The Shopping New Year

Even though the holiday season is over, shopping season never ends! This was particularly true when the SALE allowed Houstonians to begin the new year off on the right foot by finding the best deals from some of Houston’s most notable boutiques.

The SALE is the annual two-day shopping event at the Bayou City Event Center where local stores sell their inventory at extremely discounted prices. Put on by the Tri Delta Alumnae, the proceeds of the event go towards Texas Children’s Cancer Center to support the national sorority’s philanthropy of pediatric cancer. Since its beginning in 2015, the SALE has raised more than $700,000 for cancer research.

Four years has seen the SALE to grow drastically, yet co-chairs Dee Dee Fagan Robinson and Laura Winn Williams have remained committed to keeping the event a smaller and more intimate experience for the shoppers. But its 52 vendors still allowed for a lot of variety in the items and deals. Customers shopped men’s and women’s apparel and accessories, furniture, art, stationery, and more. Explore the complete list of vendors here.

The occasion kicked off early on Saturday with Breakfast and Bubbly.  Champagne Shopping began later and the most eager bargain hunters were greeted at the door with upbeat oldies-but-goodies music and a woman in a silver dress that carried glasses of champagne and mimosas in her tiered skirt. Customers could fuel up on small breakfast hors d’oeuvres courtesy of Ninfa’s and Ragin’ Cajun. The doors opened to the rest of the public at noon.

Super Sunday allowed shoppers to find even bigger discounts from vendors eager to start the new year with new inventory. Additionally, all Sunday shoppers received a raffle ticket at the door to enter in giveaways throughout the day. Even Salvation Army’s Harbor Light Choir couldn’t resist all the fun and sang a few songs for the shoppers.

Money garnered from ticket sales, underwriters and donations is estimated to have raised nearly $200,000 for Texas Children’s Cancer Center, an all-time high for the event.

Who: Carol Cooley, Liz Albritton, Connie Wright, Georgia Harrison, Dee Dee Robinson, Laura Williams, Melissa Wilson, Wendy Allen Rhoades, Susan Blaney, Emily Freeman, Nancy Carter, Pam Goodson, Jenni Bredthauer, Pat Wallace, Jordan Whittle, Kelley Sobiesk, Regan Sobiesk, Sandra McBride, and Tracy McCleary.