Asia Society Texas’ annual Tiger Ball is always a visually stunning evening courtesy of the elaborate decor combined with beautiful national dress. Saturday night’s salute to Taiwan continued the tradition with inverted parasols suspended from the ceiling of the tented pavilion along with lush greenery and profusions of pink and rose hued flowers.
Even more impressive than the scenery? The bottom line.
The festive evening raised $1.8 million in support of Asia Society Texas’ mission to advance cultural exchange and celebrate the vibrant diversity of Asia and Asian American experiences. That bested last year‘s proceeds by $100,000.
Key figures in the success were chairs Theresa and Peter Chang and Alice and Ken Yang along with honorees Jenny and Henry Wu and Shiang-Ling and George Yang. Fulfilling their roles as honorary chairs were Molly and Jim Crownover, Lily and David Harvey, Tracy and Rocky Lai, Gordon Quan, and Anne-Laure and Steve Stephens.
The sold-out throng of 625 settled at tables draped in decor that further celebrated the natural beauties of Taiwan from radiant orchids to verdant mountain vistas. Prashe Décor worked the magic that transformed a basic tent into a breathtaking tableau.
Heavy lifting of the program began earlier with a VIP cocktail reception inside the Asia Society Texas Center building where Asia Society Texas board chair Marty Goossen welcomed the clutch; board member and daughter of the honored Wus led the celebratory toast; the honorees made remarks; and president Bonna Kol introduced the night’s chairs.
The chairs then presented the honorees with a Butterfly Ginkgo vase by Michael Aram, selected as an elegant nod to Taiwan’s reputation as the “Butterfly Kingdom” where butterflies represent good fortune, longevity and transformation.
City Kitchen saluted the flavors of Taiwan with a menu that included Napa cabbage salad with celery, mango, pickled golden raisins, topped with crispy shallots and sesame vinaigrette, alongside a shrimp or tofu skewer. The main course featured soy and orange glazed sea bass with coriander and crushed peanuts, fried rice with edamame, carrots and leeks, and King Trumpet mushrooms with ginger.
Following dinner, everyone enjoyed a variety of desserts while celebrating on the dance floor with music provided by DJ Alx of Karma DJs.
PC Seen: Chinhui and Eddie Allen, Nancy Allen, Durga and Sushila Agrawal, Divya and Chris Brown, Tripp Carter, Gracie and Bob Cavnar, Anne and Albert Chao, Art Chavez, Donna Fujimoto Cole, China and Y. Ping Sun & David Leebron and Jay Cuclis, Paula and Reggie DesRoches, Aimee and Craig DiTomasso, Lily and Charles Foster, Kathy Gondo, Kathy Goossen, Leisa Holland-Nelson, Jaewon Kang, Robert Gondo, Renu and Suresh Khator, and Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron.