“Stop texting me! I’m turning my phone off!” I received this frustrated text from Michael during a recent photo shoot. I’m often asked: “How do you work with your husband?” It works because we have defined roles; Michael handles the business side of The Buzz and I handle editorial. There’s one exception: photo shoots. Michael has an eye for details and works closely with our photographers. But I work with our writers and know the story-behind-the-story. So when Michael is at a photo shoot, I inevitably bombard him with opinions. We might (lovingly) drive each other crazy, but we both want the best result. Our goal is to shine a light on fascinating residents and their stories. This month, meet indie band The Backroom Rumors; learn about the Bellaire Cookbook and History of Our Community; and get inspiration for spring cleaning from a later-in-life engaged couple who are merging homes. Most crucially: Read about Holocaust survivor Ruth Steinfeld, on a mission to share her story. As we look ahead to our summer issues, Michael: Keep your phone on. joni@thebuzzmagazines.com
THE BUZZ MAGAZINES
BELLAIRE • WEST UNIVERSITY • MEMORIAL • TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS
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Editor-in-Chief Joni Hoffman
Publisher Michael Hoffman
Editor Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld
Associate Editor Caroline Siegfried
Design Manager John Duboise
Staff Writers Tracy L. Barnett
Sharon Albert Brier
Cindy Burnett
Andria Dilling
Angie Frederickson
Todd Freed
Cindy Gabriel
Cathy Gordon
Michelle Groogan
Dai Huynh
Annie Blaylock McQueen
Jennifer Oakley
Ben Portnoy
Pooja Salhotra
Cheryl Ursin
Contributing Writer Lucy Walker
Account Managers Andrea Blitzer
Leslie Little
Jo Rogers
On our cover: Charlotte and Amy Krasner and Doug Robb are making space for each other – at home and in their hearts.
It is a great article [Over the Moon: Amateur astronomers in Houston by Cheryl Ursin, March 2025] and I am sure readers will find it very informative. I personally learned some new information from other experts you talked to.
I am so thrilled and “over the moon” to see my pictures in the magazine and I really enjoyed being part of the process. Once again, a big thanks to you and the Buzz team.
Ajay Mandke
Flour power
Joni, I’m cracking up about your Editor’s Note in this month’s Buzz [March 2025]. I too started to make the pound cake [included in Recipe for a Sweet Space by Jennifer Oakley, Feb. 2025] and realized there was no flour measurement included! I just Googled another pound cake recipe and improvised. I ended up making pound cake cupcakes for my granddaughter, who loved them. Love the magazine coming into our home every month!
Gina Taylor
Editor’s note: Gina, thanks for your feedback and we’re happy to hear your improvised recipe turned out well – and we love that you turned them into cupcakes. As mentioned in the March Editor’s Note, we mistakenly left an ingredient out of the pound cake recipe in our Feb. issue. The missing ingredient is 3 cups of flour. Find the updated recipe online. We regretted our mistake – but enjoyed hearing from so many readers wanting to make this recipe.
Memories
Thank you for that amazing article [Last Hawaii Hurrah, Travel Buzz, March 2025]. It is so cool and even better than I imagined! Three people already contacted me after seeing it and are quite jealous – both of the trip and the fact that we were in The Bellaire Buzz! Seriously, great job and thank you again for all your hard work and helping us memorialize this family vacation even more.
Joseph Allen
Grateful
I love Andria Dilling's stories! Fun, insightful perspectives that never fail to spark a little joy and renew my faith in humanity. Her A Gift of Gratitude piece in the Feb. 2025 issue captures perfectly my family’s thrill and pride over our mother’s second book – a children's book titled There Is a Little Toe [by Gem Rigsby] – and the special edition she created for Texas Children's Hospital. Thank you, The Buzz Magazines and Andria Dilling for highlighting the good things in this world!
Lana Rigsby
Spotlighting Second Servings
Thank you for highlighting the unique “community service” milestone birthday celebration that was the brainstorm of celebrant Linda Mendeloff [Buzz About Town, “Birthday gals give back” by Angie Frederickson, Jan. 2025]. While Linda introduced 50 of her friends and family to the Second Servings “PopUp Grocery Store” program, your Buzz Around Town feature introduced many more
Houstonians to our innovative program, inspiring new volunteer signups. Seeing the enormous amount of high-quality food that would ordinarily go to waste is eyeopening, but knowing that it is now nourishing people is immediately gratifying.
Barbara Bronstein, Second Servings of Houston
Raising awareness
I’ve been reading The Buzz for many years and love the stories. It was fun to relive the 111 driving missions in “100 flights and rides for cancer treatment” spotlighted in the Jan. 2025 issue [Buzz About Town by Angie Frederickson]. Volunteers for Houston Ground Angels ended 2024 driving over 4,000 missions to/from airports. But we need more volunteer drivers as over 1,000 other requests went untaken. I met so many grateful cancer patients coming into town during my 400+ missions last year. This is one of the best volunteer opportunities I’ve ever run across as there is no required number of trips. You simply choose open requests off a website any day of the week as often as you’d like. See groundangels.org for more information.
Paul Marvin
Email us at mailbag@thebuzzmagazines.com. Or send to Mailbag, The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet St., Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401. Please include your name, address, phone number and email address for verification purposes. Letters or emails addressed to The Buzz Magazines become the property of the magazine, and it owns all rights to their use for publication. Addresses, phone numbers and email addresses will not be published. Letters are subject to editing for clarity and length. Views expressed in letters do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Buzz Magazines, and The Buzz takes no responsibility for the content and opinions expressed in them.
We are looking for residents for upcoming articles who:
• Have a high school senior in the Class of 2025 who would like to be part of our annual “Where are they headed?” feature. (Deadline: April 25)
• Have a unique summer tradition.
• Were recently married and would like to participate in an upcoming Wedding Buzz column.
• Know a Buzzworthy neighbor to feature.
• Have an interesting travel tale.
If this sounds like you or someone you know, please contact us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com or 713.668.4157, ext 102.
Inside This Issue
4 Editor’s Note
6 10 16
Mailbag: Letters from Readers
The Power of Fairy Tales: They aren’t just for children by Cindy Gabriel
As Cindy Gabriel’s grandson receives his first visit from the tooth fairy, Cindy considers the power of fairy tales.
Spring Cleaning: From “me” to “we” by Andria Dilling
Charlotte and Amy Krasner and Doug Robb are making space for each other – at home and in their hearts.
The Backroom Rumors: Houston’s homegrown indie rock band by Lucy Walker
Indie band
The Backroom Rumors – students Evan Loftin, Lily Pesikoff, and Bo Farnell – reunite for shows over college breaks. The band will soon release their debut album.
From Page to Screen: Is it best to read the book first? by Cindy Burnett
Many popular shows on streaming platforms originated as books.
A Neighborhood Story in Recipes: The Bellaire Historical Cookbook by Andria Dilling
Members of the Bellaire Culture and Arts Board are bringing back the Bellaire Historical Cookbook, updated from its last print in 1969.
Summer Camp Directory
Special Advertising Section
Rumor Has It by Sharon Albert Brier
Buzz Reads by Cindy Burnett
Wedding Buzz: The Goodmans and the Bijlanis by Angie Frederickson
The weddings of Allison Levy and Landon Goodman in Breckenridge and Diana Dang and Rahul Bijlani in Portugal.
Lest We Forget: A Holocaust survivor’s mission by Cathy Gordon
Ruth Steinfeld, 91, is a Holocaust survivor with a mission to share her story and educate others.
Travel Buzz: From Houston to Portugal by Tracy L. Barnett Diana Dang and Rahul Bijlani’s love affair with Portugal.
SportzBuzz by Todd Freed
SportzBuzz Jr. by Annie Blaylock McQueen
From School Buzz: Kinkaid junior wins Rodeo Art Competition by Sophie Lighvani
Neighborhood Tails by Phoebe
Buzz About Town by Angie Frederickson
Back Porch: Where Are We Going? by Andria Dilling
In every marriage, there’s the planner and then there’s the one who says “Where are we going again?”
by Cindy Gabriel, staff writer
The Power of Fairy Tales
They aren’t just for children
Once upon a time, the other day, my grandson Eli Weber, 6, lost his first tooth. It felt a little bittersweet. A page had turned in his childhood. First, the Tooth Fairy left him some cash. Second, he got a wallet. Then, I put some money on a credit card, and he put that in his wallet. Now he’s asking grown-up questions like where did I put my wallet? At least he still has enough of that kid magic in him to believe in the Tooth Fairy.
As a young mother, I cringed a bit adding the Tooth Fairy into my children’s collection of stories, knowing I would later be outed. As a grandmother, I’m back to believing in fairy tales myself. Please. Allow me to make my case.
The great Albert Einstein was once approached by a mother who desperately wanted her young son to grow up to be a scientist like Einstein. What should I read him to prepare his young mind, she asked. Fairy tales, Einstein answered. A little disappointed in the answer, the mother asked, And what after that? More fairy tales, Einstein replied.
This immediately makes me think of my grandmother Inez, my father’s mother, my own Mother Goose. She read us fairy tales, or just adlibbed from her memory, as if she were telling wonderful secrets just between us.
She must have done this with my father too. He debated his entire fifth-grade class on the existence of Santa Claus. Finally, he point-blank asked the teacher to back him up. Yes, Santa Claus exists, she said. He rested his case.
Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy stories are pretty tame. I don’t even think they qualify as true fairy tales. Real fairy tales are as old as the human race, mostly told verbally among adults, then later modified for children. Children’s author and illustrator Hans Wilhelm explains (via a YouTube video) the anatomy of a fairy tale as follows.
It begins, he says, with a hero, who happens to be a very ordinary person, like a boy, a girl, or a woodcutter. That’s because the hero is you, says Wilhelm. Then, something happens. Wilhelm calls it drama. Stories such as Hansel and Gretel have passed through some of the darkest times in human history, such as The Great Famine and
The Black Death (or Plague) in the 1300s. To describe it would make these pages curl.
I’m surprised by how much darker these stories are than I remember. Hansel and Gretel were sent into the forest by their parents who needed two less mouths to feed. Really? Why did I put up with this as a kid? Even now, getting bribed into offering my firstborn child to a weird little man named Rumpelstiltskin –unthinkable! And a wolf eating Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother? That hits a little too close to home. Jack and the Beanstalk is pretty tame if you don’t mind a little “fee fie fo fum” and a cannibalistic giant. After testing this out on Eli, that line needs some editing. Stop after “I smell the blood of an Englishman.” The next line is, “Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.” Leave that off!
OH
Eli freaked. It took his parents another halfhour of bedtime calming and put me into grandma time-out. I will say, the next morning, Eli asked me to tell him another fairy tale. Wilhelm describes this middle part of the fairy tale, the drama that occurs in every life. No matter how dark or how long it lasts, somehow the hero (you, who are kind, clever, and brave) gets through the drama. Wilhelm says the drama reflects our personal journey of our life here on earth. In the end, the hero not only survives, but emerges stronger and wiser. The drama doesn’t happen to you. It happens for you, Wilhelm says. He likens it to the process of chiseling a rough stone into a diamond or an alchemist transforming lead into gold. This, Wilhelm believes, is a law of the universe,
working us all through the darkest of times into a better place.
The message in fairy tales is that you, the individual, have more power than you think. There is good intention in each of us. That’s where the power lies. Fairy tales unleash this inner knowledge and, if understood widely enough, can transform an unfriendly universe by intention alone.
If we see the universe as an unfriendly place, Einstein contends, we will use science and technology toward our own self-destruction. The contrary, he says, is also true.
If we decide that the universe is a friendly place, then we will use our technology, scientific discoveries, and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding that universe. – Albert Einstein
If enough of us believe in the possibilities within our timeless tales, perhaps, maybe, just maybe, we will all, someday, find a way to live happily ever after.
JOY! Cindy’s grandson Eli Weber finds something to grin about.
Julia Weber
by Cathy Gordon, staff writer
Lest We Forget
A Holocaust survivor’s mission
Four brass-plated plaques lie flush with the sidewalk in front of Ruth Steinfeld’s childhood home in Ladenburg, Germany.
Stolpersteine, they’re called, meaning “stumbling stones.” Each is a memorial to a single individual who was snatched from their daily life and into the nightmare of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi atrocities, for no other reason than being a Jew.
On a clear day, they glimmer, kissed into brilliance by the sun.
“Alfred Krell,” reads one inscription. Ruth’s father. “Deportiert,” (deported) to Gurs internment camp in France in 1940. “Emordet,” (murdered) in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942.
Another is dedicated to Ruth’s mother, Anna, who met the same fate.
Two other memorials round out this family cluster: one plaque offering the fate of Ruth herself; another for her older sister, Lea.
“Überlebt,” the etchings read of the two. Survivors.
For Ruth, 91, Holocaust Remembrance Day (this year, April 23-24) is personal. She’s a Holocaust survivor on a mission.
“My purpose in life is to show people that this can happen again. It happened before and it can happen again. We need to be aware of that,” she says. “And forgiveness. I used to hate the Germans. I had to forgive myself for hating them. You can’t live your life hating people. I look at all these wonderful people in Germany now who greet us with open arms. They’re beautiful people.”
Ruth sits in her Houston home this day, recalling her childhood, upended by Hitler’s heinous acts. She and Lea were left parent-less, struggling to stay afloat in a cruel world they no longer recognized, like a small flotilla against monstrous waves.
The indignities started even at Ruth’s birth, on July 8, 1933. The year Hitler came to power as chancellor of Germany. Under his dictate, Jews in Germany weren’t allowed citizenship.
“My sister Lea had a birth certificate because she was born in 1932. But in 1933 when he took power, that changed. I was stateless. It’s as if I was non-existent,” Ruth explains.
So, in 2023, at age 89, Ruth applied for
German citizenship under the recently adopted Section 15 of the Nationality Act, that allows individuals who were denied German citizenship from 1933 to 1945 – due to persecution on political, racial, or religious grounds –to seek naturalization. Ruth – grandmother to seven and great-grandmother to ten –was granted that citizenship at age 90.
She promptly celebrated with a trip to Germany last fall with daughters Michelle Bercow and Fredda Friedlander, and niece Judy Mucasey, Lea Weems’ daughter. Lea died in 2008.
While Ruth has visited Germany a few times over the decades, this pilgrimage topped the proverbial cake with an Emerald Rhine River cruise. Highlights included meeting a second cousin for the first time – a violin virtuoso – in Amsterdam. They revisited places Ruth lived, and the sites where ancestors are buried. They consumed their weight in bratwurst and pastries and shopped and explored quaint cobblestone towns. Cologne, Mannheim, Strasburg, Basel, Ladenburg, and Sinsheim filled their itinerary.
Word of a Holocaust survivor on the cruise ship made the rounds, with passengers seeking out Ruth to hear her story. And she spoke to German high school seniors while there, in keeping with her goal to keep the story of the
Holocaust alive.
