Dallas young professionals boogie down at disco Masquerade for Genesis Women's Shelter

Gettin' groovy

Photo courtesy of Genesis

What: Genesis Young Leaders' Masquerade

Where: The Empire Room

The 411: On February 17, the Genesis Young Leaders were finally back with their big spring fundraising bash after a two-year pandemic hiatus. It's always been one of the most highly anticipated parties of the year for Dallas young professionals.

Themed "A Night Out at the Disco," the semi-formal gala was a sparkling evening of fun and fundraising.

About 400 guests donned their sequins and bell bottoms and boogied down under the disco ball. They enjoyed an open bar with signature cocktails, silent auction, casino by Carte Blanche, 360 photobooth by Currently Events, and entertainment in the way of roller-skate dancers Jaron Harris, Peyton Mixon, and Felicia Armstrong.

DJ Blake Ward kept the crowd moving and grooving on the dance floor.

Lucky winners of raffle prizes went home with a VIP experience for Genesis’ upcoming luncheon featuring keynote speaker Nicole Kidman; A getaway package with points from Southwest Airlines and Hilton; and a Times Ten wine tasting, four-course meal for 8 by Chef Mollie Guerra and a karaoke machine, creating the ultimate party.

The event raised an impressive $131,000 to benefit the many women and children whom Genesis Women's Shelter serves.

The successful event was co-chaired by Michael Anorue, Brooke Roshell, and David Green. More information about Genesis Young Leaders can be found here.

Who: Genesis CEO Jan Langbein, director of fund & community development Amy Norton, special events manager Caitlin Madden, Becky Park, Brownlee Hopkins, Greg Hopkins, Carly Mann, Brian Dean, Luis Araujo, Lauren Purdy, Lynsay Quinn, Elizabeth Wilhite, and many patrons and guests.

Photo courtesy of Genesis

Luis Araujo, Lauren Purdy, Lynsay Quinn, Elizabeth Wilhite, and Michael Anorue

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Dallas restaurants have summer on the brain, plus more dining news

News You Can Eat

This roundup of Dallas dining news has an unprecedented number of restaurants offering special seasonal menus for summer, most starting on June 1. We're so seasonal right now.

Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

Sister on Greenville Avenue has an unusual new item: Called the One Night Stand, it features a bottle of prosecco and a room key to one of the three boutique apartments above its sibling Cafe Duro next door. Guests have special access to the neighboring Duro concepts including private dining experiences and priority access to reservations at Sister and their other sibling, The Charles. The sparkling and overnight stay are $299.

Chef's Palette, the restaurant at the Canvas Hotel, has a summer new menu from Executive Chef Emerio Viramontes, featuring pepita-crusted salmon on poblano cream rice with a green bean and pepper medley and blood orange-mezcal glaze; NY strip with goat cheese polenta, broccolini, and blackberry demi; red snapper with black rice and charred baby bok choy; and pork chop with roasted parsnips, carrots, and whipped potatoes. Viramontes is a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin who joined the Canvas last year. The new menu debuts on June 1.

Mendocino Farms has a new summer menu featuring: Strawberry Fields Salad with chicken, strawberries, watermelon radish, fennel, mint, red onions, goat gouda, and pistachios; Hot Honey Peach & Prosciutto Sandwich with mozzarella, honey-roasted almonds, Calabrian chili aioli, hot peach honey, and arugula on a toasted sesame roll; Turkey Avo Salsa Verde Sandwich; Italian Roast Beef Sandwich; and new sides: Watermelon Street Cart Salad, Southern Macaroni Salad, and Oaxacan Potato Salad.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria has a new Summer Selections menu with Smoked Brisket Pizza and Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce; Spinach Salad with feta cheese, red onion, almonds, and strawberries; Cheesecake topped with blueberries or strawberries; a charcuterie board with prosciutto, salami, mozzarella, Spanish olives, and antipasto peppers; and the Bourbon & Blues cocktail with Tincup American whiskey, lemon juice, muddled blueberries, and thyme. It runs June 6 through September 11.

