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A WILD AFFAIR PAPERCITY PROMOTION Dallas Zoo To Do INSIDE Photography Thomas Garza and Rob Wythe/Wythe Portrait Studio. Greg Hext, Kim Hext Marena Gault Roger Gault Kevin Sullivan Robyn Chauvin Chuck Steelman Thai-Ian Tran Steven J. Roth Lyda Hill, Ellen Flowers Paul Flowers T his is our favorite event of the year" — that's what we heard more than once on our golf-cart ride from the Dallas Zoo entrance to cocktail hour at Don Glendenning Penguin Cove. As we zipped past lemurs, cheetahs, and lanterns glowing in anticipation of Dallas Zoo Lights celebration, we understood. Zoo To Do, with its safari-chic dress code and assemblage of Dallas chefs, has long been known as a fun fundraiser. But only when you're mingling with flamingos while enjoying risotto from Parigi or ceviche from Gemma does the fantastical nature of the occasion sink in. Zoo To Do welcomed close to 700 guests, with plenty of khaki and leopard print spotted on the Giants of the Savanna, where chefs from Parigi, Gemma, Cane Rosso, Ocean Prime, The Zodiac Room, Sachet, Truluck's, Taco y Vino, and more doled out incredible dishes and cocktails while performers costumed as animals danced past. Fundraiser fare (the silent auction) mingled with special treats such as hand-feeding the giraffes. As a line formed for Botolino Gelato Artigianale, the live auction kicked off in the Wilds of Africa Plaza, offering everything from glamping at the Dallas Zoo to a Mexico City excursion with the zoo's conservation team to a monarch butterfly sanctuary. Then the band Manhattan took to the stage, closing out the evening with music and dance. Spotted: Chairs Steven J. Roth and Thai-Ian Tran; honorary chair Lyda Hill; honorary chef Dan Landsberg; Dallas Zoo Board chair Dawn Moore and Steve Moore; Mary McDermott Cook; Dan Patterson; Grace Cook; Diane and Hal Brierley; Marena and Roger Gault; Cindy and Chuck Gummer; Kate and Lane Britain; and Joan and Alan Walne. LITERARY LUNCHEON INSIDE A PAPERCITY PROMOTION The Writer's Garden Symposium Photography Rob Wythe. L ondon designers Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen probably had no idea how deeply their candor about collecting ("You could stay at my house for three months and never see the same plate") would resonate with the rapt audience at the Writer's Garden Symposium, a luncheon presented by the Women's Council of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Co-chairs Sharon Ballew and Mari Epperson chose the theme "Homes, Hospitality, Heavenly Gardens" for the 17th annual event, which funds the maintenance and growth of A Woman's Garden at the Arboretum. Emcee JD Trueblood introduced speaker Kate Markert, executive director of Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, who walked the audience through her book, A Garden for All Seasons. Next, Moschino and Vergeylen narrated the beautiful and layered spaces photographed in their new book, An Entertaining Life: Designing Town and Country, and offered such iconic hosting advice as: "You're on your own during the day; we'll see you for dinner!" Spotted at the luncheon and the patron party at Hotel Swexan: Women's Council president Karen Sargent; honorary chair and patron party host Ann Barbier-Mueller with daughter Niña Barbier-Mueller Tollett and daughters-in-law Bridget Barbier-Mueller and Katelyn Barbier-Mueller; Dorothea Meltzer; Karisti Julia; Mary Ellen Winborn; Jessica Horn; Nancy Connor; and Kathy Cothrum and Carolyn Tobin. Melissa Smrekar Kate Markert Bridget Barbier-Mueller Ann Barbier-Mueller Mari Epperson Karen Sargent Sharon Ballew Paolo Moschino Philip Vergeylen Sarah Sargent Rebecca Sargent 90