Especially memorable was their visit to the synagogue in Mannheim. Inside is a plaque honoring her mother, father, and maternal grandparents, Jacob and Bertha Kapustin.
“We took the taxi to Mannheim, but the synagogue was closed. There were security guards there and they wouldn’t let us in,” explains daughter Michelle.
As fate would have it, the synagogue’s cantor walked up, opening the doors to them. “He walked with us and heard her story. And when she saw the plaque, she started crying, and my cousin started crying,” Michelle says. “It meant so much to Mom.”
They also met with an archivist in Sinsheim,
MANNHEIM MEMORIES A highlight of Ruth Steinfeld’s trip to Germany last fall included a visit to the Mannheim synagogue that features a plaque honoring her father Alfred Krell, mother Anna Krell, and her maternal grandparents Jacob and Bertha Kapustin.
NEVER FORGET Left photo: Ruth Steinfeld (left) and sister Lea Weems (right) hold hands with their mother, Anna Krell, before Hitler’s atrocities tore their family apart. Anna and her husband Alfred Krell were murdered at the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942. Top right: Ruth (center) talked to German high school students while on her trip to Germany last fall, in keeping with her mission to educate people about the Holocaust. Bottom right: Mini memorials called Stolpersteine (“stumbling stones”) are inserted in the sidewalk outside of Ruth’s childhood home in Ladenburg, Germany, showing the fate of her parents, murdered at the Auschwitz concentration camp. Ruth and Lea survived, thanks to their mother’s selfless, brave decision to send them away via a secret French group that rescued children.
learning about Ruth’s father and his businesses. He had owned two specialty grocery markets in Sinsheim with one of his brothers before the Nazis shut down that livelihood. Ruth’s parents then moved to Ladenburg, to live with her grandparents.
“It was the trip of a lifetime, learning so much and getting to do and see so many things,” says Michelle. “She was so happy. That made us happy.”
Ruth sits in her home this day, pointing out black and white photographs of her mother and father. The family’s lives changed forever the night of November 9, 1938. Kristallnacht, “the Night of Broken Glass.” The family was eating dinner when two Nazi soldiers broke into their home with axes, shattering everything, glass everywhere. The only item that survived the mayhem was the yahrzeit memorial candle, lit for Ruth and Lea’s grandmother who had recently died.
In the fall of 1940, the Nazis rounded up the family from their Ladenburg home, along with other townspeople, sending them to the Gurs internment camp in France. “We were treated like animals,” says Ruth. Once there, they separated men from the women and children.
She never saw her father again.
Her last image of her mother hammers like a deep pain in the pocket of her chest.
“She was in the street, waving goodbye to me
and Lea as we were taken away on a bus,” Ruth says, her voice going soft.
“We didn’t understand what was going on at the time, but our mother knew the only chance for me and Lea to survive was to put us on that bus with this secret group that rescued children. Imagine how brave our mother must have been, how unselfish, to send two little daughters away. Our mother gave us life twice. At birth, and then in sending us away with this group so we could live.”
That French group, Oeuvre de’ Secours Aux Enfants (The Agency for the Rescue of Children), took busloads of children to the Château du Masgelier orphanage in France, where they helped calm the children with song. “They had us sing so we couldn’t cry,” Ruth remembers.
The agency found placement for Ruth and Lea. A French family, who volunteered to take them in. Their farm became a place of peace for the pair. Ruth loved tending to the family’s goats, and they played with their cute dog, Pedro. A snippet of a normal life with Louise and Jean Chapot, and their daughter Paulette. If anyone asked, they were told to say they were Christian.
Ruth and Lea came to the United States in September 1946, stowed away on an old U.S. Navy cargo boat headed for New York City.
Ruth was 13, Lea, 14. Their maternal grandfather, Jacob Kapustin, greeted them, but died within six months of their arrival. Eventually the Jewish Family Service gave them the choice of Minneapolis, Seattle, or Houston as a place to settle. “Lea picked Houston because she wanted to meet a cowboy!” Ruth says.
The hole in their heart didn’t go away. Every school permission slip that needed signed was a reminder. No parents.
The two girls eventually got an apartment together, buoyed by a skill that could earn them money. They had gone to typing school.
At 16, Ruth got her first job at Zero Foods, working for its founder John Baugh, a company now recognized as the world’s largest food distributor, Sysco. Then she met her husband Larry, since deceased, at Houston’s Jewish Community Center. “Larry, too, was a German Jew, and on the night of Kristallnacht, he was on a boat coming to America,” she says.
Life began in earnest, welcoming daughters Susie, Fredda, and Michelle. Ruth attended cosmetology school, opening a successful hair salon.
All the while, Ruth kept her secrets. She didn’t talk about the Holocaust to clients, nor her daughters.
“I used to avoid talking about it when my girls were growing up,” explains
(continued on page 14)
BIRTHDAY BASH Ruth’s family celebrated her 90th birthday with a get-together that spanned the family generations. Front row (pictured, from left) Ben Becker, Lily Becker, Avery Beleiff, Madison Beleiff, Ruth Steinfeld, Fredda Friedlander, Abby Markowitz, Millie Feldman, Allison Feldman, Grant Feldman, Alex Friedlander, Max Friedlander, Lauren Friedlander, and Stephen Friedlander; second row (from left) Gary Friedlander, Doug Bercow, Michelle Bercow, Judy Mucasey, Cindy Moulton, Sunni Markowitz, Lisa Friedlander, Michael Friedlander, Matt Bercow, Jennifer Beleiff, Mark Faigen, Mark Mucasey, Jeff Markowitz, Debra Gaitz Cohen, Brad Beleiff; (back row, from left) Casey Markowitz, Gary Markowitz, Jake Bercow, and Lane Montano; (in the very back) David Betz.
(continued from page 13)
Ruth. “They’d ask about their grandparents, and I’d sort of avoid the subject or walk out of the room. When my girls wanted to go to a camp, that had a different connotation in my mind. When I waved goodbye, everything would well up inside of me. I’d remember that horrible old bus and me wailing hysterically, because I wanted to stay with my mother.”
Then one day, Michelle, a student at The University of Texas, asked her to speak about her Holocaust experience to her Yiddish class. “I only had hazy ideas of her past and her story,” Michelle says. “I really don’t remember what I knew or didn’t know, but she spoke German and French, and she was just Mom.”
Ruth decided to take that leap. Michelle remembers the talk. “It’s only then that I really heard the whole story. I felt proud. I feel very honored whenever my mom talks about it,” she says, her voice cracking. “I still get emotional about it.”
In 1981, Ruth and Lea went to a conference of Holocaust survivors in Israel. There, in a book, was a list of Holocaust victims. Her eyes fell to page 264. Her parents, Alfred and Anna Krell. Killed in Auschwitz on Sept. 9, 1942, four years before the sisters arrived in the United States. She learned that 1.5 million Jewish children were killed by the Nazis. And she vowed she’d
speak for those children who couldn’t. Her mission took on sharp focus: ensuring the next generation stands up to fight hate, racism, and antisemitism.
Family friend Cindy Levin Moulton, a lawyer, helped Ruth write a memoir Forgive, But Never Forget in recent years, detailing her life as a Holocaust survivor. Cindy’s mother, Gloria Levin, deceased, was Ruth’s close friend for 40 years.
“Ruth has spoken to hundreds, maybe thousands, about her story. I’ve heard her tell her story many times and I still cry every time she tells it,” says Cindy. “She has a tremendously positive outlook on life and brightens every room. If you’re having a bad day, talk to Ruth and she’ll turn you around to where everything’s better.”
Trips to Germany have helped heal her wounds. “I went to my house in Ladenburg once, and I cried and cried. And the old woman who lives in it cried with me.”
And many decades back, she tracked down Paulette, the daughter of the French couple who took them in. “We recognized each other immediately,” says Ruth.
“I asked her why her family did that for us. Why would they take two little Jewish girls in during such a dangerous time? And she said, ‘Wouldn’t you?’”
Paulette has since died. But Ruth and Lea’s family honored the Chapots several years ago in
a ceremony in France, sponsored by Israel’s World Holocaust Remembrance Center, Yad Vashem. The center’s program, Righteous Among the Nations, pays tribute to non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews during the Holocaust. The Chapot’s granddaughter, Besma Caron, represented the family. An emotional Ruth spoke, thanking the family for their selfless sacrifice.
Ruth feels Lea’s presence at every talk. To this day, Lea is a presence at Houston’s Holocaust Museum, telling her story of survival via video. Ruth and Lea’s family have been actively involved since the museum’s inception. Ruth’s husband was a dedicated docent.
“Lea is always with me. She’s part of me. We survived together,” Ruth says. “I had a psychic friend tell me back in 1979 that one day I would speak before large groups of people. I said ‘No way! That’s not something I would do.’ But she was right. It’s my main goal in life. Talking heals. Talking is important. We talk and educate so it can never happen again.”
Editor’s note: Read more about Ruth and Lea’s story, as well as the stories of other local Holocaust survivors, in Houston’s Holocaust Survivors: And the museum that shares their stories by Russell Weil, Jan. 2019, at thebuzzmagazines.com. Visit hmh.org for more on Holocaust Museum Houston.
by Andria Dilling, staff writer
Spring Cleaning
From “me” to “we”
Amy Krasner admits she is an undiagnosed hoarder. The former practicing attorney and owner of Avalon Legal Search laughs: “I don’t mind. I have a lot of extra. Extra toilet paper, extra presents. My personality is extra and I have extra.”
So when Doug Robb proposed last November, it didn’t take long for Amy – and her 8-year-old daughter Charlotte (8 and a half if you ask her) – to start worrying about how they would make room for someone else.
Doug, a gift, estate, and charitable tax expert at a global accounting firm who has two collegeaged children, had been living on his own in a high-rise for several years. “We knew his lease was up in March,” Amy says, “so we worked backward.”
That meant a December start date, on the heels of Doug’s New York proposal the weekend Amy ran the New York Marathon.
“I first cleaned out my closet,” Amy says. “Then I emptied out Doug’s closet.” What was in it before the clean-out? “Extra,” she says. “My triathalon gear from my prior life as a weekend warrior. Bicycle stuff, running stuff, wetsuits, stuff for the pool. I had it all. I like gear.”
With the gear gone, Amy started on the garage. “I had a lot of complaints about my garage from family members traipsing through all my holiday everything,” Amy says. “I like to celebrate everything for my special girl. I would buy anything on Pottery Barn or Amazon. Horrible.” So she hired an organizer to help her with the psychology of editing the hoard.
“She makes you tell your things goodbye,” Amy says. “And I had no choice, right? It’s still a lot of stuff, I can’t lie. But it’s better. The garage is mostly finished. Although my mom would say it’s not.”
All the preliminary clearing-out made room for Doug’s extensive sports card collection, which he has been working on since he was 5. “I have put it together over years and years and years. Once I get a set completed it’s like a trophy.”
With around 150 binders full of cards, plus sports jerseys on a clothing rack, a few hundred old Sports Illustrated copies, a signed Masters flag,
and a few baseballs, fitting it all in took thought. “He’s not really great at displaying all of it,” Amy says, “he just wants it around. Kind of like my piles. I like to have them around.”
They converted the third floor to a “man cave” to house Doug’s collections, which Amy understands are significant to him. “What I real-
ized is that I have memories connected to my stuff, like he does. That’s the thing. That’s what was hard. It was going through the stuff to make room for new memories and new life experiences. Getting rid of the me and making we.” Once she had weeded out the important from the extra, Amy says that
(continued on page 18)
ME TO WE Charlotte and Amy Krasner and Doug Robb are making space for each other – at home and in their hearts.
(continued from page 16)
her fear shifted. “Then it was the idea of having someone around all the time! And figuring out how to give everyone what they need. But it’s going well.”
Charlotte was fearful of the shift, too. But today she gives their “we” the thumbs-up.
“Every day is different,” Amy says. Charlotte is busy with a year-round swim program, piano lessons, and being, according to Amy, “a master manipulator of her grandparents Susu and Pots and her Tia,” aka Susan and Marvin Krasner and Aunt Carrie Krasner. “She’s still on the fence,” Amy says of Charlotte’s willingness to share her
mom. “It’s a work in progress. But we’re getting used to each other.” They’re also getting used to their new golden retriever puppy Blue, who has given everyone a bit of a runaround.
“We just have such a good time together, because they’re both super fun,” Doug says of Amy and Charlotte. “Almost every night the three of us sit together and have family dinner, which is a small thing but I really enjoy it. And with the two of them, you’re never sitting around twiddling your thumbs.”
Amy and Doug plan to be married this year, once they tie up the loose ends of merging two
very full worlds. “Maybe this fall?” Amy wonders. “All I can promise is we will not get married on an A&M football weekend,” nodding to her fiancé’s alma mater.
“Doug’s very routine, and we’re the opposite. I’m up for adventure, and he goes along for the ride. But he likes to calendar it.” Then she adds, “He loves the chaos. He really does.”
And Amy says she loves having a partner. “It’s just fun,” she says. “He has to ignore my weirdness and I have to ignore how he gets bothered when there’s traffic and he’s going to be late.
“He doesn’t do well with traffic.”
CREATING A FAMILY Top photo: Doug Robb proposed to Amy Krasner, Charlotte's mom, on a New York cruise the day before Amy ran the marathon there. Bottom right: Doug owns an extensive collection of sports cards. Bottom left: Puppy Blue has added another level of chaos to family life.
by Lucy Walker, contributing writer
The Backroom Rumors
Houston’s homegrown indie rock band
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage The Backroom Rumors. Singer Evan Loftin, 19, drummer Lily Pesikoff, 20, and guitarist Bo Farnell, 21, currently pursue their musical ambitions at colleges across the country. But the story of these local indie scene staples began during their high school days here in town.
Beginnings
Bo and Lily, 2022 graduates of St. John’s School (SJS), grew close while playing in the middle school jazz band and their subsequent cover band at SJS, Claremont Heir.
When Claremont Heir began losing steam, Lily started thinking about her music career beyond high school. She wanted more commitment, a way to perform her songs, and an opportunity to sing in addition to drumming. She formed a musical alliance with Bo, who plays guitar, and started scouting for a bassist. When Lily reached out to a friend at Kinder HSPVA to find someone, she was given two contacts. Serendipitously, Evan, a junior at the time, was the one who responded to her text first.
The HSPVA jazz program is a go-to recruiting pool for those looking to round out an ensemble with a technically skilled musician – “It’s like a game to see who can get the most gigs,” Evan said. His creative playing and writing style made him TBR’s top pick, and his notable talent gave him the edge to overcome being one year younger than Lily and Bo. The gap was most notable early in the band’s days when Bo had to drive Evan to practice. The first time he picked him up, Evan wore a floral dress shirt he bought for his middle school graduation. In his defense, he had dinner plans directly after. “He looked like some kind of cowboy,” Bo recalled. Even now, Evan almost always sports cowboy boots –currently, it’s a black ostrich-skin pair.