Salad and Go has a new summer menu with four new dishes: Antipasto Salad with romaine, salami, feta cheese, cucumbers, banana peppers, kalamata olives, red onions, and croutons in red wine vinaigrette (can also be ordered as a wrap); Mediterranean breakfast burrito with spinach, eggs, feta cheese, and avocado with green tomatillo salsa (can also be ordered as a bowl); Minestrone Soup, a vegetarian soup with kale, cannellini beans, and pasta in a tomato-based broth, which will become a permanent menu item; and the return of Blueberry Basil Lemonade. The dishes will debut on June 1.

Smoothie King smoothie chain has brought back its X-Treme Watermelon smoothie and a new Watermelon Lemonade smoothie for the summer.

Texas Dairy Queen Operators’ Council is launching a contest to find The Biggest Fan in Texas. You have to write an essay, plus tell what your favorite DQ item is, your favorite location, and a photo with a DQ memory. The winner gets free Treats & Eats for a year, plus swag from Josh Abbott Band, DQ, and Dr Pepper. The contest is open only to legal residents of Texas, 13 or older. Entries must be received by August 6 at 8 am. The rules can be found on the dqtexas.com/biggestdqfan website. The winner will be announced on August 14.

The Alamo previews awe-inspiring new exhibit ahead of 2024 debut

REFIGURE THE ALAMO

Ask first-time visitors about their experience at the Alamo, and you're likely to hear a frequent refrain: the grounds are so small. But that's slowly changing with ambitious plans to bring the site's original footprint back to life.

Starting May 25, visitors have been getting a sneak peek at the complex's newest structure, the Mission Gate and Lunette exhibit, before it officially opens in 2024. Funded in part by a $3 million donation from the Joan and Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation, the exhibition gives guests a broader understanding of the Alamo's scale.

The historical re-creation was crafted by lauded San Antonio artist Carlos Cortés. A third-generation concrete faux bois artisan, his work is featured throughout the city, most notably on the River Walk, where his fantastical The Grotto greets thousands of Museum Reach visitors each year.

The life-size sculpture stands in for the original main gate of the fort at the southern boundary of the complex. Cannons and placards scattered throughout give crucial context to the structure. Though early renderings show the beams and spiked fence with more verisimilitude, the forms currently stand in ghostly concrete — inviting quiet contemplation.

When the exhibit is finished next year, guests will be more fully immersed in the hallowed grounds, which extend far beyond the walls of the iconic Church and Long Barrack. Coupled with the upcoming Alamo Visitor Center and Museum and the recently debuted Ralston Family Collections Center, it will turn the grounds into one of Texas' most awe-inspiring historic sites.

"We are deeply grateful to the Joan and Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation for their support of the Alamo and our ongoing efforts to preserve this important piece of Texas history," says Kate Rogers, Executive Director of the Alamo Trust, Inc., in a release. "Their generosity will allow us to continue to educate and inspire visitors from around the world, ensuring that the legacy of the Alamo lives on for generations to come."

Photo courtesy of the Alamo.

The Mission Gate and Lunette exhibit gives visitors an understanding of the original grounds' scale.

44 new Dallas debutantes begin Presentation Ball prep with glam parties and glorious gowns

Meet the DSOL debs

With the start of summer vacation came the beginning of the 2023-2024 Dallas Symphony Orchestra League debutante season - even though it seems like just yesterday that the 2023 debs were Texas-dipping into society.

The DSOL introduced 44 new debs during Announcement Weekend festivities, May 18-20, in Dallas. Their parties, philanthropy, and training will culminate with the 38th Presentation Ball on February 10, 2024.

The mega-weekend began with the Announcement Party, emceed by Stan Gardner, at Dallas Country Club on the evening of Thursday, May 18. The next day, a deb and Honor Guard family dinner was held at the El Fenix downtown. Stanley Korshak hosted a couture gown show at the Bridal Salon on Saturday morning, May 20, and Patti Flowers Design Studio presented custom gowns that afternoon. (Per tradition, each deb will wear a white ballgown to her Presentation Ball.)

