Houston’s Most Off-the-Wall Party — Orange Show Gala Brings Surrealism to Life With Outlandish Outfits, Outrageous Fun

René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Hugo Ball and more were brought back to life at the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art’s 43rd Annual Gala dubbed “DaliDada, a surrealicious soirée,” celebrating of the 100th anniversary of the global Surrealist movement.

Co-chairs Dr. Terri Alani and Laura Stehr Peters welcomed more than 500 Houston art lovers to the Orange Show’s World Headquarters on Munger Street. Auction chair Megan Olivia Ebel and gala committee Melissa Dobrowski, Karen Oshman Lubetkin, Franny Koelsch Jeffries and Jackie Wallace joined them. 

The celebration honored Becky Mustachio, a Spring Branch Independent School District teacher and art car creator, the collective Moon Papas Art and longtime Orange Show supporters Barbara Hinton and the late Marks Hinton.

Partiers sported their weirdest and most off-the-wall surrealism-inspired outfits. Melted clocks, clouds, green apples, feathery wings, stuffed animals, lobsters and glowing eyes adorned attendees.

Texas-based performance artist T. Lavois Thiebaud staged an immersive show with cast members from the Catastrophic Theatre. Together, they embodied famous Surrealist and Dadaist artists including Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp and Claude Cahun. These hosts delighted guests with their bizarre and unexpected interactions throughout the evening. The program continued with a tribute to founder Jeff McKissack‘s whimsical vision of celebrating the Orange’ Show’s unique power and charm.

An Eclectic Atmosphere

DaliDada featured some of the most inventive decor in the gala’s history. Every item was crafted from found and repurposed items gifted by the community. Each table also showcased a unique centerpiece made of unusual objects. Arrangements of fake fruits, flowers, plastic baby doll heads, a googly-eyed computer screen, birdcages with flamingos and butterflies, colorful medicine bottles — nothing was too bizarre for this party.

The silent auction offered sought-after works by notable artists, including Dixie Friend Gay (in a fabulous ensemble channeling a Venus flytrap), Claire Cusack, Dick Wray, Lord Karl, Libbie Masterson, Susan Budge, The Art Guys, Janavi Mahimtura Folmsbee, Susan Plum, Phillip Pyle II, Angel Oloshove, Bob “Daddy-O” Wade, McKay Otto, Chip Lord, James Surls and Paul “The Baltimore Glassman” Darmafall.

Other prizes included a vintage Rolex, getaways to Tulum, San Miguel de Allende, Colorado and Hudson, New York and custom Orange Show-themed jewelry from Peter Martin and Prince Jewelers. 

Feasts, Fancies and Flamboyant Toasts

Embracing the evening’s flair, A Fare Extraordinaire served a three-course seated dinner. It began with a yellow beet carpaccio salad. Diners then chose between a beef tenderloin, black cod or polenta. Dessert featured either a lemon or chocolate torte.

Attendees also sipped themed cocktails fueled by Aguasol and Ketel One Vodka, dubbed the “Dalí Paloma” and “Dripping Orange.” Saint Arnold Brewery and Acqua Panna S. Pellegrino provided the beer options.

While revelers feasted, newly-anointed Orange Show executive director and artist Jack Massing welcomed the arty crowd. He spoke on the Orange Show’s dedication to celebrating visionary art and artist-built environments.

“Our mission at the Orange Show is to bring out the artist in everyone,” Massing says. “By the looks of you guys, it seems to be working.”

After dessert, the crowd poured onto the dance floor, grooving to live pop music covers from Austin’s Skyrocket.

The evening ended as the Orange Show went green, raising over $700,000 to fund its nonprofit mission of celebrating community art. The organization produces the beloved Art Car Parade and maintains both Smither Park and the Beer Can House.

PC Seen: Orange Show founder and chairman emeritus Marilyn Oshman, CAMH director Hesse McGraw, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, Bruce Eames, Ashley Smither Langley and Curt Langley, past Orange Show director Susanne Theis (now with Discovery Green) and David Theis, Elaine Dillard, Lane and Bob Schultz, designer Debra Linse (creator of much of the fabulous surreal headwear for patrons), Sharon and Gus Kopriva (fresh from exhibiting Texas artists in Leipzig), Kathy Frietsch, Selven O’Keef Jarmon, Christopher Paul and Cindy and Andy Lubetkin.

Other standouts: Gallerists Barbara Davis, Laura Rathe, and Heidi Vaughan; jeweler Lorena Medinilla, Jeff Kaplan (dressed as a Houston cockroach), Don Mafrige Jr., Shazia and Omer Sultan, Keith Coffee, Michael Lubetkin (visting from Tulum to acquire the Chris Silkwood mosaic), Katherine and Chris Gillman, Julia and Thomas Pascal Will Robinson, John Jeffries, Doug Lawing and Guy Hagstette, Paul Dobrowski, Allie and Jay Fields, cosmic cowboy John Walker, Mark Sullivan, Fredricka Brecht, Jackie and Bass Wallace, Jereann Chaney, Debbie and Hance Myers, Desrye Morgan, Valerie and Lance Rosmarin and Amy and Jean Frizzell.

Additional reporting from Catherine D. Anspon.