Scenes from Party in the Park — Celebrating 11 Years of Klyde Warren Park
A Dazzling Evening at Dallas' Urban Green Space
BY Billy Fong // 10.27.23Macy Stucke, Kirby Schlegel, Justin & Kimberly Whitman, Bob & Myrna Schlegel, Krystal Schlegel Davis & Luke Davis, Kari & Troy Kloewer (Photo by Tamytha Cameron and Celeste Cass)
Every town deserves fabulous green spaces — and Klyde Warren Park is as glamorous as our city itself. The annual fundraiser Party in the Park brings in much-needed funds to keep the park clean and safe for more than a million annual visitors. If you didn’t make it to this year’s benefit, save the date for the 2024 event (historically held in mid-October). It’s always a night to remember.
This year’s chairs were a well-known philanthropic squad, the Schlegel family. Most of them took a turn at the microphone that evening after board chair Jody Grant,welcomed all the guests. First up were honorary chairs Myrna and Bob Schlegel, the matriarch and patriarch of the family. They shared their love for the urban green space, with Myrna dubbing it “Dallas’ town square.”
The tables on the grand lawn of the park were picture-perfect (you may have seen them on the dozens of Insta stories I spied that evening), with the blue color palette accented with centerpieces of vibrant yellow lemons. Assembled at my table were Tom Hanson, Nikki St. George, Joshua Rossignol, Perdy Percell, Sharon Peddecord, and Nicholas Hemingway. Percell is a relatively new Texas transplant who made her way across the pond from the UK. She regaled us with many stories — some too naughty to share here — about her usual crew at 5 Hertford, the famed members-only club in London.
The fashionistas were out in full bloom, in keeping with the garden chic attire mandate. All the Schlegels were standouts, especially Myrna’s daughters Kim Whitman, wearing a printed blue Erdem cocktail frock, and Krystal Schlegel in a metallic Simkhai dress with Lucchese boots. Deborah Scott wore one of her signature jumpsuits. The accessory award of the night must go to Gillian Breidenbach with a patriotic bedazzled clutch. Also spotted that evening were Schlegel family members Kari and Troy Kloewer, Kirby Schlegel, Kim’s husband Justin Whitman, and Krystal’s husband Luke Davis; the matriarch of another well-known Dallas philanthropic family, Margot Perot, who funded the recent expansion of Sheila and Jody Grant Children’s Park; Klyde Warren Park president and CEO Kit Sawers and husband Kemp Sawers; Ann Hobson; Holly Hands (who will be performing under her DJ pseudonym Drane Power a silent disco evening at Klyde Warren Park on Friday, November 3); Edgar Cardiel from the downtown Neiman Marcus team; Lynn McBee; and Nancy and Randy Best, who endowed the park’s fountains last year.
Side note: I was watching a recent episode of The Real Housewives of New York City (please don’t think less of me for being a Bravoholic) and didn’t realize that Central Park offers trees to be endowed in honor of loved ones. After doing a little research I found you can do the same here, at Klyde Warren Park. Adopting a tree in your family’s name is a great way to leave a legacy in the verdant green jewel of downtown Dallas.