provider, makes the process of getting a prescription easy. Receiving a medical cannabis prescription starts with a few simple steps:

Step 1: Find out if you qualify
The first step is to find out if you qualify by scheduling an appointment with a doctor registered in the Compassionate Use Program.

Several registered doctors offer convenient virtual appointments through telemedicine practices so patients can meet with the doctor from anywhere in Texas.

To set your appointment, visit Texas Original’s website and fill out the form. Veterans, first responders, teachers, and medical professionals are eligible to receive a free first appointment for a six-month prescription. If you belong to one of these eligible groups, simply check the box on the form.

Step 2: Talk to a doctor
During your appointment, the doctor will review your medical records and confirm if you are eligible for medical cannabis, then discuss your treatment plan.

Once approved, your doctor will add your prescription to the online medical cannabis registry, where it can be accessed by licensed dispensaries.

Step 3: Receive a prescription
After your appointment, call 512-614-0343 to place your first order. Texas Original offers the state’s leading medical-grade cannabis products, including Texas’ first fast-acting medical cannabis gummies.

All products undergo rigorous testing and the results are published publicly on Texas Original’s website for patients to access anytime.

The dispensary team will help you select your products, then schedule you for a pickup at a location nearest to you or arrange home delivery.

Medical cannabis provides Texans an all-natural option that may help alleviate symptoms like pain, insomnia, and anxiety that are commonly associated with approved medical conditions.

If you or a loved one are ready to start your journey with medical cannabis, reach out to Texas Original to get started. Plus, enjoy a 20 percent discount on your first order at Texas Original.

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