Party Hopping: Fancy Cars, Cool Art, Great Causes

Picnicking at Bonton

A pandemic year couldn’t stop the Rotary Club of Park Cities from raising $150,000+ for the planned Bonton Clinic in south Dallas.

Club members celebrated May 28 with a picnic lunch at Bonton Farms, a nonprofit which uses its two urban farms, a market, a cafe, and coffee house to provide food, employment, and economic development for the Bonton community.

Folds of Honor party

Monica and Joe Eastin opened their home May 27 for the 2021 North Texas Folds of Honor Gala kickoff party, an evening of patriotism fueled by personal testimonials, camaraderie, and passion, along with a live performance by country artist Stoney LaRue. 

The Eye sculpture and two all-electric Porsche Taycans made for an irresistible photo spot. (Photo: Michael Ainsworth)

Laura and Chris Thomason and Paige and Marc Sachs received World War II handmade bomber jackets for their work supporting Folds of Honor’s mission: providing educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service-members. 

Eye on Porsche

Two all-electric Porsche Taycans – a Chalk Turbo S and a Neptune Blue 4S – flanked downtown Dallas’ iconic Eye sculpture during a Porsche Dallas launch party sponsored by the Joule Hotel.

Social media lit up with photos on May 27 of guests posing beside and inside the Taycans (rhymes with “icons”). Swag bags included a wireless phone charger and the latest issue of D Magazine.

‘Fun, fun, fun’ 

Vogel Alcove’s 29th annual Arts Performance Event fundraiser drew 700 supporters in person and virtually for a Beach Boys concert on the lawn at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Annette Strauss Artist Square.

All proceeds benefit the efforts of the early childhood education and Parent Opportunity Center to “rewire brains, repair hearts, and restore the families of homeless children in Dallas.”

Alzheimer’s myths

Call it a sign of the times: This year’s AWARE Affair Celebrate The Moments Alzheimer’s Myths Unveiled fundraiser occurred indoors, outdoors, and online with food, music, comedy, and other programming at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.

The 2020 Inaugural Founders Award went to Barbara Sypult and the 2021 Founder’s Award to Kay Hammond. Emcee Scott Murray tackled Alzheimer’s Myths, noting that a diagnosis is nothing to be ashamed of and does not invalidate a patient’s importance, value, or lifetime accomplishments. 

Carol Stabler, Gail Plummer, Barbara Sypult, and Kay Hammond. 
(Photo: Wythe Portrait Studios)

Art of biodiversity?

The 2021 Business Council for the Arts Leadership Arts Institute Dallas class hosted The Art of Discovery, a celebration fundraising event and art auction on April 24 at The Texas Discovery Gardens (TDG), a champion of biodiversity in North Texas.

The 2021 LAI Dallas class raised more than $33,000 to provide critically needed repairs to TDG greenhouses that preserve endangered species of plants unique to North Texas. Local galleries and artists earned $16,000-plus in proceeds from the auction.


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William Taylor

William Taylor, editor of Park Cities People and Preston Hollow People, shares a name and a birthday with his dad and a love for community journalism with his colleagues at People Newspapers. He joined the staff in 2016 after more than 25 years working for daily newspapers in such places as Alexandria, Louisiana; Baton Rouge; McKinney; San Angelo; and Sherman, though not in anywhere near that order. A city manager once told him that “city government is the best government” because of its potential to improve the lives of its residents. William still enjoys covering municipal government and many other topics. Follow him on Twitter @Seminarydropout. He apologizes in advance to the Joneses for any angry Tweets that might slip out about the Dallas Cowboys during the NFL season. You also can reach him at william.taylor@peoplenewspapers.com. For the latest news, click here to sign up for our newsletter.

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