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A recent field trip down I-10 brought the Katy Contemporary Arts Museum into our radar. Thanks to the vision of curator/director Ana Villaronga-Roman — a Puerto Rican native/ long-time Katy resident with 25 years of expertise in the visual field — there's now art and life in the 'burbs. After city officials greenlighted her proposal, Villaronga-Roman signed a lease (with the option to purchase) in May 2013 on a former 1950-era lumber biz site that's rumored to be Texas' first poured-concrete building, located in Katy's historic downtown. Four months later, area residents were perusing paintings at their first arts museum, which even boasts a permanent collection, including works by seminal Texans Ibsen Espada and Jesús Moroles. Best of all, KCAM's programming mixes community involvement — such as juried shows that invite participation including area schoolchildren — with exhibitions of major players; recently on view were canvases by Houston Rome Prize- winning Earl Staley and paintings by New Orleans talent Linda Dautreuil. Coming soon is a showcase of animation and KCAM's burgeoning collection (August 6 – September 7). At 20,000 square feet, there's lots of promise at this nonprofit, which has become the poster child for the Made in Katy movement, whose wares are stocked in the museum gift shop. In the works is KCAM Underground, a hangout/meeting place/study center for teens that opens later this summer, alongside a studio complex (phase one is in the works) and indie theater set for Summer 2015. Projected costs for the campus come in at an ambitious $2.2 million. How has KCAM been embraced by the public? "We're attracting important arts people to the Katy community," Villaronga-Roman says. "KCAM has created a dynamic social scene that gives culture seekers an outlet." 805 Avenue B, 832.857.1340, katycam.com. Catherine D. Anspon Here's where we'll be beating the heat this month. Saturday, August 2, rock out with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast at the annual Party Like a Rock Star shindig. Co-chairs Natalie Alfaro and Mayra Cuello host the '90s-themed night, with cocktails and music at Winter Street Studios (ppgulfcoast.org/ rockstar)…Saturday, August 16, suit up with The Ensemble Theatre for the Black Tie Gala: Anchor or Inspiration at the Hyatt Regency Downtown. Co- chairs Deavra Daughtry and Laurie Vignaud; honorary chair The Honorable Sylvester Turner; honorees the Lawson Family, LeToya Luckett, Robert Townsend, and Hal Williams (713.807.4321; dsmith@ensemblehouston.com) … Saturday, August 23, lovely ladies will gather at the Royal Sonesta Houston Hotel for The Woman's Hospital of Texas Annual Labor Day Luncheon and Style Show. Chairs Laura Davenport and Linda Russell present a shopping bazaar and fashion show by Todd Ramos. Benefitting March of Dimes; media sponsor PaperCity (713.964.5413; knixon@marchofdimes.com). Can't wait to see you back on the town! Erin Oppenheim Peska seafood restaurant is poised to open a 6,000-square-foot eatery in Phase II of BLVD Place — specifically, the highly visible corner of San Felipe and Post Oak Lane, says developer Ed Wulfe. Peska is owned by the Mexico-based Ysita family; siblings Diego and Maite Ysita have a loyal following for their La Trainera collection of four seafood restaurants in Mexico City and Acapulco. Lisa Pope-Westerman of Gensler is design director for the restaurant, scheduled to open early December … Thomas Nguyen and chef Paul Friedman have taken over the shuttered Gigi's Asian Bistro space at the Galleria for their South African restaurant Peli Peli, scheduled to open in November. The original location is at Vintage Park in Northwest Houston; the Galleria makes the second … Also serving up South African cuisine is the downtown restaurant and bar Springbok, from South African native Peter Walker (who founded Springbok Bar & Grill in L.A.) and chef Seth Greenburg (L'Orangerie in L.A. and Cuisine Français in Chicago), which opened late July at 711 Main … Kata Robata, chef Manabu Horiuchi's much-loved Japanese restaurant at Kirby and Richmond now offers catering. Dial now to book a sublime holiday dinner … Ja'Nel Witt has taken over as executive chef at Corner Table. Does the name sound familiar? Wilt was the winner of Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen, season two … BLVD Place welcomes two fresh-foodie additions, both Phoenix based. True Food Kitchen debuted at the end of July, in partnership with health-guru Dr. Andrew Weil, serving up foods based on Weil's anti-inflammatory diet. Watch for details in the September issue. North Italia restaurant, an ode to an Italian tavern, opens September 30 and will center on wood-fired pizzas and house-made pastas … Now, here's a team of talents: Bar owner Ian Rosenberg and his Mongoose Versus Cobra/13 Celsius business partner Mike Sammons, Slow Dough Bread Co.'s Heath Wendell and Brown Paper Chocolates/Acute Catering's Richard Kaplan are teaming up to open a Midtown restaurant, bakery and bar coolly called Weights + Measures, opening this fall in a 32,000-square-foot converted garage/print factory at 2808 Caroline. Slow Dough's first retail store will open here as well … There's a new coffee shop downtown: Matt Toomey, who owns Boomtown Coffee in the Heights, has opened The Honeymoon Café & Bar at 300 Main Street … Local