From the back room to the stage
The name “The Backroom Rumors” came from the literal back room of the Pesikoff house, which houses work-from-home equipment and some extra furniture in addition to some amps and Lily’s Gretsch Catalina drum kit. It makes for a good practice space for the trio. Tracy
in touch virtually and reunite during school
Pesikoff, Lily’s mother, would bake sweets for practices on Sundays, a tradition left over from when she moderated band practice in middle school. Unsurprisingly, musicians of all ages and skill levels welcome her banana bread.
Just a month after that first practice in October 2021, the band performed their first gig as part of a five-band lineup at White Oak Music Hall.
After a year jam-packed with 19 performances, not including solo sets, Bo headed to Dartmouth College in Hanover and Lily to Occidental College in LA, while Evan finished up his senior year at HSPVA. To keep up their artistic momentum, the band had to get cre-
ative. Each member continued practicing individually, with Bo joining a frat band at Dartmouth and Lily drumming for several ensembles at Occidental. Evan focused on producing the band’s pre-recorded work.
Today, the trio keeps in touch virtually but only reunites in person during school breaks, when they cram in as many practices and performances as possible. The band’s network is widespread, with their most popular single, 2023’s (Did I Say) Goodbye Too Soon, receiving over 40,000 streams across several continents. But the band’s heart remains in Houston. Lily’s single Rural Virginia features several references to her childhood in Houston, including mentions of the
ROCKIN’ OUT The Backroom Rumors – Bo Farnell, Lily Pesikoff, and Evan Loftin (from left) – started playing together during their high school days in Houston. Bo and Lily are 2022 graduates of St. John’s School and Evan is a 2023 graduate of Kinder HSPVA. Bo is a student at Dartmouth College, Lily at Occidental College, and Evan at SUNY Purchase College; they keep
breaks.
Photo courtesy of The Backroom Rumors
Astros World Series wins and Rice’s standoff against the construction of the Ashby Highrise.
Lily is majoring in music production and hopes to get a job in the business side of the industry. She uses these skills to book most of TBR’s gigs – she says that emailing the venue “takes you 50 percent of the way there.”
“As long as you’re able to set up a show, then you can ask a really dope band with a really good following to play it,” Lily said. “Then you’re taking the work off the venue.”
“That’s how the scene really started,” Evan chimed in. “We started setting up so many shows that people were like, ‘we’re actually going to have to actively avoid seeing them at this point.’”
The band plays at White Oak pretty frequently – in December, they rocked the venue for their annual Christmas show. They have also played gigs at other Houston nightlife staples like Axelrad and Super Happy Fun Land.
Longtime fan Haley McClan, who grew up in Memorial, loves coming to shows that introduce her to new areas of Houston. “I had never been to Bohemeo’s on Telephone Road or somewhere with walls covered in doll heads,” she said. “It’s nice discovering places I wouldn’t have
on my own.” Haley has known Lily since elementary school and keeps in touch to see how her music career is going. Now a senior at UT, she frequently rallies her friends to join her at TBR’s Austin gigs.
UH student band Elevator Days opened the December show and Evan's childhood friend Emma Ogier closed. The crowd was filled with SJS students and alums, many of whom have been TBR fans from the beginning – the spirited singalong to their song Rubber Band proved it.
The school’s network has done a lot to support the band, including attending shows, playing their music on college radio stations, and designing cover art and merchandise.
“I think us being apart for a majority of the year is what makes seeing each other again so special,” Lily said. “It’s not just the fans who get to see us for the first time in a while, it’s also us. We’re just as excited to be back.”
With the kids away at school, Lily’s mom Tracy says having a quiet house has been an adjustment. Her older son, Joshua, is an accomplished pianist and would often practice at the same time as Lily’s band on Sundays. Now that they are both grown, Tracy misses the “beautiful chaos” that soundtracked her work as a jewelry artist.
“Bo especially has been in my house every Sunday since seventh grade. One of the coolest things has been to witness the progression of the musicianship,” Tracy said. “The songwriting, collaboration of instruments and recording of music has been fabulously exciting!”
Bo and Lily’s families make an effort to reunite often and spend holidays together –most recently, the Pesikoffs hosted the Farnells for a New Year’s Eve game night. From what I gathered, Boggle got pretty serious.
Making music together
The three band members have each been making music since they were kids. Bo first begged his mom for guitar lessons at age six, but his teacher redirected him to the piano because he was too little. He finally graduated to electric guitar in sixth grade. Evan picked up the bass at five after being inspired by Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and began playing guitar and writing songs during quarantine.
Lily has been writing songs since middle school and says much of her composing happens in her iPhone Notes app, which she estimates holds several hundred songs.
She first started drum- (continued on page 22)
Photo courtesy of The Backroom
Lucy Walker
RUMOR HAS IT The name “The Backroom Rumors” came from the literal back room of the Pesikoff house, where the band practices when they’re home in Houston (pictured, on right). Left photo: The indie band has garnered lots of fans, with their most popular single (Did I Say) Goodbye Too Soon receiving over 40,000 streams.
(continued from page 21)
ming the summer of second grade at Camp Jam, a national program that helps youngsters learn a new instrument. After putting drums down as her intended instrument on a whim, Lily quickly realized she had a talent.
Her teacher recommended private lessons and she soon connected with Jordan Almes, a Rice student at the time. They have worked together for over 10 years. “Now they play and record,” Tracy said. “It’s been so amazing watching them grow up together.”
Lily’s niche as a girl drummer makes her stand out – according to the magazine Drumeo, over 90 percent of drummers are men. In her freshman year of college, several bands reached out to recruit her for gigs. She was often let into clubs to play a set and then made to leave because she was underage. She wrote the first song the band arranged, but most of their other work is a group effort. The songwriting responsibilities of the band are divided up like this: Lily is the brains and business manager, Evan is the recording geek, and Bo is the “resident shredder.”
Bo once posited that the band is like a pair of pants: Evan and Lily are each a leg, and he holds them together. “You could say I’m like the belt.” Because of his antics with Claremont Heir, TBR,
and his frat band at Dartmouth, Bo has become known for jumping around the stage in his signature busted Birks or no shoes at all. He has a reputation as a free-spirited goof – his bandmates have likened him to Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. and the evil penguin from Wallace and Gromit – but he says he actually wears them because his feet get sweaty. An ex-cross-country captain, Bo recalls that “the girls would tell me that I have nasty toes. This is not true.”
The rest of the band is pretty active, too. Evan says he could never go open-toed, as he plays soccer for SUNY Purchase College. Lily has also picked up a sport and is captain of Occidental’s intramural ultimate frisbee team. While in school, she has notably opened for artist Indigo DeSouza and met all three members of the supergroup boygenius at the Occidental pool. She was both surprised and in awe — she says her songwriting inspiration is “100 percent Phoebe Bridgers.”
“The broader the song is the worse it is, so I always appreciated that she’s telling some niche story and you’re like, okay, I’ll try to relate to this. And then you do.” Bo’s influences are primarily classic dad rock and Evan is inspired by jazz and country.
What’s in the queue
Bo plans to join Lily in Los Angeles this summer for an internship. When they brought this up, Evan felt left out: “So you’re telling me I need to move to L.A.?”
Fans will be delighted to hear that the band plans to release their long-awaited debut album within the next few months. The LP will feature six unreleased songs in addition to their three singles. Because TBR’s previous producer, Aden Harris, has been away in Japan working on his rapping career, Evan has enlisted the help of Hayden Havard from the up-and-coming Austin-based band The Irons. “He’s just an absolute wizard,” Evan said. “It wasn’t my best work, and the studio was a little messed up, but he made it sound so good.”
It took two “brutal” weeks’ worth of 12- hour days to record the album, and the files have sat untouched for two years: “If you want to drop an album, you also have to do everything around it, like planning, getting the art together, paying for things, and getting it mixed. But it’ll happen soon.”
Check out the band’s music on Apple Music and Spotify and stay connected with them on Instagram @thebackroomrumors.
Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker
Lucy Walker
DRUMROLL, PLEASE Guitarist Bo Farnell (left) has become known for jumping around the stage; singer and bassist Evan Loftin (top right) calls himself the “recording geek” of the group; singer and drummer Lily Pesikoff (bottom right) stands out for her talents, as most drummers as men. The band plans to release their debut album within the next few months.
by Cindy Burnett, staff writer
From Page to Screen
Is it best to read the book first?
Adebate has existed for years over whether avid readers “have to” read the book before they watch the show. This continues to be a popular topic as more and more books are adapted for the screen. For me, it depends on the show and whether I feel the book would enhance my watching experience.
One of the more popular adaptations is Tracker, which runs on CBS (you can also stream it on Paramount Plus, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, or Apple TV+). Season two is airing, and the show has been renewed for season three. It is an adaptation of Jeffery Deaver’s series, which starts with The Never Game Justin Hartley stars as Colter Shaw, a wandering “rewardist” who travels the country helping individuals and occasionally law enforcement locate missing people in exchange for reward money. The show strikes a good balance between Colter’s private life and the cases he solves each week. Because it runs on network TV, there are more episodes per season than the shows you find on streaming platforms.
The sci-fi bestselling book Dark Matter by Blake Crouch was adapted for the small screen on Apple TV+ to great acclaim last fall. Dark Matter features the Dessen couple, Jason and Daniela, who live in Chicago. While walking home one evening, Jason, a physicist and professor, is abducted off the street into an alternate universe of his life. Initially thrilled to see that the multiverse exists (he had worked to create a way to travel between worlds before becoming a professor), Jason quickly realizes he is stuck in a nightmare, unable to find his way back to his original life, instead trapped in the many lives he could have lived. As an avid fan of the book, I was curious to see how this complicated and fascinating book would translate to the screen. This is an instance of when reading the book before the show is recommended because the book provides so much detail that will supplement the show. I was pleasantly surprised that Apple TV+ followed the story pretty closely and took the time and money to create the various settings and worlds, resulting in one of the best screen adaptations out there. It has been renewed for season two.
Another successful recent book-to-screen adaptation is Dark Winds, based on the bestselling Leaphorn and Chee series by Tony Hillerman. The show airs first on AMC and then can be streamed on Netflix. Season one adapted Listening Woman (book three in the series) and portions of People of Darkness (book four), and season two adapted People of Darkness Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee, and Bernadette Manuelito are members of the Navajo Tribal Police who solve mysteries on their Four Corners reservation in the 1970s as the area is increasingly impacted by violent crime. The series toggles between the personal lives of the officers and the mysteries and activities taking place on the reservation. The cast and crew are almost all Native American, and the Navajo language is interwoven throughout the show. Season three began March 9th, and Dark Winds has been renewed for a fourth season. The award-winning show is a true standout in the crime fiction genre – the writing, the setting, the casting, the culture, the clothing, and the time period are all authentically crafted.
BOOK TO SCREEN Dark Winds is an engaging screen adaptation of Tony Hillerman’s bestselling Leaphorn and Chee series. The show airs first on AMC and then can be streamed on Netflix.
have read – Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks and Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty – so I want to finish the book and then watch the adaptation on Hulu, entitled Say Nothing, to compare the two. The story is set in Belfast during the Troubles, specifically the 1970s through the 1990s, and follows a group of individuals who are involved with the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the group’s murder of Jean McConville. It aired last fall and was generally well received by critics and won numerous awards.
Long Bright River by Liz Moore is one of my favorite mysteries, and I am looking forward to the screen adaptation on Peacock, which began airing in March. It was a Good Morning America Book Club pick in 2020 and on President Obama’s best books of the year list. Mickey Fitzpatrick, played by Amanda Seyfried in the screen adaptation, is a police officer patrolling a rough Philadelphia neighborhood heavily impacted by the opioid crisis. A series of murders takes place, and as Mickey works the cases, she begins to suspect that her personal life is somehow related to the case. Simultaneously, she is searching for her sister, an addict who has gone missing. The book is fantastic, and I hope Peacock creates an equally fabulous screen rendition.
One book-to-screen adaptation that I am looking forward to but haven't watched yet is Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. I want to read the nonfiction book before I see the show. I have loved the two Keefe books that I
One author who has had great success with multiple book-to-screen adaptations is thriller writer Harlan Coben. Netflix has adapted 10 of his books as limited series with Coben working as an executive producer on each one. The most recent, Just One Look, dropped in early March as a six-episode series. Previous books adaptations include: The Stranger, Safe, The Woods, The Innocent, Gone for Good, Stay Close, Hold Tight, Fool Me Once, and Missing You. More of Coben’s books are said to be in development so there appears to be no end in sight to his partnership with Netflix.
More screen adaptations are coming in 2025, including The Hunting Wives by May Cobb (Starz), The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (movie being released Christmas Day), and The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (Netflix in the fall).
Now, back to the question: Do you read the book before you watch the show? I find myself somewhere in the middle; sometimes I read the book first and sometimes I do not. It seems it depends on the book and the adaptation. We’d love to hear what you think.
Editor’s note: Book reviewer Cindy Burnett also writes our monthly Buzz Reads column and weekly Page Turners column. She hosts an award-winning book podcast entitled Thoughts from a Page Podcast www.thoughtsfromapage.com, runs the Instagram account @thoughtsfrompage, and regularly speaks to groups about book.
by Andria Dilling, staff writer
A Neighborhood Story in Recipes
The Bellaire Historical Cookbook
You can read a history book. Or you can cook your way through a history. When the members of the Bellaire Culture and Arts Board wrap up their latest undertaking, people all over Houston will have the chance to do both at once, reading through history and making recipes from the residents of this city within a city.
The original Bellaire Historical Cookbook was published in 1969. “It was very much a historical map, a journey of Bellaire from 1908 until 1969,” says Angie Levinthal, who has been a member of the Bellaire Culture and Arts Board since 2021. But it was first a history book, and then a recipe book. “All the history was in the front,” Angie says. “If you wanted to actually make a recipe, you had to sift through all these stories in the front.”
When the Culture and Arts Board was considering projects to add to their annual art festivals and Earth Day celebration, Kristi Coffey, a member of the board and owner of The ’401 restaurant, shared her brainstorm: bring back the cookbook.
“Every year we look at potential projects,” says Kristi, who has been a member of the Arts and Culture Board for three years. “We were looking to do something that would give the community a sense of ownership, bring people together.”
Kristi had stumbled upon the Bellaire Historical Cookbook a couple of years ago when she was opening her restaurant. “I wanted to incorporate photos of the city [in the restaurant], and someone must have turned me on to [the cookbook]. I found it in an eBay search,” she says. Now there is a copy in the restaurant, along with old Bellaire High School yearbooks, an old cheerleader uniform, an old megaphone. “Guys in the Little League will send me funny photos of each other and other coaches, and I’ll put them up in the men’s restroom,” Kristi laughs.
