Society / Featured Parties

Houston’s Social Season Heats Up With Halloween Bashes Still Looming — Inside a Month Of Parties

Diving Into the Charity Swirl

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Houston’s social season ratchets into high gear in October and already we have marked 21 events off the calendar and are looking ahead to at least 17 more before month’s end. And that does not count the evenings when local restaurants turn up the party heat for Halloween.

You’ve already read PaperCity‘s coverage of PetSet’s Billy Bob Thornton brunch, Dec My Room, the Italian Cultural & Community Center and many, many more. But those weren’t the only H-Town parties that moved the needle. Let’s dive further into the Houston social swirl.

Building Blocks Luncheon

Coalition for Children luncheon chairs Charlie & Kaitlin Yardley and Sarah & Dan DeSnyder (Photo by Priscilla Dickson)

Charlie and Kaitlin Yardley and Sarah and Dan DeSnyder chaired the Collaborative for Children “Building Blocks Luncheon” at River Oaks Country Club. Gracy Gartner, Esmeralda Diaz and DeAna Kindt each shared the vital role that early childhood education plays in shaping a stronger future for Houston’s kids and families. The event honored Kimberly Flores with the Elsie Samuels Early Childhood Educator Excellence Award and PNC for its longterm support of the nonprofit.

Close to $200,000 was raised for the mission of providing cutting-edge teaching instruction and advanced technological tools to young learners as they prepare for kindergarten.

Ride Baby Ride

Ball Chair and Board Member Maria Quinones and Dr Miguel Quinones (1)
CYCLE Bicycle Ball chair and board member Maria Quinones & Dr. Miguel Quinones (Photo by Ev1pro)

CYCLE Houston, the nonprofit dedicated to improving literacy in second-grade students in Title 1 schools, had a monster reason to celebrate at the Bicycle Ball held at Houston’s Omni Hotel. The organization’s Earn-a-Bike program, which rewards students for academic progress with a shiny new bicycle, celebrated distribution of the 200,000 bikes to deserving young students.

The funds raised that evening will get an additional 3,500 students in CYCLE’s “Read-to-Ride” program in 2026.

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“CYCLE is an organization that believes in the power of literacy and hard work,” the nonprofit’s executive director Rebecca Roberts told the gathering. “Our organization focuses on addressing systemic barriers to education and employment through improving second-grade literacy.”

Dreams of Camping for All

Gala Co-Chair Karen Bunger, Honorees Marita and Robert Mikeska, Co-Chair Ashley Gumbert
Camp for All gala co-chair Karen Bunger, honorees Marita & Robert Mikeska, gala co-chair Ashley Gumbert. (Photo byJames Pharaon Creative)

The Fireman’s Training Center in Brenham was clever setting for the Camp for All fall fundraiser, this year dubbed “Bubbles & Brews – A Toast For All.” In the able hands of chairs Karen Bunger and Ashley Gumber, the evening raised more than $500,000, directly supporting the Camp For All mission to provide life-changing experiences to thousands of campers each year. Taking bows as honorees were Marita and Robert Mikeska, recognized for their decades-long commitment to the camp.

“The record-breaking fundraising results will enable our campers to come free of charge to our beautiful and barrier-free Camp in Burton, where they’ll discover joy, confidence and a sense of belonging,” Camp For All President and CEO Pat Prior Sorrells said.

Bigs Need for Littles

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Jennifer Kocian, Stephane Lunan, Georganne Hodges at the Big Brothers Big Sisters 75thy anniversary gala (Photo by Yuliana Gonzalez)

The Big Brothers Big Sisters 75th anniversary gala raised a generous $600,000 to aid the nonprofit in its efforts to match more than 700 youth (Littles) in the Greater Houston area who are currently waiting for mentors (Bigs). Proceeds will help expand Big Brothers Big Sisters’ capacity to recruit, train and support more mentors with a targeted goal of moving hundreds of youth off the waiting list in the coming year.

CEO Pierce Bush presented Randy Norwood with the Big Impact Award on the evening that saw 500 supporters turn out.

There’s No Place Like Home

Luncheon Co-Chairs – Paula Musa, Chenee Franklin, Crystal Allen (1)
Habitat for Humanity ‘Building a Dream’ luncheon chairs Paula Musa, Chnee Franklin and Crystal Allen (Photo by Priscilla Dickson)

Before a throng of more than 360 gathered in the Post Oak Hotel Ballroom, Adrienne Goolsby, senior vice president of the U.S. and Canadian office of Habitat for Humanity International. shared information at the Habitat for Humanity luncheon on the urgent need for affordable housing. The luncheon honored Joel Deretchin with the 2025 Carl Umland Award, recognizing for his six decades of work to bring affordable housing to neighborhoods in multiple cities across the country and most notably in Houston.

The trio of chairs were Crystal Allen, managing director at Transwestern; Chenee Franklin, Global HR director at Honeywell; and Paula Musa, vice president at Transwestern.

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