Houston’s Picnic in the Park Moves Indoors to Unexpectedly Spectacular Effect

Such wise planning by the Memorial Park Conservancy to move the annual “Picnic in the Park,” traditionally held al fresco at The Forest Club, indoors to the Omni Hotel. For on this particular night the weather was dark and stormy, not to mention cold.

Actually, it was the fact that the benefit evening had simply outgrown the club and its grounds that resulted in the move. No loss there, as the ballroom was flanked in lush greenery and vast video images provided a leafy visual stroll through the park.

Thus, the “Wild at Heart” theme.

The evening was a celebration on many levels not the least of which was honoring Wendy and Jeff Hines, for whose contributions and support of the conservancy earned the couple naming rights on the new five-acre lake to be known as Hines Lake. It will debut this summer as part of the Eastern Glades development, the first component of the Master Plan to open.

In anticipation of the Land Bridge and Prairie project that will break ground later this year and open in 2022, a video preview provided insight to what conservancy president and CEO Shellye Arnold noted would put Memorial Park on the international map, drawing visitors from across the country and the globe.

Carol and John Porter, a tax attorney with Baker Botts, are regular runners in the park and made likely chairs for the evening that raised more than $340,000 for the conservancy’s work as keeper of the 1,100 acre park, which is two times the size of New York’s Central Park.

Also a regular runner is former KHOU 11 news anchor Lisa Foronda, who served as emcee and told the gathering of more than 350 that she has logged literally thousands of miles in Memorial. Needless to say, she was quite enthused with the evening.

PC Seen: Barbara and Gerald Hines, Kelli and Eddy Blanton, Tammy and Steve Jenkins, Greg Harper, Pam and Ken Huewitt, Pam and John Breeding, Polly and Murry Bowden, Anita and Gerald Smith, Valette and Russell Windham, Duyen and Marc Nguyen, and city council members Robert Gallegos, Mike Knox, Amy Peck, and Greg Travis.