What attracted Kristi to the cookbook was that “it wasn’t just a cookbook,” she says. “There are photos throughout the decades, and stories about the residents. You kind of feel like you get to know them many years later.”
Bellaire got its start when William Wright Baldwin, a vice president of the Burlington Railroad, purchased land in 1908 and marketed it as a neighborhood possessing the best of both farmland and proximity to the City of Houston. Ten years later in 1918, Bellaire became its own city, with a population of about 200. Today, more than 17,000 people call the town home. Through the years, Bellaire’s population –like Houston’s – has grown into something of a melting pot. The goal of the new cookbook is to capture that diversity along with the changing times.
“We want to be sure we have the right representation in the book,” Gay Mayeux, president of the Culture and Arts Board, says. “We’re the Culture and Arts Board We concentrate on the arts and want to showcase the cultural diversity of Bellaire. For a small town, we’re so diverse.”
OLD IS NEW AGAIN Members of the Bellaire Culture and Arts Board, including (pictured, from left) Gay Mayeux, Kristi Coffey, and Angie Levinthal are bringing back the Bellaire Historical Cookbook, updated from its last print in 1969. The 2025 version will be called the Bellaire Cookbook and History of Our Community
Kristi adds, “People are a lot busier now than they were in 1969. We’re not out in our yards waving to people. We hope that through the new book, we can get a glimpse into the lives of our neighbors and community members.”
The book idea came to life about six months ago, with a call for recipe, photo, and story submissions. “We wanted to hear about not just the recipes,” Kristi says, “but the stories and anecdotes that make the recipe important to people.”
Kristi submitted a recipe for a Norwegian lefse
that her family makes every Christmas. “It takes a long time, but I promised my grandparents we would continue making it,” Kristi says, describing the method to make the potato tortilla stuffed with beef and potatoes. “You have to make the dough a day in advance,” she says. “I’ve had sleepless nights worrying my dough won’t work. The story will be in the book.”
There are also recipes for stuffed mirlitons from New Orleans, Angie’s family’s Thanksgiving-favorite broccoli casserole, and smoked green chile enchiladas. Gay’s gumbo recipe is one the cookbook collaborators are excited to get their hands on, and Police Chief
Onesimo “Mo” Lopez’s cherry pie is another. “He’s supposed to be an incredible cook,” Kristi says. There are also recipes from Mayor Gus Pappas and several city council members. They’re still looking for more.
There are neighborhood stories, like the one about the bunco group that’s been around for 25 years. “People take turns hosting, and there are always good recipes that we all share,” says Kristi, who joined the group a couple of years ago when a member moved away and left an open spot. “I’m the newest member and I always get great recipes hopping around from Bellaire house to Bellaire house.” There’s also a photo of the group in the book.
Kristi has spent hours on the design platform Canva putting the book together. The historical component begins with a preface written by longtime Bellaire resident Jane McNeel, who has served on the Friends of the Bellaire Library Board and the Bellaire Area Historical Society, and who has a blog called BellaireCivicClub.com. Another Bellaire neighbor, Lynn McBee (now deceased), recorded the events at city council meetings for years before she put together “Our Town,” a history of Bellaire from 1908 through 2008. It’s housed at the Rice University Library and will have its own spot in the book. But Angie and others have made sure that the book leads with recipes. “You don’t want to have to flip through a bunch of historical stuff when you just want to make
dinner for your family,” Angie says.
Sales from the cookbook, which will be available this fall, will cover the costs of production. “This isn’t a fundraiser,” Gay says. “We just want to provide it for the community.” If any money happens to be raised, the board is looking at purchasing permanent street banners that define the entry points of the city.
“We expect this won’t happen again for a very long time,” Gay says. “Be a part of Bellaire history! Don’t be left out!”
Anyone who has lived, gone to school, worked, or played in Bellaire is invited to submit recipes and stories to the new cookbook. Go to BellaireCookbook.com.
Here is a sampling of recipes you can find in the Bellaire Cookbook and History of Our Community.
Leslie Mayeux’s Crunchy Broccoli Salad
Gay Mayeux made this salad for her daughter Leslie because it was the only way she could get her to eat vegetables. When Leslie went to college, she made the recipe her own. “It’s her recipe now,” Gay says, “and she’s still eating her vegetables.”
Serves 6-8
10 cups broccoli florets
3⁄4 cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
3⁄4 cups dried cranberries
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts
6 slices of crispy bacon
4 tablespoons minced red onion
Steam the broccoli for 2 minutes, then shock it in an ice bath to stop the cooking. This keeps the broccoli crunchy but still tender. Drain and lay the steamed broccoli out on paper towels for any remaining water to drain off while you’re getting the rest of the salad together. Whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the bacon in the oven until crisp, and drain it on paper towels. Crumble it. Assemble the salad by tossing the broccoli, dried cranberries, walnuts, bacon, and red onion. Add dressing and toss again. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Chill for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. The salad will stay fresh in a sealed dish for up to 6 days in the refrigerator.
Kristi Coffey’s Morning Grits Bake
A perfect recipe to feed a crowd for Easter brunch.
NOT JUST A COOKBOOK Recipes in the new Bellaire Historical Cookbook coexist alongside stories of the neighborhood and the families who are part of the community. Pictured are (from left) Kristi Coffey’s Italian Quiche, Angie Levinthal’s Matzo Tuna Casserole, and Leslie Mayeux’s Crunchy Broccoli Salad.
(continued from page 27)
chopped
3⁄4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 ½ cups uncooked quick-cooking grits
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup half and half
4 large eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
Hot sauce, for serving
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp and rendered, 14 to 16 minutes. Remove 1⁄4 cup of the bacon pieces and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate.
Add the scallions and jalapeño to the skillet with the remaining bacon, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a medium Dutch oven, bring 4 1⁄2 cups of
water and the salt to a boil over mediumhigh heat. Gradually sprinkle in the grits, whisking constantly. Return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, whisking often, until the grits have thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese until completely melted. Stir in the half and half, eggs, and bacon mixture from the skillet, along with the drippings. Add the paprika, smoked paprika, and Cajun seasoning. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Bake the casserole until the top is lightly golden, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Garnish with the reserved bacon and more scallions, and serve with hot sauce.
Angie Levinthal’s Matzo Tuna Casserole
It can be difficult to find good Passover recipes; Angie’s Matzo Tuna Casserole makes it easy.
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons horseradish
2 tablespoons coarse ground mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 cans tuna packed in water
Half an onion
3 tablespoons capers
4 to 5 sheets of matzo
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, horseradish, mustard, and honey together with a fork. Stir in the tuna, onion, and capers.
Break the matzo sheets into small pieces and spread them in the bottom of a 10-by-4-inch casserole dish. Cover the matzo pieces with 2 cups shredded cheese. Place the tuna mixture on top of the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cover with remaining 1 cup cheddar cheese, and return the casserole to the oven for another 5 minutes.
Find Kristi Coffey's Italian Quiche recipe at thebuzzmagazines.com.
COMING TOGETHER
Top left: Kristi Coffey’s Morning Grits Bake is just one of the many recipes found in the new Bellaire Historical Cookbook. Bottom left: The old book and the new design. Right: Members of the Bellaire Culture and Arts Board, including Kristi (on right), have spent months gathering recipes and history for the book. They worked with Cheryl Bright (on left), City of Bellaire’s Community Relations Administration and advisor to the Culture and Arts Board, on the cookbook project.
2025 Summer Camp Directory
Summer camps can provide a special opportunity for growth, a place for kids to discover new interests and skills, meet new friends, and flourish as individuals. Buzz-area residents are fortunate in that Houston is home to many types of summer camps, programs, and classes to choose from, including specialized sports, arts, and educational programs for all ages. Additionally, many overnight camps are located just a car or bus ride away.
Choosing the right camp for your child depends on your child’s personality, interests, summer schedule and other factors. This directory is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all camps. Instead, our goal is to provide readers with a snapshot of each camp and program, as a starting point in the research process.
Note: View the 2025 Summer Camp Directory online at thebuzzmagazines.com/summer-camp-directory. Please check back as new camps will be added frequently.
A.D. Players Theatre Camp
Est.: 2024
Ages: Entering 3rd grade-Entering 8th grade
Co-ed • Day Camp
Three locations: CrossRoad Church, 700 Westgreen Blvd., Katy, Texas 77450; St. Mark Lutheran Church, 1515 Hillendahl Blvd., Houston, Texas 77055; Fort Bend Christian Academy, 1250 7th St., Sugar Land, Texas 77478 713-526-52721 x 116 • andy@adplayers.org • www.adplayers.org/summercamps
Camp Director: Andy Pederson
A.D. Players Theatre Camp is designed to nurture and challenge students as they work towards an end-of-camp showcase. Students will develop acting, scriptwriting, and design skills through a game-based approach focused on creative expression. Campers will thrive in a positive and encouraging environment centered on Christian values. Our Summer Theatre Camp is the perfect blend of artistic growth and character development. Sign up today and watch your child shine on and off stage!
Alliance Fencing Academy Summer Fencing Camp
Est. 2004
Ages: 5-14
Co-ed • Day camp 1117 Upland Dr., Houston, Texas 77043; 1544 Sawdust Road Suite 304, The Woodlands, Texas 77380; 11555 Gaston Rd., Katy, Texas 77494 713-410-6655 • inform@alliance-fencing-academy.com • www.alliance-fencing-academy.com
Camp Director: Andrey Geva, U.S. Olympic and National Coach
Summer Fencing Camp at Alliance is an opportunity for your children to have fun exploring one of the original and foundational sports of the modern Olympic games while picking up technical and competitive skills that will last them a lifetime. Renowned instructor and Olympic team coach Andrey Geva and his highly trained coaching staff provide a fun, safe, and exciting setting for kids to learn the sport of competitive fencing. Houston summer camp dates: June 2-6, June 23-27, July 14-19, July 28-August 1, August 4-8 The Woodlands summer camp dates: June 2-6, July 14-19, July 28-August 1. Katy summer camp dates: June 2-6, July 7-11, August 4-8.
ARTS provides enriching art experiences year-round, including Summer Camps that keep creativity going beyond the school year! Throughout June and July (excluding the week of July 4th), these weeklong day camps offer interactive curriculums where students 1st-12th grade can learn, play, and explore painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, quilting, filmmaking, music, theater, and more. Camps run Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-12 p.m., for $100 per session, with classes tailored to lower elementary, upper elementary, and high school students. Camps will be held at the Schmid ARTS Annex in Fayetteville, the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, the La Grange Performing Arts Center, the Schulenburg ARTS Campus, and Weimar Elementary.
BattleBots, Drones, AI & Machine Learning, Arduino, Space Robotics Summer Camps
Est. 2012
Ages: 4-18
Co-ed • Day camp
4007 Bellaire Blvd., Suite KK, Houston Texas 77025
Join the Ultimate Robotics Summer Camp! Over 12 weeks, students (ages 4-18) can explore exciting themes like BattleBots, Drones, AI & Machine Learning, Arduino, Space Robotics, Java & Python Programming, and Competitive Robotics for FIRST & Tech Challenge Leagues (2025-26). Each week offers hands-on STEM learning, creativity, and friendly competitions. Set the path of building robots and programming for PK-12. We offer STEMthemed, hands-on activities where the week ends with a friendly battle-bots mini-competition. Choose your favorite weeks with full-week & half-week options from May 27- Aug. 15. Register by May 1 for 10% off!
One-week, adventure-filled sessions foster godly growth for church members and community friends through new skills and interests, awesome speakers, and new friends! June 2-5, 9 a.m.-1:45 p.m. Kick, Swing, Score / June 9-12, 9 a.m.-1:45 p.m. Imagination Station Disney / June 16-19, 9 a.m.-1:45 p.m. Saddle Up Summer / June 23-26, 12-3 p.m. Post-VBS (must register for VBS) / June 30-July 3, 9 a.m.-1:45 p.m. Firecracker Fiesta / July 7-10, 9 a.m.-1:45 p.m. Christmas in July.
Transform your child’s summer into an epic adventure at Campelot – The Regis School of the Sacred Heart’s summer program – where learning meets legend! Through our carefully crafted program, we create an environment where minds are challenged, creativity flourishes, and friendships are forged. Campelot will run for six weeks, from June 3-July 19. Each week-long camp is full-day and lunch is provided. Campelot is co-ed, and non-Regis students are welcome. Come get in-squired!
CityRise Church is thrilled to offer a summer full of splashing, field trips, science experiments, dancing, art, games, and more through our SUPER fun Super Summer Stuff camp. Sign up and join us as we adventure through creative, Christ-centered themes that vary by week. Fun-loving counselors will guide your child through new friendships, spirited challenges, and a sense of community and relationship with the Lord that will last long after the summer is over. We can’t wait to camp out with you! Super Summer Stuff kicks off June 16.
Creator Camp
Est. 2021
Ages: 6-13
Co-ed • Day Camp
Memorial: 12535 Perthshire Rd., Houston, Texas 77024; Montrose: 1800 Sul Ross St., Houston, Texas 77098 713-417-9025 • support@creatorcamp.org • creatorcamp.org
Camp Director: Cazden Morrison
Creator Camp, as seen on Shark Tank, is on a mission to change Texas kids’ relationship with technology, transforming them from consumers to creators! Ages 6-13. Camps start at $159! Hands-on media classes in YouTube Production, Filmmaking, Animation, Music, Roblox, & Minecraft Coding. We’ve taught thousands of kiddos in the Houston area and are thrilled to teach even more this summer! All of our teachers are industry experts, and help our students discover what they’re truly passionate about.
Elite University Summer Camps is proud to serve the Houston communities of the Medical Center, West University, the Memorial Villages, and Midtown. Elite University Summer Camps provides a variety of camp programs that includes outdoor camps, sports camps, STEM camps, visual, and culinary arts camps. Elite U provides weekly field trips and onsite guests. There is really something for everyone and amazing activities galore! Don’t miss out on the best summer ever at Elite U. Register online today! West U Camp dates: June 9-Aug. 8; Memorial Camp dates: June 2-Aug. 8; Midtown Camp dates: June 9-Aug. 8.
Houston Christian Summer Camps
Est. 1998
Ages: 4th-8th grade
Co-ed • Day Camp
2700 W. Sam Houston Tollway N, Houston, Texas 77043
Houston Christian High School is excited to offer Summer Athletics Camps as well as host Camp Invention. Rising 4th through 8th graders with additional sessions for high school students can join our highly acclaimed coaches and program directors for unforgettable experiences. Visit our camp website to learn more, see dates, and register for: Basketball Camp, Track Camp, Baseball Camp, Lacrosse Camp, Volleyball Camp, Football Camp, Camp Invention, and Fine Arts Camps.
