The Best of Dallas’ Spring Social Season, Part Two — From All-Star Chefs Joining Forces To Ballrooms Blooming With Couture

We recently reflected on Dallas’ chock-full spring social calendar, highlighting the best of the best. One story, however, simply wouldn’t suffice! Below, we’re recognizing even more of the Dallas-area nonprofits that are raising critical funds for our community through thoughtful and inventive fundraisers that keep us coming back, year after year.

Best Charity Chicken

Leave it to Dallas’ own Homecoming Queen of the Kitchen Alex Snodgrass (a.k.a. The Defined Dish) to elevate ballroom charity chicken into something memorably delicious. When the food blogger and The New York Times bestselling author of three cookbooks served as the keynote speaker for Junior League of Dallas’ Milestones Luncheon, she also influenced the menu. The Omni Dallas successfully implemented Snodgrass’ nourishing and flavorful recipes to feed the sold-out crowd in one of the city’s largest ballrooms.

Editor’s Note: During a round of rapid-fire questions that closed the interview, Snodgrass also shared that her favorite fajitas in town are from Muchacho. (I always like to know where the best cooks choose to dine out!)

Best Decor

For ReuNight, event co-chairs Jess & Tyler Bolander and Melissa & Jamie Keeling transformed Brook Hollow Country Club into a blooming garden. The intimate dinner, themed “Couture in Bloom,” benefited The Family Place, which aids survivors of domestic violence. Lush hydrangeas and feminine roses cascaded down the magnificent head table, which was elegantly dressed to match the occasion. Alongside the florals, fashion took center stage, with couture serving as a metaphor that every survivor’s journey is different. The Dallas String Quartet added to the ambiance, with a Bridgerton-inspired set list that made everyone want to promenade.

Best Emcee

For one night a year during Dallas’ spring social season, the biggest names in town take a backseat to the real Dallas stars — the young patients and survivors who own the stage at Children’s Cancer Fund. The event, which takes place at the Hilton Anatole, is expansive and requires a seasoned professional to manage the many moving parts with grace and charm.

Eloquently announcing each patient, emcee Kimberly Schlegel Whitman added such warmth to the evening’s program. Everyone at my table remarked on how calm and confident she seemed at the podium. As always, an impeccable hostess.

Best Cocktail Hour

The cocktail hour at Dallas Symphony Orchestra League’s Presentation Ball stood out because, on one of the coldest nights of the year, it was spectacularly fun to admire men and women of all ages in their black tie finery. For once, the fur stoles needed to come out of hibernation! I milled about the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center with a glass of champagne in my opera-gloved hand, admiring the debutantes’ portraits before they did the legendary “Texas Dip!”

Best Activation

At Aging Mind Foundation’s “A Night of Roaring Hope” gala, Dallas-based “speed painter” Gabino Martinez ascended the stage and stood in front of an enormous blank canvas. As soon as “The Greatest Show” began reverberating throughout the ballroom, Martinez started painting on all sides of the canvas, which was mounted on a swiveling easel. Just as the five-minute-and-two-second song concluded, Martinez flipped the canvas upright to reveal a majestic lion. Thrilling! The auctioneer then sold Martinez’s work to the highest bidder, all benefiting the organization’s mission to advance scientific research focused on finding the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Best Collaboration

For American Heart Association’s Côtes du Coeur, nine of Dallas’ most celebrated chefs prepared a magnificent five-course feast, paired with elegant wines from nearly 40 notable vineyards. Leading the charge as “Chef Chair,” Executive Chef Richard Chamberlain of Chamberlain’s Steak and Fish teamed up with Chef Brendan Davy of Ellie’s at HALL Arts Hotel, Chef Mario Hernadez of Nuri Steakhouse, Chef Dan Landsberg of Circle T Ranch, Chef Janice Provost of Parigi, Chef Kent Rathbun of Rathbun’s Curbside BBQ, Chef Jason Rohan of Monarch, Chef John Tesar of Knife, and Chef Gerard Thompson of Rough Creek Lodge. 

Collaboration over competition? Yes, Chef(s).

Dallas’ spring social season is certainly a marathon and not a sprint. I hope you’re enjoying a restful summer because September is coming. Get your calendars (and closets) ready!