The 2024 Presentation Ball is under the guidance of chair Kristin Cordiak and DSOL President Nancy Labadie. Both women will lend special expertise to this year's debs: Kristin’s daughter Bronwyn made her debut in 2018 and her son Newt was an Honor Guard this year. Nancy was Ball Chair in 2016 and her son Will was an Honor Guard in 2015. Her daughter-in-law Lizzie was a debutante in 2013.

"The Dallas Symphony Orchestra League Presentation Ball has celebrated music and family for 38 years,” says Cordiak, adding that the 2024 debs "each add to the beautiful tapestry of the event as they embark on a lifelong journey of philanthropy.”

Now, for the most important part. The 2024 debutantes are: Helena Breland Bach; Erika Mae Batson; Mia Lane Blanton; Claire Elise Cahoon; Ellie McClain Gidden; Ripley Elizabeth Cooley; Kennedy Claire Downing; Electra Wallace Ford; Sarah Rose Gambrell; Catherine Lee Grayson; Camille Anne Greening; Meredith Elizabeth Hallam; Grace Soleil Handler; Caroline Parker Hart; Catherine Bradford Hunt; Isabella Ann Jackson; Ashley Elizabeth Jaynes; Ellen Taylor Jones; Minje Kwun; Emannuelle Grace Le Voyer; Claire Michael Levy; Riya Kaur Luthra; Elizabeth Myers Madison; Avery Pilar Moore; Finley Elizabeth Nelson; Day Gilmer Nettle; Lillian Susan Nettle; Mina Hiranmayee Raj; Bailey Erin Robirds; Courtenay Christianson Sands, Kathryn Bunker Sands; Caroline Robertson Smith; Sheridan Michelle Spencer; Caroline Story Stiles; Leslie Katherine Swango; Caroline Parker Teegarden; Payton Grace Thurman; Megan McKamy Dyer Underwood; Lauren Alexis Watkins; Charlotte Nicole Webb; Kelley Caroline Wheeler; Abigail Archer Willingham; Claire Anh Wooley; and Sophia Corina Yung.

Honor Guard officers presenting the debutantes for the Announcement Party were Conner Olson, John Liptack, Matthew Melcher, Eric Hirschbrich, Nicholas Arnold, Philip Jenevein, Wyatt Awtrey, Vance Miller, Thomas Liu, and Stefan Fischer.

Debs' parents and other relatives in attendance at the launch events included Laura and Jason Downing (whose daughter Kennedy is the third debutante in the family making her debut); The Hon. and Mrs. Alphonso Jackson, John and Kristina Hallam, Dena and Vaughn Miller, Elizabeth and Eric Gambrell, Cameron and Clay Smith, Suzanne and Adam Stiles, Kathryn Wheeler, Kelli and Gerald Ford, Gayle Sands, and many more.

The Assembly, a group of former debutantes who assist the Symphony League by helping with event arrangements throughout the season, was represented by Perrin Griffin, Bronwyn Cordiak, Allie McWhorter, Katie Kottwitz, Emily Stone Young, Ava Heppner, Maddy Duvall, Maddi Hendrick, and Samantha Sullivan.

The presentation of Dallas Symphony debutantes is a time-honored tradition for many of Dallas' most influential and philanthropic families. The debs are of college age and typically are graduates of Dallas-area high schools, but may be attending college out of the area.

Participation is open to all young women. Much like a sorority, participants pay fees and participate in parties, fundraisers, classes, and other events throughout the year, all leading up to the Presentation Ball.

The Presentation Ball, which was first held in 1987, is the largest fundraiser for the DSOL. Over $15 million has been raised for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra through the annual black- or white-tie event.

Founded in 1946, the DSOL's mission is to support the Dallas Symphony Orchestra through service, education and fundraising activities. Since 1998 the League has contributed over $22 million in support of the DSO's many community initiatives.

Photo by James French

Debutante Lauren Watkins (center) with grandparents Alphonso and Marcia Jackson

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