Houston Elite Cheer Summer Camp
Est. 2013
Ages: 3-13
Co-ed • Day camp (all day or half day sessions) 1800 Sherwood Forest Street, Ste. B2, Houston, Texas 77043 713-464-1445 • houstonelitecheer@yahoo.com • houstonelitecheer.com
Camp Director: Lakeyn Johnson
Join HEC for a jam-packed week of exciting and challenging activities. Summer camp will include gymnastics, cheerleading, tumbling, arts and crafts, games, water days, obstacle courses, and more! Our goal is for campers to have loads of fun while promoting fitness. May 27-Aug. 8. Full days: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Morning half-days: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Afternoon half-days: 12:30-4 p.m.
Sailing camp is an opportunity for youth to learn to sail. Our goal is to create lifelong sailors. Kids sail small boats single-handed or in pairs while US Sailing certified instructors coach from small power boats. We use Optimist, Sunfish, FJs, and ILCA-Laser dinghies with opportunities to try keel boats during camp. For sailors passionate about the sport, we offer a full year race team that competes regionally and nationally. Ragnots, Friends ForeverSkills For Life!
Jose Cruz Jr. Baseball Camps are all about fun, skill-building, and a love for the game! With a mix of indoor and outdoor drills, campers learn from college coaches and players while improving their fundamentals in a high-energy, supportive environment. Whether you’re swinging for the fences or perfecting your throw, our camps offer top-notch instructions for all skill levels. Join us this summer and play like an Owl!
Kidventure Day Camp
Est. 1994
Ages: 3-16
Co-ed • Day camp
2501 Central Parkway, Suite B2, Houston, Texas 77092 (camp office) 713-960-8989 • houston@kidventure.com • kidventure.com/houston-summer-camp
Camp Director: Neira Galan
Give your child a summer of adventure, growth, and lasting memories. For over 30 years, Houston families have trusted Kidventure to create unforgettable summer experiences. But today, kids need more than just fun – they need connection, confidence, and adventure. At Kidventure, we believe every child deserves a summer filled with opportunities to grow, make lifelong friends, and be part of something truly special. That’s why we’ve designed a camp experience that does more than entertain – it empowers. With 16 locations across Houston, flexible weekly scheduling from June 2-Aug. 8, 2025, and ageappropriate programs for every stage of childhood – Discoverers (ages 3-5), Explorers (1st-5th grade), Leads (6th-9th grade), your child will build confidence, develop leadership skills, and create memories that will last a lifetime. This summer, give them the best gift of all – a Kidventure summer. Spots fill fast! Secure your child’s summer adventure today.
Kidventure Overnight Camp
Est. 1994
Ages: 8-16
Co-ed • Overnight camp
11701 FM 2244, Suite 240C, Austin, Texas 78738 (camp office) 512-263-8992 • overnight@kidventure.com • kidventure.com/overnight-camps
Camp Director: Noelle Billings
Give your child the ultimate summer adventure. Today’s kids need more than just a break from routine – they need a place to explore, grow, and discover who they are. At Kidventure Overnight Camp, adventure is just the beginning. For over 30 years, we’ve been giving kids the chance to climb higher, paddle farther, and soar with confidence – all while building lifelong friendships. Away from screens and everyday distractions, campers gain independence, resilience, and the courage to dream big, with three unforgettable Overnight Camp experiences: Safari (ages 8-12), Quest (ages 8-12), and Echo (ages 1316). Now more than ever, kids need the power of camp. Give them the experience of a lifetime – one filled with fun, friendships, and personal growth. Spots are limited! Enroll today and let the adventure begin.
Language Kids World - Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, English & Sign Language Camps
Childhood is the best time to learn another language, and it has never been so much fun. Make the most of your child’s summer with our engaging immersion camps in Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, Sign Language, and English. With more than two decades of language teaching experience under our belt, we are masters at teaching languages to children in fun and innovative ways. Multiple locations and extended schedules. In-person and virtual options. Payment plans are available.
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Lone Star Flight Museum Aviation Exploration Summer Camps
Let your child’s curiosity take flight! We offer week-long camps for children ages 6-15, including: Girls Take Flight, Go Zero G, and Pilot Marker: ADVANCED TRAINING. Give your child the chance to soar this summer, gaining skills, confidence, and memories that will last a lifetime. Camps run from JuneAugust, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., with before and after care available. Learn more and register at lonestarflight.org.
R-STEM Student Summer Programs
Est. 2006
Ages: Grades K-12
Co-Ed Day Program
Rice University | 6100 Main St. Houston, TX 77005 713-348-8211 • stem@rice.edu • rstem.rice.edu
Camp Director: Matthew Cushing
Our mission at the Rice Office of STEM Engagement (R-STEM) is to build STEM knowledge, skills, and leadership by providing innovative STEM learning experiences and enhancing the broader impacts of Rice University’s research. Discover a world of summer fun and STEM enrichment for students in grades K-12 with our summer programs focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the Greater Houston area. Please be sure to check out our 2025 Student Programs & Outreach Resource Guide to learn more!
Saint Thomas’ Episcopal is pleased to offer Radiant Summer – an enriching summer experience for kindergarten-8th grade students. This comprehensive summer academic program is designed to meet many student needs: enrichment, acceleration, review, and strengthening of basic skills. Enjoy programs such as Rice University School Math Project, Inspirit AI Program – taught by MIT and Stanford grads, TestMasters Test Prep, Immersion in STEM, arts, athletics, literature, and much more!
SPX Summer Camps
Est. 2010
Ages: Grades K-12
Co-ed • Day camp 811 W. Donovan St., Houston, Texas 77091 713-692-3581 • jeff.feller@stpiusx.org • www.stpiusx.org/summercamps
Camp Director: Jeff Feller
Summer camps at St. Pius X High School offer a variety of athletic and fine art experiences during the summer months of June and July. The expert coaches and faculty at SPX coordinate these fun activities for all participants to grow in skills and knowledge while making new friendships in the process. From theater to baseball, there is a camp opportunity for everyone!
STH’s Aquinas Academy offers a variety of enrichment, athletic, and academic day camps, providing 3rd-8th grade boys and girls with personalized instruction from expert teachers and coaches, opportunities to make new friends, and resources to develop essential life skills. Additionally, St. Thomas offers original credit for STH students and co-ed credit recovery courses for Houston-area Catholic high school students who need to retake a previously failed course.
Summer at St. Mark’s
Est. 2015
Ages: 2 years-rising 8th grade
Co-ed • Day camp
3816 Bellaire Blvd., Houston, Texas 77025
713-667-7030 • jrush@stmes.org • stmes.org/summer
Camp Director: Juli Rush
The Summer at St. Mark’s Day Camp includes Storybook Routes like Creator, Adventurer, and Inventor, which include activities like taekwondo, kitchen chemistry, breakdancing, yoga, drama, robotics, e-sports, and more! This year’s overall theme is Storybook at St. Mark’s, and each week of our sevenweek camp gives campers the chance to dive into unique experiences, water play, and “Here Trips.” Hours are 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Middle-school students can complete our popular Counselor in Training and new Internship Programs where they receive leadership training, service learning, and advanced specialty camp classes. Check out stmes.org/summer for our full description of each week’s theme and to register!
The learning never stops at The Village School's Summer Camp. Summer 2025 features 8 weeks of fun! Camp begins May 27 and runs through July 18, 2025. It is open to all Houston area students (Village and non-Village). Each weekly theme includes water activities, arts & crafts, sports, games, and awesome experiences! In addition, Summer Camp 2025 will host 4 weeks of Athletic Camps that include: Racquet Sports, Basketball, Flag Football, Swim, Volleyball, Soccer, Dance, Aquatic Sports, and Tennis, all taught by our very own Viking coaching staff. Our camps are designed to be full- or part-day, so campers can join us for a combination of day and athletic camps depending on schedules. For more information, visit our website or contact us at vssummer@thevillageschool.com.
Yorkshire Academy’s Summer Program offers one-stop summer-camp shopping June 2nd-July 25th, 2025. With over 40 enrichment camps, there is something for everyone. Work the right side of your brain in the morning and the left side of your brain in the afternoon, and switch the next week. Yorkshire Academy’s enrichment camps include offerings such as filmmaking, golf, puppets, coding, dance, circus arts, Minecraft, tennis, theater, soccer, engineering, and more. This is a community-wide program that attracts campers from beyond just West Houston and Katy.
. by Sharon Albert Brier, staff writer
Rumor Has It
Hats and high tea. Twenty fabulously dressed ladies, flaunting an array of vibrant hats, gathered for a lively tea party to raise funds for Anne Frank Hadassah. Host Julie Bartlein decked out her home with silver tea pitchers brimming with flowers, adding charm to the affair. Marilyn Chambers snagged a prize for her vintage hat, hand-painted by Eric Javits, while Betty Babendure’s quirky spider hat came with a tale from her teaching days. Julie sported a borrowed hat that had once made an appearance at the Kentucky Derby, thanks to her daughter-inlaw. For a fun twist, Julie listed 10 random items that could be found in purses – whoever had the most in their purse won. Braha Radom and Helena Zach emerged victorious. Meanwhile, Jill Reichman aced the Jordan almond guessing game. The biggest trivia shocker? “High tea” isn’t what most people think!
She changed her name. At a Houston Junior Forum book review of All’s Fair in Love and Treachery – held at the lovely home of the author’s mother, Judy Perkins – author Stephanie Perkins made a surprising revelation. To avoid being lost in a sea of other authors, she cleverly rebranded herself using her middle name and family name, emerging as Celeste Connally (because, let’s face it, the world can only handle so many Stephanie Perkinses). Later, Celeste was a featured panelist at a Galentine’s Party at Fabled Bookshop in Waco, Texas, celebrating romance novels with fellow book lovers. A USA Today bestselling author of the Lady Petra Inquires historical mysteries, Celeste excels at crafting stories about women who refuse to do as they’re told – because where’s the fun in that?
Adventures in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. During the pandemic, Tiffany Johnson dreamed of visiting Dubai and Abu Dhabi. That dream came true when she and her best friend, Rosie Daza, embarked on a thrilling adventure. From the moment they soared to the 146th floor of the iconic Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, they were on an exhilarating high taking in breathtaking views of the glittering skyline. The excitement continued with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Towers. They embraced the desert with a 4x4 safari, sand-
boarding, and a magical sunset. At the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, they admired its stunning white marble and gold details. The boldest experience? Sampling camel meat – a regional delicacy banned in the U.S. A journey of firsts and unforgettable moments, this was a trip to remember.
Everyone had a sterling good time. The Silver Society Tea was a polished success, with a full house at the Bayou Bend’s Lora Jean Kilroy Center. Social chairs Karen Warren and Carolyn Putterman welcomed 50 enthusiastic ladies, all eager to sip tea and soak up knowledge. The highlight? Guest speaker Christine Gervais, the Fredericka Director of Rienzi and Curator for Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, who shared fascinating (and slightly scandalous) tales of 1700s women who could only own silversmith businesses if their husbands conveniently kicked the bucket. Meanwhile, guests enjoyed finger sandwiches and delightful sweets.
Lots of brains. The invite said it all: One degree wasn’t enough for Dr. Jacquie Baly! To celebrate her doctorate from USC, Terri Wang and Rosemary Schatzman brought Ph.D. elegance to Tony’s. Among the brainy bunch? Husband James Craig and first-name-basiswith-brilliance doctors: Yvonne Cormier, Julie Baker Finck, and Alice Mao Brams. Shining alongside her dissertation on minority student success were official kudos from the City of Houston and Governor Greg Abbott. Dr. Baly just raised the academic bar – and effortlessly vaulted over it!
Tea pots and more party. Glistening tea pots and warm laughter filled McHugh Tea Room as ladies in pink, purple, and red gathered for Linda Suib’s annual Galentine's Party – a cherished tradition celebrating friendships old
and new. Tables were adorned with tulips and heart-shaped chocolates, while tiered stands displayed delicate, crustless egg salad and chicken salad sandwiches alongside pastel cupcakes. This year, 36 guests, including longtime friends from Sunday school like Amy Grenader, enjoyed the festivities at five elegantly set tables. Linda shared personal connections with each guest, and a lively love-themed trivia game had many winning cuddly prizes. The guest at each table with the birthday closest to February 14 took home the floral centerpiece – even if their birthday was in June!
Wags and Whiskers. More than 225 animal lovers donned their glitziest Western duds for the 12th Annual Wags and Whiskers Luncheon at Hotel ZaZa. The “Lassos and Leashes” bash wrangled over $130,000 for Interfaith Ministries’ Animeals program, which keeps 1,300 pets of homebound seniors well-fed and pampered. The event featured a celebrity pet fashion show, a lively silent auction, and honorary chair Ernie Manouse of Houston Public Media. Stealing the spotlight? Spokesdog Moose, who, with handler Nadia Tajalli, worked the crowd for some tail-waggingly big donations!
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TEA TIME Ladies donned colorful hats for a tea party fundraiser at Julie Bartlein’s to raise funds for Anne Frank Hadassah. Pictured (from left) are Linda Suib, Julie Bartlein, and Harriet Gertner.
. by Cindy Burnett, staff writer
Buzz Reads
Five picks for April
Buzz Reads is a column about books by reviewer Cindy Burnett. Each month, Cindy recommends five recently or soon-to-be released titles.
Dissolution by Nicholas Binge (science fiction) – Maggie Webb has spent the last 10 years caring for her husband Stanley, whose memories are slowly disappearing. When a stranger shows up at her home and tells her that someone is purposefully removing Stanley’s memories, she is given the chance to save Stanley. Maggie dives into her husband's memories, uncovering a decades-old feud threatening reality itself. The science-fiction elements are clearly explained –the science does not bog down the story – and the relationship between Stanley and Maggie is a standout. While I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book, the ending is what truly makes the book; it is outstanding and so clever. This compelling and timely novel took me on a pageturning trek through memory and time. Dissolution will appeal to those who like intelligent and thought-provoking plots, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, and strong storytelling.
The Eights by Joanna Miller (historical fiction) – Oxford, 1920. Oxford has admitted female students for the first time in its 1,000-year history. Exuberant about attending this historic university, four young and very different women move into rooms on the same hall and slowly develop an unlikely friendship. This compelling debut chronicles what it was like for these women to make history at Oxford while enduring hardship and pushback from men and women alike. Miller brings Oxford and the 1920s vividly to life as well as the suffrage movement. The women embrace the rapidly changing fashions of the time period, bob their hair, wait for Agatha Christie’s latest novel, and more. The Eights is an engrossing snapshot in time that highlights an important moment in women’s history set against the backdrop of World War I’s aftermath. This book will be a great fit for those who love interesting time periods in history and for fans of a strong sense of place. It will also make an engaging selection for book clubs.
