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Blue plate special
Recipe for Success will welcome the fall season with its Blue Plate Special Café & Harvest Lunch Nov. 10 at Hilton Americas. Event chairs Karen and Frank Steininger have planned the festivities, including a Harvest Market, a pop-up boutique offering local, handmade products and foods, and a seated lunch with MSNBC’s chief Washington correspondent Norah O’Donnell as the keynote speaker. Launched in 2008 with national TV host Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Harvest Lunch is the largest fundraising event for Recipe for Success, which is dedicated to combating the epidemic of childhood obesity. Pictured is (from left) Gary Brock with Harvest Lunch chairs Karen and Frank Steininger. Go to www.recipe4success.org for info.
True gem in Spring Branch
The Bendwood School’s Fall Bazaar is slated for Nov. 6, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., with more than 70 merchants offering home décor items, gourmet food, gardening, clothing, hand-crafted jewelry, sporting gifts, novelties and accessories. The school is located at 12750 Kimberley Lane. Kids can enjoy inflatables, carnival games, face painting, a cake walk and more. Known to local residents as the neighborhood’s academically gifted and talented elementary school, Bendwood draws more than 500 children from 25 Spring Branch ISD elementary schools. Children who test into the GT program from other schools ride a bus one day each week and spend the day at Bendwood working on enrichment activities and learning about the law, medicine, science and more. Bendwood also has a preschool program that serves children ages 3–5 with a wide range of disabilities. Pictured are members of the planning committee finalizing details for the upcoming bazaar. They include (from left) Laura Otillar, Kerry Stovall, Karen Madaras, Carol Dalgish Tesarek and Bridget Williams.
Helping the homeless
Girl Scout Brownie Troop #18383, consisting of Wilchester Elementary second graders, donated $500 to the Star of Hope Mission. In lieu of having a troop party, the girls chose to instead donate proceeds from Girl Scout cookie sales to the homeless shelter. The troop sold 936 boxes of cookies last year, raising $2,752 for the San Jacinto Girls Scout Council, with a net of about $500 set aside for their troop. Star of Hope representative Mary Cantu (pictured, standing in back) accepted the donation at the troop’s September meeting and explained that the Star of Hope Mission provides for homeless people in our community. After learning about the shelter’s ongoing needs, the girls decided to have a “clean your closet” clothing drive to collect clothing donations. Troop members who delivered their check donation included (back row, from left) Annie Tellez, Hailey Syamken, Meredith LaBaume, Caroline Parnell, Caroline Emery, Kate Delgado, Caroline Ashley, (front row, from left) Caroline Dina, Maddie Badger, Grace Goodson, Maggie Vierra, Maddie Mae Riechel and Kate Ashmore.
Flying away to Never Land
Second Baptist Middle School is presenting the world premiere of a version of Disney’s Peter Pan Nov. 19-21. Cast and crew members have collaborated with the writers and musicians at Disney on the middle-school adaptation of the popular musical. Second Baptist staffers say that Disney wrote a pilot version for middle-school performances and asked Second Baptist to be the first in the nation to perform the adaptation. Students have had the opportunity to experience first-hand the process of writing and composing dialogue and lyrics with talented creators in the industry. Under the direction of Cindy Blades and Claire Copeland, the show includes cast members (front row, from left) Hollyn Coleman, Mary Kerr Winters, Robyn Whitaker, Morgan LePori, Arlin Dawson, (back row, from left) Thomas Csorba, Victoria Hartman and Caleb Ralston. Showtimes are Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. Call 713-365-2310 or go to www.secondbaptistschool.org/peterpan for more info.
Taking steps toward a cure
Thousands of walkers of all ages are expected to be downtown Nov. 14 for the Walk MS: Downtown Houston to raise funds to find a cure for multiple sclerosis, a debilitating neurological disease. Pictured at last year’s walk are Heather and Jon Berglund. They will walk to support Heather’s sister, who was diagnosed with MS eight years ago. The 2010 Walk MS: Houston series, presented by KBR, expects to attract 4,500 walkers from Houston and surrounding areas who will participate in five walks across the area. Go to www.walkMStexas.org for more info.
Lemonade Stand
Kids of all ages thanked their lucky stars that they live near Margaret Pichon when various schools started back in session. Being the generous neighbor that she is, Margaret set up her own free-lemonade stand on Cobblestone Drive, not far from Bunker Hill Elementary, at the end of the first week of school. Her stand offered cold beverages, cookies, candy and bubbles to celebrate the beginning of the school year. Margaret is pictured (in back) with some of the many children who stopped by for surprise refreshments, including (from left) Sam Curry, Mykaela Lawson-Ho, Erin Johnson, Kyle Childress, Mitchell Cooksey, Colin Guinn, Jade Lawson-Ho, John Drexelius, Claire Childress, Harris Manchac, Chase Curry, Collin Curry, Will Manchac, Clayton Manchac and Claire Gleaves.
A modern-day Romeo and Juliet
St. Agnes Academy presents the timeless play of Romeo and Juliet, set in the 1970s with the theme of “Peace, Love and Rock-n-Roll.” The show is being performed outdoors in the school’s courtyard among the oak trees and under the stars, with Juliet’s balcony encircling a massive tree trunk climbing with ivy and vines. Cast members from St. Agnes, Strake Jesuit, and St. Thomas High School have been studying with the fight coordinators from Houston’s Alley Theatre and the University of Houston School of Theatre since August to prepare for the fight scenes. The cast includes Rachel Cantrell (as Juliet), Chantelle Bacigalupo, Molly Brown, Molly Chang, Kaitlin Karcher, Kendall Nibert and Ahmed Mustafa. Pictured are cast members during rehearsals. Show times are Nov. 5-6 and 11-13 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m., with free admission to middle school students with proof of enrollment. Tickets are $12. To reserve tickets, contact (fmiller@st-agnes.org) fmiller (at) st-agnes (dot) org.
Bringing hope to children
Casa de Esperanza de los Ninos, a residential safe place for children under 6 who are in crisis due to abuse, neglect or the effects of HIV, was the beneficiary of the grand opening of Americas River Oaks. Ceviche and mojitos were served during the festivities, and the cocktail-reception crowd included Dan and Virginia Steppe, Marsha and Charlie Parker, and Connie and Tommy Wright. Guests ooh’d and aah’d at the eye-popping interiors, a signature of many of Michael Cordua’s restaurants. Seen snapping up the appetizers were honorary chairs Tami and Frank Erwin mingling with Greta and Chuck Zimmerman. More than $30,000 was raised during the opening-night festivities.
Embracing uniqueness
The Westview School, which specializes in working with children who have high-functioning autism-spectrum disorders, Asperger’s and pervasive development disorder, held its first benefit luncheon at the Junior League of Houston. Chaired by Lisa Graham-Garza, the event was attended by 300 school supporters and raised more than $100,000. Westview is the only school of its kind in Houston, focusing solely on these disabilities, and offers a curriculum that uses many methods to meet students’ needs. Seen in the crowd of supporters were Phoebe Ghabriel, Dana Lang, Colleen McKeon, Hilda Vollero and Asha Oza. Pictured enjoying the event are (from left) Paul and Penny Khuri.
Bee Seen in Buzz About Town
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