Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/686211
DRAG QUEEN + ROCK LEGEND FOR ORANGE SHOW AND '80s A GOGO FOR CHILDREN'S MUSEUM PHOTOGRAPHY MIKE HERRERA, MORRIS MALAKOFF, GARY MALTZ, ALEXANDER ROGERS. JUNE | PAGE 30 | 2016 ORANGE SHOW'S OUTRAGEOUS COSPLAY An epic night lured art czars, collectors and artists to a raucous, unscripted Phantom Orange Gala, at Crowne Plaza at NRG. The Phantom Orange moniker was a nod to the extraordinary outsider art environment it benefitted: Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. Chairs Lynn Mathre and Stewart O'Dell presided, joined by 400 folk-art fans, many outrageously costumed to sync with the night's kaleidoscopic theme. Among the revelers: Orange Show founder and chairman of the board Marilyn Oshman (who's also a very notable collector); Don Mafrige Jr., resplendent in an entrance-making cape; Valerie and Lance Rosmarin, as superheroes; Marta Fredricks in an Orange Is the New Black jumpsuit; auction-donating artists Liza Littlefield, Carter Ernst and Paul Kittelson, and Sharon Kopriva with husband Gus, who owns Redbud Gallery; fellow gallerist Dan Allison, working the art auction tables; dealers Barbara Davis, Deborah Colton, and Kirk Hopper, in from Dallas, in a wild Don King getup, who ended up as the high-bidder of a Bert Long Jr. mixed-media masterpiece; Vivie and Chris O'Sullivan; Harriet and Gil Gertner; John Jamail Jr. with mom, Shirlee Jamail; Orange Show directress Lynette Wallace; Suzy Simons; Ige Johnson in a racy orange-red off-the-shoulder gown; Beverly and John Berry; Stephanie Smither, benefactress of the Orange Show's Smither Park, whose celebrated outsider collection graces the Menil beginning this month; art scribe Patricia Johnson; and Lester Marks, dressed as a gold-plated alien, with wife Penelope. Best costume at this fabled gala? J. Michael Soliz always goes all out, this year as a drag queen with platform shoes, bustier and fascinator adorned with butterflies and Hermès boxes. The orange on the top: a performance by rock 'n' roll legend Mickey Thomas of Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship renown, plus $500,000 raised for this much beloved monument and its mission. Catherine D. Anspon CHILDREN'S MUSEUM FAB FLASHBACK In the 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II, Marty McFly and Doc Brown time-traveled forward to the year 2015. Exactly three days after that historic (if fictional) visit, the Children's Museum of Houston did the reverse, voyaging back to the '80s to celebrate its 35th anniversary. Five hundred guests braved the elements to attend the raucous gala, presented by BB&T and Phillips 66 at one of Houston's most in-demand venues, Silver Street Studios. Darryl & Co. set the stage with floating Rubik's cubes, glam '80s music videos on playback and a late-night set by The Spazmatics. Jackson and Company prepared herb-crusted beef tenderloin medallions with potatoes and monkey bread, as well as retro jawbreakers cake, Mr. and Mrs. Pac- Man-shaped lemon mousse, Steak-Umm sliders and chilled cans of Tab soda. Auction goodies included a Rolex donated by Deutsch & Deutsch Jewelers, as well as the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at an Astros game. Chairmen Carmen and Butch Mach and Courtney and Bill Toomey, along with underwriting chairs Krystal and Garrett Thompson, organized the festivities, which raked in $1.1 million for CMH's educational and outreach programs. Material girls (and boys): CMH board president Geoff Bracken and wife Shelley, Mollie and Dan Castaneda, Leslie and Jack Blanton, Gina and Carl Luna, Glen Gonzalez and Steve Summers, Nushan Daryabeygi (lucky winner of the raffled Rolex), Cynthia and Mac Walker, Milessa and Jed Lowrie, Gina and Jeff Luhnow, Lindley and Jason Arnoldy, and Lauren and Brad Morgan. Matthew Ramirez Chair Carmen Mach Chair Butch Mach at CMH John Ware at CMH Ashura Bayyan at Orange Show Chair Lynn Mathre at Orange Show Chair Stewart O'Dell India Lovejoy Shannon Ware Alan Starnes Jennifer Laporte at CMH Tony Janczak at CMH Michelle Sacks Ryan Weber at CMH Lynn Johnson Marty McFly at CMH Kaitlyn Scheurich Michael Scheurich Doc Brown Chris Laporte Milessa Lowrie at CMH Marilyn Oshman Bob Schultz at Orange Show Don Mafrige Jr. at Orange Show J. Michael Soliz at Orange Show Juan Carlos Restrepo at Orange Show Mickey Thomas at Orange Show Ige Johnson at Orange Show Tere Arcq Star Massing at Orange Show Jesse Lott at Orange Show Penelope Marks at Orange Show Lester Marks Ed Wilson John Kerr Smither Dallas McNamara Jason Arnoldy at CMH Sarah Stamey Harris Stamey Lindley Arnoldy Jed Lowrie Chair Bill Toomey at CMH Paul Latino as Marty McFly and David Born as Doc Brown at CMH Devinder Bhatia at CMH Gina Bhatia Chair Courtney Toomey Ali Starnes