The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner (fiction) – The Griffin Sisters'
Greatest Hits follows two sisters, Cassie and Zoe, whose 2003 meteoric rise to musical fame occurs when they are just out of high school. Overweight and socially awkward, Cassie is a child prodigy, a gifted singer, songwriter, and pianist, who wants to embrace her love of music but not in the spotlight. Friendly and outgoing, Zoe is decently talented as a singer and on the guitar, but desperately wants to become a star. When fate intervenes, the two sisters are thrust into sudden stardom as the Griffin Sisters. But not even a year later, the duo mysteriously splits, and the two women fade back into their everyday lives. Two decades later, Zoe’s daughter is desperately trying to understand what happened and why. This family saga explores the high cost of fame, what happens when secrets are kept, and the deep bonds of both sisterhood and motherhood. Weiner addresses the music industry’s obsession with appearance and, in particular, its focus on insisting women must be thin. While this behavior is abhorrent, it is the way the industry operates, and I appreciate Weiner’s inclusion of this storyline and its impact on Cassie. This book will appeal to those who enjoy books about music and familial relationships. Heartwood by Amity Gaige (fiction/mystery) –Heartwood follows a search and rescue team racing against time when an experienced hiker disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. The story is told through the perspectives of the rescue team, an armchair detective, interviews with other hikers, and letters the missing hiker wrote to her mother while on the trail. While the book is character driven, it is incredibly compelling, and the mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost and how we can be found. The cast of characters are delightful, and Gaige’s depictions of Maine and the Appalachian Trail are so vivid that
WHAT TO READ This month’s selections include a science fiction thriller with a clever ending, historical fiction about lost dollhouses and about the first women to matriculate at Oxford, a novel about two sisters whose musical group mysteriously splits up, and a literary mystery set on the Appalachian Trail.
they transport the reader to these locales. This book is a good fit for readers who enjoy a strong sense of place as well as for fans of beautiful writing and stories about nature and the outdoors.
The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper (historical fiction) – When a young librarian named Tildy discovers two mysterious and historic dollhouses in a hidden room at the San Francisco library where she works, she embarks on a journey that reveals hidden details about the miniatures. After locating clues masked within these dollhouses, Tildy begins to believe that Belva Curtis LeFarge, the influential heiress who established the library over 100 years ago, is relaying her final message. Spanning the course of a century, this book is a captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women from the past. I loved the entire book from the dollhouse story to the scarred World War 1 veterans recovering in the English countryside to Walt Disney’s Burbank studio in the 1950s. The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a must read for fans of heartwarming stories, the Thorne Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago, discovering forgotten histories, and books about human resilience and healing.
Editor’s note: Book reviewer Cindy Burnett also writes our weekly Page Turners column at thebuzzmagazines.com. She hosts an award-winning book podcast entitled Thoughts from a Page Podcast www.thoughtsfromapage.com, runs the Instagram account @thoughtsfrompage, and regularly speaks to groups about books.
Cindy Burnett
. by Angie Frederickson, staff writer
Wedding Buzz
The Goodmans and the Bijlanis
From the first date to the honeymoon, and everything in between, these newlyweds have buzzy stories to tell. We wish them the best as they begin their exciting new chapters.
Allison Levy + Landon Goodman
After Landon Goodman proposed to Allison Levy while hiking in the wind and rain along the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland, they decided an adventure-filled elopement was the perfect way to begin their marriage. The couple opted to forego the big hometown ceremony and reception and instead gathered with their immediate families in Breckenridge, Colorado where they married on skis at the top of an 11,274-foot mountain.
Both Landon and Allison grew up skiing with their families and, from the beginning of their relationship, a ski trip to Breckenridge became a yearly or twice-yearly tradition for the couple, as Landon’s parents own a house there. The two enjoy skiing in the winter and hiking and pickleball in the summer.
Dressed in a wedding gown and tuxedo along with warm layers and ski boots, the bride and groom exchanged vows on a cold and windy, but beautifully sunny, winter day. They spent the day before the ceremony skiing and scoping out the perfect spot and worked with a company called Ski the Day that specializes in ski weddings. Surrounded by their closest family members, Allison and Landon said, “I do,” and then hit the slopes for the rest of the day.
The couple met in 2018 at the now-closed Bovine & Barley bar in downtown Houston. Landon, the son of Mary and Mark Goodman, grew up in Bellaire and attended Condit Elementary, Pershing Middle School, and Bellaire High School before earning a Bachelor of Business Management degree from the University of Arkansas. He is now in a sales position with Special Maintenance Products. Allison, daughter of Kim and Steve Levy, grew up in Kingwood and holds Bachelor and Master of Accounting degrees from Texas A&M University and is now employed as a consultant with Embark.
Mr. and Mrs. Goodman took a minimoon in Mexico right after they eloped and are planning a European honeymoon for
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ON THE SLOPES Allison Levy and Landon Goodman married on skis surrounded by their immediate families in Breckenridge, Colorado. Pictured, middle photo, from left: Lisa Levy, Jared Waldrup and Emily Levy, Joni Levy, Steve and Kim Levy (the bride's parents), Allison Levy and Landon Goodman, Mary and Mark Goodman (the groom's parents), Alice Allen, Warner Goodman, and Sandra Allen.
Gabrielle Stowe, Ski the Day
Gabrielle Stowe, Ski the Day
Gabrielle Stowe, Ski the Day
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this summer. Allison and Landon say this wedding suited them perfectly, and Allison offers some advice to other engaged couples. “Save yourself the time and effort and money of planning a [big] wedding,” she said, explaining that it was special for them to get married in a place that they love, doing something that they love.
“You can actually see our favorite peak to ski, the Imperial Lift, in the background of our ceremony spot,” Allison described. She said they’re excited to know that for all future ski trips, they can ski to their ceremony spot – solo or with friends or family – and reminisce about their ceremony on the slopes.
Diana Dang + Rahul Bijlani
Portugal was the chosen location for Diana Dang and Rahul Bijlani to blend their Vietnamese and Indian backgrounds in a festive wedding with family and friends. Heritage and culture are important to both the bride and groom, and they wanted to create a marriage ceremony that honored the best of each of their experiences.
Wedding guests gathered in Lisbon, Portugal
for a two-day celebration that kicked off with a Sangeet sunset sail on the Tagus River (a Sangeet is a celebratory event during an Indian wedding that involves singing and dancing). Diana is an avid sailor and selected an evening catamaran ride to welcome family and friends with hors d'oeuvres, cocktails, dinner, and dancing. She surprised her groom by performing a traditional Indian dance, in a nod to Rahul’s family tradition.
The wedding took place along Neptune’s Lake at Palácio Nacional de Queluz. Guests made their way through the palace’s historic rooms and joined the Dang and Bijlani families for high tea, before taking their seats for the wedding. After the couple exchanged vows, it was time for cocktail hour in the Malta Gardens followed by a multi-course dinner and dancing.
To celebrate their multicultural heritage, Diana went through several outfit changes during the evening. She started with a traditional, Western-hemisphere wedding gown. Next, she wore an Indian lehenga (long, flared skirt) and then a Vietnamese áo dài (tunic over pants). Finally, she donned a festive cocktail dress to dance the night away at the reception.
During each night of the wedding festivities, a strawberry moon appeared in the sky. This type of full moon, named by Native American tribes, appears in June during the strawberry harvest season. In both Indian and Vietnamese cultures, a strawberry moon is considered a sign of love, abundance, and fortune.
Diana graduated from Lamar High School and University of Houston. She earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from University of Texas School of Dentistry and now works as a general dentist. Rahul was raised in Pune, India. He earned Bachelor of Science degrees in economics and computer science from University of Rochester and is now a senior vice president with CBRE Hotel Brokerage and Investment Sales. The couple will soon become a family of three.
For more on Diana and Rahul’s adventures in Portugal, see this month’s Travel Buzz by Tracy L. Barnett.
Editor’s note: If you were recently married and would like to submit your wedding to The Buzz, email us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com.
PALACE IN PORTUGAL Diana Dang and Rahul Bijlani married in Lisbon, Portugal at Palácio Nacional de Queluz. The couple honored their Vietnamese and Indian backgrounds throughout the wedding events.
Miguel Soria
Miguel Soria
Miguel Soria
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by Tracy L. Barnett, staff writer
Travel Buzz
From Houston to Portugal: A Love Affair with Culture, Cuisine, and Coastline
When Diana Dang and Rahul Bijlani’s yacht sailed along Lisbon’s coast during their wedding celebration last June, fate delivered an unexpected gift: the strawberry full moon illuminating the Tagus River. It’s auspicious in both of their cultures, representing prosperity and good fortune. “We didn’t even plan it. We got lucky, so everyone got to see the full moon while on the boat,” Diana recalled of their pre-wedding celebration.
This magical moment wasn’t just a highlight of their wedding weekend – it symbolized the serendipitous way Portugal has captivated this Houston couple, leading them to pursue not just a destination wedding but also citizenship in this sun-drenched European nation.
The Portuguese Connection
Rahul, a serial entrepreneur in commercial real estate and tech businesses, had been to Portugal and was taken by the friendly people, the perfect climate and the beautiful views, and he learned about the Golden Visa program, a five-year process that requires minimal residency. “We chose Portugal because it’s the easiest EU country to obtain citizenship,” said Diana. Other countries require 7-10 years’ residency before becoming eligible for citizenship.
“We also don’t like cold weather, and we found that Portugal has one of the best climates in the world year-round,” she added.
“For our wedding, Rahul has a lot of family in India, close friends in Europe, and then most of my family is here in the U.S. and Canada. So we thought that somewhere in Europe would be a great in-between for everybody to meet up,” Diana said. But their connection to Portugal soon grew beyond convenience – it has come to represent their vision for the future, including the baby they’re expecting in just weeks.
“We just really love Europe, Portugal and Spain specifically. And we thought that it would be a great place to raise our future family, and for our parents to retire and live a very comfortable and peaceful retirement,” said Diana.
Beyond Lisbon: Discovering Cascais
While Lisbon draws the tourists, the couple
prefers Cascais (pronounced “kush-kai-sh”), a town on the Portuguese Riviera about 35 minutes west of the capital. The couple enjoyed the vibrant capital but wanted a deeper connection with the locals, and so they spent a month in Cascais before their wedding, falling in love with this less-traveled gem. It’s below the radar for most travelers, Diana said, but Brazilian soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo has a home there.
“It’s quiet...You won’t find as many tourists there. So, if you’re wanting a more immersive experience, an authentic experience, and to really get to know Portugal, I would suggest going to Cascais.”
Rahul elaborated on their love for this area: “It’s walking distance to some incredible beaches. It’s extremely safe. The outdoor activities are incredible; so are the views and the dining options. You can basically be outdoors about 300 days of the year. It’s one of the sunniest places in the world, but never too hot or uncomfortable.”
The Journey that Changed their Lives
Diana and Rahul’s journey through Portugal reads like chapters from a travel memoir, each region revealing new facets of the country’s charm.
Their Portuguese adventure began in May 2023 on São Miguel in the Azores, an archipelago Diana describes as “the Hawaii of Europe.” Arriving during hydrangea season, they found themselves surrounded by nature’s abundance. “The whole island was covered in hydrangeas,” Diana recalled, her voice still filled with wonder.
“It was absolutely breathtaking.”
They spent nearly two weeks exploring the island’s volcanic landscapes, hiring a guide for three days to show them hidden gems that tourists often miss.
The couple hiked through forests, visited tea and pineapple plantations, and soaked in natural hot springs emerging from the volcanic soil. Diana cautions that visitors should come pre-
ENCHANTING AZORES Rahul Bijlani and Diana Dang basking in the beauty of the “Lagoa das Sete Cidades” on São Miguel Island, Azores. This stunning lake, formed in a volcanic crater after a historic eruption in 1445, is steeped in local legend – a tale of a princess and a shepherd whose tears created the mesmerizing blue and green waters behind them.
EXPLORING TIMELESS PORTUGAL The Dang and Bijlani families took the opportunity of Diana and Rahul's wedding to explore Portugal's enchanting landscapes. Top left: The Dang Family exploring Sintra; pictured behind them is Pena Palace. Top right: Diana and Rahul in Porto, Portugal; behind them is the Luis I Bridge. Designed by German architect Téophile Seyrig (1843-1923), a disciple and business partner of French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the Ponte Dom Luís I had the longest span of any metal bridge in the world when it was completed in 1886. Bottom left: The most famous cave along the Algarve coast features a breathtaking natural dome with a circular opening at the top, allowing sunlight to stream in and illuminate the golden rock formations and turquoise waters. The cave is accessible only by boat, kayak, or paddleboard. Bottom right: Ramesh Bijlani, Susheel Bijlani, Rahul Bijlani, and Diana Dang; behind them is the Douro River Valley and its rolling hills.
pared for outdoor activities: “You’d have to be very outdoorsy to go to the islands,” but the effort pays dividends in spectacular vistas and peaceful moments.
From São Miguel, they flew to the southern region of Algarve, where Portugal’s coastline unfolds into spectacular beaches. Here they discovered the famous Benagil Caves, an extraordinary natural formation that requires some planning to visit. “When you go inside the cave, there’s a cutout on the ceiling,” Diana explains. “And when you go at the right timing, the sun shines through that cutout, creating an ethereal experience.” Despite the need for a boat or kayak to access this wonder – “You can’t get there by foot” – the sight draws crowds. “It is very packed with tourists,” she acknowledges.
In February 2024, accompanied by Rahul’s parents, they ventured to Porto, a city that captured their hearts so completely they now recommend it over Lisbon for travelers. Walking through Porto’s historic streets, Diana found herself enchanted by the wines: “The wine there is one of the best I’ve had.”
The highlight of their Porto visit was exploring the nearby Douro Valley, where vineyards cascade down terraced hillsides. Diana becomes particularly animated when describing this experience: “I would definitely, definitely encourage everyone to go. If you’re in Porto, do a Douro Valley wine tour.” Her enthusiasm is palpable as she describes the day: “You get to tour many wineries and go on a boat tour ride through the Douro Valley – it’s just so scenic.
You get to try all the cheeses and wines produced in the area.”
It was in Porto that Rahul really felt the antiquity of the region. The city is believed to have been founded by the Phoenicians in around 800 BC, making it one of the oldest cities in Europe. After the Phoenicians, the city saw Roman, Gothic, and Moorish rule before modern-day Portugal emerged.
Near Porto, about an hour and a half away in an area called Foz Côa, visitors can find what Rahul describes as “some of the oldest cave paintings in Europe... some of those cave paintings are about 20,000, 25,000 years old.”
A Wedding Blending Cultures
Their June 2024 wed- (continued on page 46)
ding at Queluz National Palace merged their Vietnamese and Indian heritage with Portuguese elements. The entire menu was Portuguese, which features fresh seafood dishes with a distinctly regional flavor. Octopus features prominently, as do limpets – a regional shellfish that most resembles a clam.
“It’s very specific to Portugal,” explained Diana. “They catch them in the Azores.”
The couple incorporated Indian traditions through a Sangeet – a pre-wedding celebration typically involving music and dance. “It’s a pretty traditional part of most North Indian weddings,” explains Rahul. “It’s basically a big party the day before the wedding.”
