Work It

Boho-glam fashion show draws standing O for Dallas kids' charity

Marfa is 520 miles from Dallas, but for one night in late February, the artsy enclave was right nearby for generous supporters of Kidd's Kids, the wish-granting nonprofit that creates beautiful memories for families of children with life-altering and life-threatening conditions founded by the late radio DJ Kidd Kraddick.

Dressed in their boho-chic best, the Dallas social set ascended on The Empire Room in the Design District for Rock the Runway: An Evening in Marfa.

Attendees enjoyed bites from Vestals Catering, Velvet Taco, Ferris Wheelers, Fount Board and Table, and Rafa's Café Mexicano. There was plenty to wash it down with, including wine from Blue Ostrich Winery & Vineyard, Bubble Tap, Candy's Signature Cocktails, Community Beer, Deep Ellum Brewing, and Sangria Lolea, plus the signature cocktail named after the main sponsor: Toni&Guy Cosmic Ranch Water.

Guests — including Caroline Cradick, D'Andra Simmons, Daniel and Noel Fontes, Chelsea and Bryan Milner, Amy Vanderoef, Lyndsay Frahm Morse, and Elena Davies — cheered on a runway show with fashion from Galleria Dallas, featuring professional models from The Campbell Agency, friends of Kidd's Kids and, most importantly, Kidd's Kids and their families. They all strutted their stuff to the tunes by Radios DJ's own Mike Morse.

Afterward, volunteers got the crowd on their feet to play the Heads or Tails game for a $1,000 Galleria Dallas gift card and a featured live auction item: dinner with The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show at Al Biernat's North. This launched a bidding war that went on for over five solid minutes. The night ended with a dance party filled with cover songs by the Random Axis Band.

The debut of Kellie Rasberry's Wish Wall, created by Enchanted Fairies Storybook Photography, gave everyone a chance to contribute at all monetary levels, starting at just $25 for Mickey Mouse ears and up to $25,000 for the chance to join the Kidd Kraddick Morning Show and the families on the Southwest Airlines charter to Disney World.

All told, the event collected just over $100,000, which will help send qualified kids and their families on the 2020 Kidd's Kids trip to Walt Disney World.

Daniel Fontes, Noel Fontes, Chelsea Milner, Bryan Milner

Photo courtesy of Kidd's Kids

Daniel Fontes, Noel Fontes, Chelsea Milner, Bryan Milner

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Jazz and classical mix at Dallas Symphony Orchestra's New Orleans-style gala

Photo by Kristina Bowman

Patrick Means, Laura Harris-Means, Cassandra Johnson, Avery Johnson.

For one night only, Dallasites got to pretend they were in the Big Easy without ever leaving Texas. More than 420 guests gathered at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center on September 28 for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's gala, themed this year around the colorful culture of New Orleans.

The evening began with a champagne cocktail reception featuring the David Washburn Jazz Band playing New Orleans-style jazz on the Meyerson’s radial staircase. When the time came to transition to dinner service, members of the DSO Young Musicians played “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In” and led a second-line-style procession down the steps and through the lobby.

DSO gala 2024 It'd be impossible not to follow them.Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

Gala chairs Laura Harris-Means and Patrick Means, along with honorary chairs Cassandra and Avery Johnson, followed with umbrellas waving above their heads to signal to guests that it was time to be seated for an elegant dinner. The New Orleans theme continued with a Creole-inspired menu that included filet of beef, blackened Gulf prawns, asparagus, dauphinoise potatoes, and tricolored carrots.

DSO gala 2024. Patrick Means and Laura Harris-Means led the second line.Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

Spotted at the tables were Venise and Larry Stuart, Marena and Roger Gault, Andy Smith and Paul von Wupperfeld, Rachel and John Koryl, Chuck Steelman, Nancy A. Nasher, David J. Haemisegger, Grace Cook, Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, and District 14 Councilmembers Paul Ridley and Jamie Resendez.

After dinner, guests moved into the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall to enjoy world-renowned pianist Lang Lang in his first appearance with the DSO orchestra since the 2016 DSO gala.

The sold-out concert begin with Dallas Symphony Association chair of the Board of Governors Cece Smith thanking the 1,700 concert attendees. Smith then introduced Michelle Miller Burns, the DSO’s new president and CEO, who reminded the crowd that proceeds from the evening support the DSO’s education programs, including the Young Strings and The Kim Noltemy Young Musicians programs. These programs touch the lives of more than 243,000 North Texas residents annually, including more than 30,000 children.

DSO gala 2024 Laura Harris-Means and Young Strings student Patrick Miranda.Photo by Kristina Bowman

The 28 Young Strings, Young Musicians, and Teen Council students who were in the audience then stood to thunderous applause.

And with that, the legendary Lang Lang took to the stage on piano alongside the DSO, conducted by music director Fabio Luisi. On the program were Rachmaninoff’s expressively virtuosic Second Piano Concerto and two encores, Charlotte Sohy’s "Romance" followed by his own arrangement of the Disney/Elton John hit “Can You Feel the Love Tonight."

DSO gala 2024 Lang Lang during the performance.Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

After the performance, guests returned to a lobby that had been magically transformed into Club Toulouse, an Cajun-flavored after-party experience with savory snacks, sweet desserts, and dancing to tunes spun by DJ Endolena.

DSO gala 2024 Guests danced their hearts out at the after-party.Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

Photo by Kristina Bowman

Patrick Means, Laura Harris-Means, Cassandra Johnson, Avery Johnson.

Next year’s gala is scheduled for Saturday, October 4, 2025.

fundraisers classical music dso concerts galas