pastry chef Rebecca Masson, who appeared on Top Chef's "Just Desserts" segment, opens Fluff Bake Bar at 304 Gray in Midtown this fall. You may already know Masson's sweets from Revival Market in the Heights — cupcakes, macaroons, gingersnaps, Fluffernutters and more. But at Fluff Bake Bar, she'll also serve charcuterie plates, beer and wine … Anita Jaisinghanithe, owner of the beloved Indika and Pondicheri restaurants, was recently in Bradford, England (the self-appointed curry capital of the world, she says) at the invitation of the U.S. embassy, serving as the sole representative of the U.S. for a festival celebrating Indian food. She tells us that the embassy located her through Travel + Leisure's guide to the Best Indian Restaurants in the US, where Indika was at the top … And finally, the ever-popular Houston Restaurant Weeks event is set for August 1 through September 1. The largest restaurant weeks of its kind in the States, it's also the largest annual fund-raiser for the Houston Food Bank, which is the largest food bank in the nation. For 32 days, enjoy specially priced multi-course prix-fixe menus at 150 participating restaurants. For restaurants, go to houstonrestaurantweeks.com. Molly Jodeit Restaurant Buzz Antiques and uncommon luxuries maven Margaret Naeve of M. Naeve has moved from Bissonnet to a 2,700-square-foot space at 1911 Westheimer next to The Upper Hand salon and just down the street from fellow antiques proprietress Kay O'Toole … Bag snob Jill Haber's namesake handbag collection is now carried at Elizabeth Anthony and Tootsies; we're fans of her vintage-inspired silhouettes with modern sensibility … Saks Fifth Avenue will stock the Swiss cosmetics company Valmont's skincare line, starting August 18 … Tootsies has added more new designers to its fall lineup: Adam Lippes, Antonio Berardi, Tamara Mellon, Dolce & Gabbana, Marni, Moschino, Piazza Sempione and Zuhair Murad, and the coveted pumps of Gianvito Rossi … Neiman Marcus hosts a slew of trunk shows: jewelry designer Sydney Evan, August 13; Lagos jewels, August 14; Chanel's Wild West-inspired pre- fall collection, August 19; Giorgio Armani and Armani Collezioni , August 20; and Giambattista Valli, August 21 – 22 … Galleria news: Cali-cool boutique Trina Turk opens next month in a 1,400-square-foot space between Rolex and Sephora in Galleria I, Level 1. David Yurman's makeover debuts this fall, with a temp space in Galleria I, Level 2 near Saks Fifth Avenue. The ever-popular Apple Store is expanding; watch for its temporary location in Galleria I, Level 2, near Saks Fifth Avenue … As Elizabeth Anthony nears the end of its big reno, the mega boutique adds fine jewelry by Andrea Fohrman, Chris Davies, Jordan Alexander, Kara Ross, Lana and Maiyet … Settlement adds the frocks of L.A.- based Tina+Jo and the Miami-based Sen … Stop by bauble boutique Mariquita Masterson to check out the limited collection of Confetti and Sprinkles art-glass jewelry … Linda Cunningham hosts a Lafayette 148 fall trunk show, August 4 – 9. Not ready for colder weather yet? Join the boutique for a Kinross resort trunk show, August 19 – 23. Cunningham herself will be in store August 25 – 26 to debut her fall collection and meet with clients interested in a custom frock … Dimensions welcomes designer Gene Kagan of women's contemporary line Lola and Sophie, August 23. Dimensions also welcomes the NY- based line Heartloom, which combines the styles of the East and West Coasts … BB1 Classic in Uptown Park brings a little bit of Italy to Houston with a shop-in-shop featuring designers Beatrice B., Sfizio and Marcoliani Milano, August 28, noon to 7 pm. Cin Cin! … Uptown Park's makeup boutique Façade has signed a lease in Phase II of Houston's BLVD Place on Post Oak Boulevard, with an opening date in September. Façade remains in its Uptown Park locale until then … Houstonians Brandon and Greer McDonald have opened the first blow-dry and beauty bar on the west side, Brush & Blush Blow Dry Bar, at Gateway Memorial City, offering on-location services for those tight on time... Houston-made atelier David Peck packs up shop and moves his headquarters to 2515 Morse this month. Megan Pruitt Winder luxury PROPERTIES. utmo DISCRETION. M E C O M P R O P E R T I E S . C O M 7 1 3 . 5 5 8 . 3 3 1 8 Mary Elizabeth is a member of the Martha Turner Sotheby's International Realty Circle of Excellence and Hall of Fame and ranked one of Houston Business Journal's Top-25 Realtors. Social Whirl F or Thanksgiving, my family and I are planning a trip to the Oregon wine country. We will stay in Portland for a few days to partake in the amazing restaurant scene. At the top of the list is Le Pigeon (lepigeon. com). I hope the profiteroles with foie gras ice cream are on the menu when we visit. For creative Thai street food, we'll try the cuisine at Pok Pok (pokpokpdx.com), and for Italian, Ava Gene's (avagenes.com). We move to The Allison Inn & Spa (theallison.com) in nearby Willamette Valley for Thanksgiving. Here we plan to visit wineries and enjoy the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Traveling to … Ruth Davis, Owner, Found Katy Becomes an ART TOWN KCAM director Ana Villaronga-Roman Katy Contemporary Arts Museum Earl Staley's Pavement 13, 2014, at KCAM FATIMA DONALDSON FATIMA DONALDSON DEBI BEAUREGARD Le Pigeon Ava Gene's Willamette Valley The Allison Inn & Spa The Allison Inn & Spa