They hosted their Sangeet on a yacht accommodating 150 guests for a sunset sail along Lisbon’s coastline. And then in a scene straight from Bollywood, Diana surprised everyone,
including Rahul, with a choreographed dance to a Hindi song.
“She memorized the words of the song,” Rahul recalled with amazement. “On this beautiful boat, while we’re sailing across the coastline of Lisbon in Portugal.”
Vietnamese traditions appeared through Diana’s áo dài – a traditional red wedding gown – and a private tea ceremony with both families. (Read more about their wedding; see Wedding Buzz by Angie Frederickson in this issue.)
Why Portugal Captures Hearts
Beyond beautiful landscapes and historic cities, it’s the Portuguese people who truly won over Diana and Rahul. “They are extremely warm, extremely friendly, extremely sincere in my experience, really very nice people,” Rahul said.
He mentioned the practical benefits of the
Tips from Our Travelers
country, as well: its connectedness (Lisbon to New York is about six hours), the prevalence of English speakers, and perhaps most importantly, its family-friendly culture. “It’s a very kid-friendly country and a very kid-friendly culture, and that really was a big deal for both of us,” he noted.
For Houston residents considering Portugal, Diana and Rahul suggest exploring beyond Lisbon, allowing time to discover Portugal’s diverse regions, and visiting in July rather than June for more comfortable temperatures.
Diana is now expecting, and as they prepare for their baby’s arrival, the couple envisions splitting time between Texas and their beloved Portugal. “I think it will be a magical experience for our family and for our son that is coming soon,” Diana reflected. “I believe this is one of the best things that we can offer him – exposure to this diverse world, fostering his curiosity and creativity.”
From Diana and Rahul Worth the splurge: Take a private guided tour of Sintra and Douro Valley for a seamless experience. The National Palace of Pena often has long lines, but with a guide, you can skip the wait. Sintra’s steep terrain makes having a tour driver invaluable, ensuring easy access to palaces, castles, and estates. Plus, local guides offer insider knowledge, leading you to hidden viewpoints and secret spots for breathtaking, crowd-free views.
Don’t miss: Indulge in local flavors like limpets, sardines, octopus, bifana, pastel de nata, port wine, and small-farm olive oil. Don’t-miss places include: Nazaré – A paradise for surf enthusiasts; Porto – Perfect for wine, history, and cheese lovers. Visit the stunning bookstore said to have inspired J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Livraria Lello; and São Miguel, Azores – ideal for nature and hiking lovers. Visit during peak hydrangea season (July–August) for breathtaking landscapes.
Favorite restaurants:
• In Lisbon:
Belcanto – Michelin two-star by Chef José Avillez, a fine dining experience of Portuguese cuisine.
Via Graça – Upscale dining with stunning views of the Lisbon skyline.
Manifest Lisbon – Rustic-chic cafe with great shakshuka, avocado toast.
Floresta das Escadinhas – Traditional authentic Portuguese restaurant offering many charcoal grilled meat and seafood dishes.
• In Azores:
TukáTulá Beach Bar – Dinner with waves and sunset views.
Restaurante Tony’s for Cozido das Furnas, traditional geothermal-cooked meat and vegetables.
Louvre Michaelense – Bar-bistro featuring beef tartare and duck confit.
Borda d’Água – Fresh seafood delights.
• In Porto:
Pregar Baixa – known for their classic Portuguese steak sandwich.
Bota & Bira– intimate restaurant with high quality meat. Get the T-bone steak and sangria (“best sangria of my life” – Diana).
• In Cascais:
Estrela da Serra – Local favorite. Their Duck magret with orange almond sauce was delicious.
Souldough Pizza – Rahul’s favorite for artisanal pizza. Neapolitan style vegetarian/vegan pizza. Note: They only take cash.
Cascais Marina – Any waterfront restaurant here offers a great experience.
Gusto Pizzeria – Enjoy delicious pizza & pasta with spectacular ocean views from a cliff.
• In Lagos / Algarve:
Casinha do Petisco – A must-visit small mom and pop restaurant offering authentic regional flavors. Make a reservation in person the first day you arrive.
Don’t bring: High heels – Portugal’s historic cobblestone streets will make you regret it! Opt for comfortable, stylish flats or sneakers. Too many clothes – Lisbon’s fashion is effortlessly chic, and you might want to buy pieces from local designers.
Don’t forget: European or universal travel adapter/converter to charge electronics. Portugal uses Type F plugs with 230V voltage. Avoid this local scam: “Helpful” ATM assistants – If someone offers to help you withdraw cash, decline immediately. Especially on Rua Augusta (a main tourist street in Lisbon).
Not really worth the trouble: Waiting in long lines for Santa Justa Lift (Lisbon) – Instead, walk up to the Carmo Convent for the same view with no wait!
Transportation tip: In Portugal, Bolt is used more than Uber. You’ll find more drivers more quickly than Uber and it’s more affordable. See more tips at thebuzzmagazines.com.
Editor’s note: Read more about Diana and Rahul’s wedding, including photos, in this month’s Wedding Buzz by Angie Frederickson.
. by Todd Freed, staff writer
SportzBuzz
It was another season of total dominance for the St. John’s Mavericks wrestling team, capped off with its 11th SPC Championship in the last 13 seasons. They won the title by a decisive 102-points margin. Along the way this season, the Mavericks also brought home a seventh straight Prep State Championship as well as a fourth consecutive State Duals Championship, giving St. John’s a clean sweep of the state’s three major wrestling championships.
“We’ve had some really good teams over the years, but you could make the argument that this is our best group ever,” said Mavericks wrestling coach Alan Paul. Over the course of a sensational season, the Mavericks were victorious in all five of its tournaments in Texas while defeating many of the state’s top public and private schools. For the season, St. John’s owned a dual meet record of 23-1.
In winning the Prep State Championship by a 58-point margin over second-place St. Thomas, four Mavericks, including Alex Choo, Mason Lum, Jett Ligums, and Sebi Rodriguez, were all crowned state champions while fellow Mavericks Henry Denham, Noah Jamison, and Lukas Fjeld-Hansen were state finalists. All of the aforementioned wrestlers were also named All-SPC as were teammates Braden Lane and Thomas Wade. In addition, Choo, Denham, and Henry Haufrect all reached the round of 16 at the prestigious Prep Nationals.
“The cumulative success and body of work over the course of the entire season was impressive,” added Paul. “What these guys did was remarkable. It wasn’t just one or two superstars, but rather a culmination of everyone’s effort.”
With a trio of dominant victories at the SPC tournament, the Kinkaid Falcons captured the SPC 4A Girls Basketball Championship. The Falcons defeated Dallas Greenhill 80-62 in the tournament final to secure its seventh SPC title. The Falcons also finished the season as the state’s number one ranked team among all private schools in Texas including impressive victories over highly-ranked teams from UIL 6A basketball.
“Not only is our lineup extremely talented, but we also have kids who are very coachable, work hard both in practice and games while putting the team
first in everything we do,” said Falcons head coach Stacey Marshall. “When you have talented players who play hard together, it’s tough to beat.”
The Falcons talented lineup includes a trio of super sophomores in AllSPC players Ma’Ryiah Alfred, Lauren Hull, and Marshall’s daughter Sydney Marshall “Ma’Ryiah is a dynamic point guard who led the team in scoring and set the tone for our fast pace offensive attack,” said Coach Marshall. “Lauren is an elite defender who also hits timely shots, while Sydney is a great all-around performer who was among the team leaders in scoring, rebounding, and assists.” Marshall also had high praise for Falcons senior Alexandra Gordon who was an All-South Zone SPC player and the team’s second leading rebounder.
Theand 100-yard freestyle while Donkers was a firstplace finisher in the 500-yard freestyle.
Awty International School captured both the boys and girls SPC 3A Swimming and Diving Championships. It marked the third straight SPC title for the Awty girls and the first for the school’s boys team since joining the SPC three years ago.
“We had a great season from start to finish and it all showed at the SPC Championship,” said Awty International School swim coach Carlos McClerkin. The Awty girls were especially strong in the relay events while finishing first in the 400and 200-yard freestyle relays. Alicja Serewa, Corinne Lo, Lena Dwyer, and Kathelijne Donkers teamed up for victory in the 200-yard freestlye, while Serewa, Dwyer, Donkers, and Riesling Liu won gold in the 400-yard freestyle relay. It was a sensational meet for Liu, who also won individual titles in the 100-yard backstroke
On the boys’ side, Rams senior Abbas Salehpour finished first in the 100-yard butterfly and 200-yard freestyle while teammate Eli Wang won the 100-yard backstroke. Salehpour and Wang also combined with Lucas Reid and John Bednarski for victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay, with the foursome of Salehpour, Reid, Achille Lorge, and Colin Xu also winning the 200-yard freestyle relay.
“Our boys team is much smaller than in year’s past, so it was really cool to see this small group of guys swim some of their personal best times to get the victory. It was a great meet,” added McClerkin.
Editor’s note: Todd Freed is the host and executive producer of H-Town High School Sports, which airs Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on CW39 and Monday-Thursday on AT&T SportsNet SW. To submit high school sports news for possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email todd@thebuzzmagazines.com.
LEADING SCORER It was tough guarding sophomore point guard Ma’Ryiah Alfred and the Kinkaid Falcons all season. Alfred led the Falcons with 16 points per game as Kinkaid went on to secure the SPC 4A Girls Basketball Championship.
. by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer
SportzBuzz Jr.
Welcome
to SportzBuzz Jr., a column spotlighting neighborhood athletes in elementary and middle school.
Bringing home bling
The 10U Drillers came out swinging to start their 2025 spring season, bringing home some serious hardware. Coached by Tim Belk, the team dominated the Perfect Game Baseball Association tournament, clinching the championship with a commanding 14-1 win over the Texas 12 CS Maroon. The roster includes (pictured, back row, from left) Diego Souchon, Grayson Bredthauer, Levi Saxe, Maxwell Butts, Jackson Belcher, Cameron Rector; (front row, from left) Briggs Baker, Meyers Tou, Tommy Chia, Bode Schmidt, and Evan Miller. These players all live throughout the Memorial area, representing six different schools. With their strong win, the Drillers are proving they are a force to be reckoned with on the diamond.
Spurs stick together
The Spring Branch-Memorial Sports Association Spurs wrapped an awesome season. Made up of third-grade players from Wilchester Elementary, Briarwood Elementary, and Sherwood Elementary, the team left it all on the court. With both coaches repping their Texas Tech roots, the Spurs impressed with sharp shooting and tenacious defense. Whether the quickest on the break, the tallest in the paint, or the grittiest on defense, every player brought their unique skills to the game, making for an exciting season. Through the guidance of their dedicated coaches, the Spurs grew closer as a team, not only on the court, but off the court as friends. Pictured (from left) are Girmay Amdemariam (assistant coach), Austin Tomkins, George Urech, Shepherd Shushtari, Giles Amdemariam, Joseph Peterka, Andres Ramirez, Logan Davis, George Urech, Henry Deutsch, Pierce Rollins, and Brandon Urech (head coach).
Liberty shines
The Spring Branch Memorial Sports Association girls’ basketball team, Liberty, brought together fourth and fifth graders from across the Spring Branch area for an unforgettable season. Despite a tough 3-4 regular season, Liberty battled their way into the round of playoff games, advancing to the semifinals of the silver bracket. Pictured (front row, from left) are Arya Novosad, Skylar Lin, Louise Elmore, Hrisoula Dimitrakakos, Libby Leichtenberg; (back row, from left) Daniel Camper (assistant coach), Laikyn Reed, Rahel Amdemariam, Emmy Allen, Elizabeth Johnson, and Rachea Amdemariam (head coach).
Editor’s note: Send your best high-resolution photos and behind-the-scenes stories about young local athletes, in both team and individual sports, to SportzBuzz, Jr. at info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Include all contact info, names, ages, grades and schools. Featured athletes must live in Buzz-circulation neighborhoods. Items will be published on a space-available basis.
’TIL THE COWS COME HOME Sophie Zhou, a junior at The Kinkaid School, won the top prize at the 2025 Houston Rodeo School Art Competition with her piece, Nurture (on right). On left, she’s pictured in 2024, with her entry for last year's Rodeo Art Competition.
by Sophie Lighvani, The Kinkaid School sophomore
From School Buzz
A longer version of this article originally appeared on our School Buzz blog at thebuzzmagazines.com.
In a sea of nearly 200,000 students, one artist’s vision stood out. On Feb. 16, junior Sophie Zhou became the Grand Champion of the 2025 Houston Rodeo School Art Competition. “I started the painting in May, and I worked on it until the very last minute,” Zhou said. Since then, the amalgamation of oil and acrylic took form into the most celebrated artwork of the 2025 Houston Rodeo.
Though often associated with cowboy boots or the petting zoo, the Rodeo is a notable supporter of youth education. Their annual art competition, which showcases talent from public and private schools across Houston, saw thou-
Kinkaid junior wins Rodeo Art Competition
sands of submissions this year. Only 90 works were chosen for the final auction. Much of the auction’s proceeds will fund four-year scholarships for graduating Texan high schoolers.
“I’ve been telling everyone it feels surreal, like a dream,” Zhou said. “Even though I’m proud of my painting… it’s a whole different feeling to hear that the judges thought I deserved Grand Champion.”
Zhou’s Nurture depicts a touching likeness of a mother cow protecting her young. “They’re both bathed in the light,” said Zhou, “as the mother is leaning over, tending to her calf.”
“As soon as I saw the reference photo, I knew I wanted to capture that moment… I wanted to paint that so other people would feel the way I felt,” Zhou said.
The path to Nurture’s success was encouraged by Zhou’s mentors at Kinkaid. “Originally, the name was something like Nurtured with Love,” Zhou said. “But my former teacher Ms. McMillan and I agreed it was too wordy, and it didn’t get the point across well enough.”
Even with her mentors’ encouragement, Zhou could never prepare for the moment all student artists dream of. “I was out of town at a debate tournament,” Zhou said, “and my friend FaceTimed me from the award ceremony. All she said was, Sophie, you won Grand Champion And I said, No, you’re joking!” Zhou grinned, remembering the excitement. “Next thing I know, my friend flipped her camera and there was my painting at the front, with the Grand Champion ribbon.”
Enter The Buzz 2025 Photo Contest Deadline May 15, 2025
Submit photos for our 20th annual Photo Contest. Deadline May 15.
To submit photos, and for contest rules, visit thebuzzmagazines.com/photocontest Winning photos will be published in our July issue and on our website.
To view our 2024 winners, visit thebuzzmagazines.com/2024-photo-contest
Our grand prize winner will receive a Weekend Getaway Package for Two at The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa which includes luxury accommodations on Friday and Saturday evening, a $150 Credit at TRIBUTE Restaurant, access to the exclusive Houstonian Club and three temperature-controlled resort pools.
