Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1291046
K aty Bader of The Frenchie and Bader Ranch has news on both fronts. At Bader Ranch antiques emporium, a new local chef, Tamatha Mills, uses seasonal produce she grows on her nearby farm to craft four-course dinners served nightly at the ranch October 16 through 31. Reservations recommended, via shoproundtop.com. The Frenchie, Bader's 1890s farmhouse turned chic B&B/boutique hotel, has a pool, outdoor kitchen, and pool cabana in the works, along with lawn games and an antique vending machine that might just be stocked with French speedos. The Frenchie Guesthouses, 311 Live Oak St., Round Top, thefrenchieguesthouses.com. Anne Lee Phillips Bader bulletin W hile mayoral c a n d i d a t e Mark Massey's commitment to preservation and commerce hums along at his Rummel and Minden Squares, big changes are in store at his Henkel Square Market. Melissa Ellis debuts Melissa Ellis Fine Art, melding a gallery space with her clothing and jewelry boutique. She and fellow Henkel Square retailer Wimberly Shook Tribble will also open a cheese/charcuterie shop adjacent to the gallery (ETA December). Meanwhile, Melissa's husband, Lee Ellis, an accomplished restaurateur, dishes up barbecue Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at his Ellis Motel, as well as his pop-up Round Top Smoke House behind Henkel Square Hall, serving brisket, pork ribs, sausage of the day, turkey, beef ribs, and smoked chicken from his custom Mill Scale Metalworks smoker from Lockhart. Follow @roundtopsmokehouse on Instagram for details. Finally, Henkel Hall is revamping into Round Top Antiques & Design Center — a 6,000-square-foot design space created by Massey's mother, Susan Massey. The Compound's Kathy Johnston co-curates the dealers. Signed up are Suzanne Coppola's Laurier Blanc from Houston, stocking her European Hunt Collection of antique hunting trophies from German and Austrian nobles; Brooke Drake Design from Dallas, with European, Asian, and mid-century finds and curiosities; and LooLoo Design from Connecticut, purveying garden and architectural antiques, textiles, and vintage plumbing fixtures and hardware. henkelsquareroundtop.com. Catherine D. Anspon Henkel Square Happenings Lee Ellis T he year 1971 was a very auspicious and melodious one for Round Top. Festival Hill, aka Round Top Festival Institute, was founded by James Dick, a piano prodigy who had wowed international audiences at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 50 Candles for FeStival Hill Round Top Festival Institute Courtesy round top Festival institute Moscow. Five decades later, countless concerts have been orchestrated in the fields and performed at one of the most handsome concert halls in the world. Numerous illustrious scholarship students have flocked to the bucolic grounds of Festival Hill for its renowned summer conservatory program led by musicians who perform with America's greatest symphonies. Now a party is in order. Originally scheduled for April 2020, Festival Hill's grand soirée, its 50th Anniversary Gala, chaired by Lilla Blackburn-Sivek and Lisa Mayer, takes place Saturday, April 17, 2021, fittingly beneath a commodious tent footsteps from its lyre-topped concert hall. While the gala is completely sold out, underwriting opportunities remain, so you can still participate in funding one of Texas' cultural treasures for the next 50 years. Info, Pat Johnson, gala@festivalhill.org. Catherine D. Anspon o ne of our favorite Houston textile designers, Courtney Barton, opens her 800-square-foot store at Round Top Village. Barton, who describes her new shop as a sunny jewel box, stocks her multitude of soft cotton Dohar blankets, block-print pillows, Kantha quilts, and charming objects and furnishings. Another former Houstonian, Sarah Bray, pops in from her home in Bermuda for a Sarah Bray x Courtney Barton pop-up on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 27 and 28. Bray — a former editor at Elle Decor, Veranda, House Beautiful, and Town & Country — is packing up her sustainable s u n h a t s a n d caftans made from vintage fabric for her trip to the drylands. Rounding out round top village jaCk thompson jenny antill CliFton (Continued on page 105) Courtney Barton 94