Sponsored by
Neighborhood Tails
Phoebe, age 5, Westie, Doliver Dr.
Hi, I’m Phoebe, queen of Doliver Drive! It’s hard to believe that I’m a rescue – who wouldn't want to love and take care of me? My “mimi” says I’m the sweetest and loves to give me hugs and cuddles. I have a basket full of toys, which I enjoy pulling out and leaving everywhere. I insist on a treat every time I do my “job” on walks (ahem). I adore the groomer’s, where they make me even more beautiful. The only thing I lack is a ferocious bark, which I could really use at the back gate sometimes. I sound like a wind-up toy, which only makes people laugh – aaarrrrgh! I get along with my sister Scottie and other dogs, but not as much with squirrels, birds, and other wildlife. They bring out the huntress in me – yes, my breed is born to hunt. Hard to believe with this luxurious and glamorous white coat of mine, right?
Got a cute critter? Email a picture of your pet with approximately 150 words to info@thebuzzmagazines.com or mail it to The Buzz Magazines, 5001 Bissonnet, Suite 100, Bellaire, Texas 77401.
Estate planning and LLCs
Limited liability companies (“LLCs”) are a popular way to own real estate, whether a commercial property or a single-family rental. Banks often require an LLC before loaning the purchase price. In the rush to close, few buyers consider the requirements and limitations of an LLC, leaving avoidable problems on death or disability.
Instead of shareholders, an LLC has “members.” LLCs are so effective at limiting members’ contract liability that lenders require a personal guarantee. Dad dies, and Mom may lose the property to foreclosure absent life insurance or cash to pay the note, which may be called on the borrower’s death. Even a voluntary sale in a down market can be ruinous.
LLCs do not immunize individual members from their own negligence, including premises liability claims. If Dad and Mom manage the property or pick the property manager themselves, they will get sued along with the LLC when a tenant or visitor is injured.
A good insurance program is a must. Consider it a prepaid legal plan, one which will pay defense costs and fund any settlement. On death or disability, the executor or agent have a duty to insure, and may be liable for uninsured losses. If insurance is too expensive, the fiduciary may have to sell the property. Boilerplate leases have insurance requirements for both landlord and tenant. Ignore them at your peril. If insurance wasn’t affordable in Dad’s lifetime, it may not be available at any price later.
When Dad can’t manage the LLC banking and credit cards, can Mom? What does the company agreement say? Can anyone find it? Without one, the Texas Business Organizations Code sets the rules. Banks may or may
not respect Mom’s choices without probate. Best practice is for Dad to extend banking and credit authority to Mom or other trusted persons, and to confirm the banks’ approval well before any crisis.
LLCs are required to keep a list of owners, six years of state and federal tax returns, the certificate of formation and amendments (those are public record), the company agreement and amendments (those are private), all powers of attorney, documentation of different member classes (if any), member contributions and obligations, windup events, and the date each member was added. If Dad didn’t keep these records, the executor will have to reconstruct them, typically with the lawyer charging by the hour for things Dad could have done for free.
On death, a Section 754 election on a partnership return for the year of death can give the real estate and other LLC assets a new basis. Sometimes a late election is available on distribution of the interest from Dad’s estate. We write wills and go to probate court. Foreign nationals and international families welcome.
Russell W. Hall, Bellaire Probate, Attorneys at Law, 6750 West Loop S. Ste. 920, Bellaire, Texas 77401, 713.662.3853, bellaireprobate.com/blog
. by Angie Frederickson, staff writer
Buzz About Town
Have a heart
Jeff and Rachel Bagwell (pictured) supported the American Heart Association (AHA) at the 2025 Houston Heart Ball. Guests at the Hilton Americas raised more than $1 million for the AHA’s efforts to raise awareness of and support treatment for heart disease and stroke. The gala, Illuminate a Path to a Brighter Future, was chaired by Russ and Judy Labrasca and hosted by award-winning television journalist Katherine Whaley. More than 500 guests heard from patient Ally Babineaux, who has survived multiple open-heart surgeries and three heart transplant procedures, and celebrated the lifetime achievements of Dr. Michael Sweeney, who has spent four decades advancing treatments for coronary artery disease, structural heart and valve diseases, peripheral vascular disease, and advanced heart failure.
Racing with friends
Chase Sperling, Jack Grodin, and Noah Ackerman (pictured, from left) participated in the Houston Friendship 5K Race. Friendship Circle of Houston (FCH) hosted the event at Godwin Park, raising funds to support families of children with special needs. This was a
record-breaking event for FCH with 600 racers and cheering fans along the race path. The 5K took place on Super Bowl Sunday, and event hosts invited participants to join a “turkey trot for the Super Bowl” to burn some calories before feasting at Super Bowl parties later that day. FCH pairs teen volunteers with special-needs
buddies for weekly playdates. These volunteerbuddy duos raced together in the family-friendly 5K. After crossing the finish line, participants enjoyed a post-race festival with a puppy petting station, chair massages, chicken drop bingo, and a tennis ball bounce contest. Funds raised will support programming including a summer program and winter camp.
Trailblazing ladies
Christina Greene McAllen and David McAllen (pictured) painted the town at the 25th annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Trailblazer Awards Luncheon and Fashion Show. More than 2,100 supporters dressed in western flair packed the ballroom at the Hilton Americas-Houston for the Saks Fifth Avenue fashion show and a curated shopping marketplace. This year’s event honored six women for their dedication to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, representing a combined 159 years of serving on Rodeo committees: Beth Briscoe, Christy Stern, Lisa
Schutzenhofer, Michelle Verbois Wasaff, Rainey Janke, and Teresa Jordan. This Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Committee has 204 members who support education and literacy with two programs, Rodeo ROPES (Reading Opens the Path to Education Success) and SPURS (Students Pursuing Unlimited Reading and Writing Success).
Core values for kids
Rick Anderson, Pat Booker, and Raquel Lewis (pictured, from left) were among the crowd at the 7th annual Core Values Luncheon hosted by Houston Golf Association, benefiting First TeeGreater Houston. Chaired by Michael and Megan Kaufman and Stephanie and Chris Walker, the event included more than 315 supporters gathered at River Oaks Country Club and raised more than $250,000 to support youth golf programming. Since 2004, First Tee-Greater Houston has provided golf education for children in the community through instruction at schools and in afterschool programs. This year’s event was emceed by Great Day Houston’s Deborah Duncan and honored Ken Fisher and Henry Noey
35 years of Bo’s Place
Larry and Lindy Neuhaus, Gene and Mary Alford, Jennifer Boubel, Craig Brown, Sue Smith, and Megan and
(continued on page
Daniel Ortiz
Jeff Fitlow
Tracy Eason
Luke Hotze (pictured, from left) celebrated 35 years of Bo’s Place at the Hearts of Hope event at The Post Oak Hotel. More than 600 supporters gathered and raised $900,000 at the event led by chairs Mary and Gene Alford and Megan and Luke Hotze, and honorary chairs Lindy and Larry Neuhaus, Susan and Charlie Neuhaus, Mary Kessler and Henry Sauer, and Ali and Taylor Williams. Bo’s Place provides bereavement and grief support for children, adults, and families who have lost a loved one. The highlight of the evening
was the presentation of the Robin Bush Award to honorees Sue Smith and Craig Brown. This award is named in memory of Robin Bush, daughter of President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, who died of leukemia when she was three years old. President Bush and Mrs. Bush were early supporters of Bo’s Place.
Ladies (and gentlemen) in pink
Rick Smith, Gaye Lynn Zarrow, Brandi Sikes, Leila Perrin, and Myrtle Jones (pictured, from left) donned their finest pink attire at The
American Cancer Society’s Tickled Pink luncheon kickoff event. More than 100 supporters celebrated the preparations for the upcoming luncheon with a party at Tootsies. Luncheon chair Sippi Khurana was joined by honorary chairs Leisa Holand Nelson Bowman, Donna Lewis, and Beth Wolff to welcome guests and introduce the honorees who will be recognized at the luncheon. The kickoff featured models showcasing the perfect pink ensembles for guests to wear at the Tickled Pink luncheon, planned for April 17, benefiting breast cancer research, advocacy, and patient support.
Cooking up style
Josh Marcell and Margot Delaronde (pictured) enjoyed the inaugural Cooking Up Style event benefiting Homemade Hope. More than 160 supporters enjoyed a style show and shopping event at Tootsies and raised more than $75,000. Homemade Hope Founder and Executive Director Blair Bentley Ozenbaugh introduced the crowd to the organization’s mission, to provide ongoing programming for after-school culinary classes and mentoring for at-risk children. Homemade Hope’s culinary creativity was on full display with a grand charcuterie spread prepared for guests to enjoy. Community supporters who rocked the runway in fashions from Tootsies and Festari for Men included Alex Heins, Adam Greer, Dr. Brittany Owen, Lisa Woods, Margot Delaronde and Josh Marcell, Scarlett Hankey, Ellecia Knolle, Janessa Young, Beverly Bentley, (continued on page 60)
Daniel Ortiz
Jacob Power
(continued from page 56)
Trent Kelley, Mary Lou Pringle, Oliver Stevenson, Haniyeh Mirdamadi, Monica Patel, Michele Leal, and Brooke Bentley Gunst
Night at the opera
Jose Ivo, Elaine Finger, and Stephen Beaudoin (pictured, from left) joined Communities In Schools (CIS) of Houston and Houston Grand Opera (HGO) to see West Side Story at the Wortham Center. As part of CIS Night at the Opera, supporters joined 1,300 local students, their teachers, principals, and families for the production. This event was part of a partnership between HGO and CIS of Houston to provide arts education and unique performance experiences for children across the community. Before
the performance, board members and supporters of CIS of Houston and HGO gathered for a cocktail reception in the Wortham Center’s Grand Foyer where they heard from HGO general director Bill Kroger and chief executive officer Khori Dastoor, and CIS of Houston board president Omar Reid
Krewe de Camp For All
Karen Odegard, Frank Billingsley, and Mike Odegard (pictured, from left) celebrated at the sold-out Camp For All gala at The Revaire. Six hundred supporters raised more than $1.2 million at Krewe de Camp For All, the Mardi Grasthemed event supporting the camp’s efforts to provide barrier-free experiences to children and adults with disabilities and special needs. Gala
co-chairs Heather and Paul Palmer and Rickie and Stacy Duke spearheaded the grand celebration, which featured inspiring testimonies from Camp For All campers, a silent auction, a wine pull, and a live auction. Master of Ceremonies Frank Billingsley kept the crowd excited and engaged as they “let the good times roll” and danced the night away, honoring longtime supporters Karen and Mike Odegard and The Hamill Foundation.
Gifting the love of reading
Sydney DeFrehn and Zara Alousi (pictured, from left) participated in National Charity League (NCL) - Texas Sage Chapter’s bookdrive event benefiting Books Between Kids. Mothers and daughters from the NCL chapter gathered for the annual National Day of Service as part of a nationwide effort to collect books for children. After contacting friends, families, and neighbors, the motherdaughter duos collected more than 2,100 books, and then gathered at members’ homes to sort the books and prepare to donate them to Books Between Kids. During the past two years, NCL chapters across the country have collectively donated almost 300,000 books through this effort.
Be seen in Buzz About Town. Send your high-res photos and community news to info@thebuzzmagazines.com. Items are published on a space-available basis. Also share your upcoming-event listings on thebuzzmagazines.com.
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Daniel Ortiz
Daniel Ortiz
Dave Rossman
. by Andria Dilling, staff writer
Back Porch
Where Are We Going? Planners and tagalongs
Someone posted on social media recently: Marriage is when one person handles the flights, the passports, the bags, the hotel bookings, and the other one asks, “Where are we going again?” I hate to admit it, but I am the tagalong.
Oh, I can pack myself and everyone else in the house day by day, outfit by outfit, and nobody will miss a thing. Nor will they have a pile of superfluous things springing out of their bags. An efficiently packed suitcase is an art, I say.
Just don’t ask me to make the reservations.
I always wanted to be the whiz mom who plans fabulous vacations on which everyone laughs for days and learns about history and sees sights they will remember forever. Instead, I’m the one who – for two years in a row – made the airline reservations for summer camp landing in the wrong city. I’m also the one who has dragged my entire family to many a “local-favorite, authentic” restaurant, which really is code for “not good enough for anyone to travel to.”
So I am thankful every day for a husband who handles the flights, the hotels, the restaurants, all of it. He knows what he wants, and he makes it happen. I don’t even care if the bottom line is that he doesn’t trust me to handle the plans. I have other strengths.
A good friend – she and her husband are what we call “empty-nesters gone wild,” meaning they’re having a great time in this chapter – claims her husband will literally get on the airplane, turn to her, and say Tell me again where we are going.
“I don’t mind it at all,” she says, “because I like things the way I like them. He knows generally where we’re going, but he doesn’t know about our hotel, or the room, or what we’re going to do. He just isn’t as detailed as I am. He doesn’t like the research that goes into it like I do.
“Really it’s about passion,” she says. “I have a passion for travel. I love the research, I love learning about the place, the vibe of the city, where the locals hang out. I envision myself there, so when I get there, I’m ready to dive in. Unless you hire a travel agent, it really helps when one of the couple has the passion.”
This friend also is a self-proclaimed hotel snob. “[My husband] knows his room is going to be just fine, so he doesn’t have to worry about
it. He knows if we get there and it isn’t just what I had booked, I am going to make it right. Once we walked into a room in Rome – I was offroading a little bit because I was using some little guide I found. We walked into the room, and I was like Nope. Someone else might have said the room was spacious, but I found it cold. I called the front desk, they said let us show you some other rooms, and we wound up with a fabulous room to stay in. He might have looked at the room and said, Oh, I guess you’re right, but he doesn’t really care. I’ll fight tooth and nail for what I want.”
THE BEST LAID PLANS When everyone’s good with their role, there’s a happy distinction between being a planner and letting someone else take charge.
Then there’s the bad side of that story. Another friend, now divorced, was the constant planner in her relationship. “I’d plan all these great things we could do, and at the eleventh hour, he would be like Why aren’t we doing this? It made me feel unappreciated and always resentful.
“It’s kind of like when you try to be the best parent in the world, and you buy a giant bunch of balloons for your kids, and then they’re like Why didn’t I get a red one? It’s the perfect storm, like a clash of personalities.
“But my sister will plan a trip for everyone, and
if you like it, great. If you don’t like it, she doesn’t care. She just doesn’t take on the energy of it. I guess if somebody’s disappointment is going to bother you, you shouldn’t be the planner.”
Now that this friend is no longer married, she says she’s completely given in to someone else’s planning. “I’m going on a trip with people whose kids went to school with mine,” she says. “They’re planning everything, down to being on the same flight. I told them I don’t care about any of it. They can have all the responsibility.”
