Chris King, Rocky Mafrige, and Bryan Dumesnil
Eating the Competition by Halliday Mafrige
Duck Duck Jeep The Needlepoint Comeback Fruit-Forward Thanksgiving Dishes Gratefulness during Uncertainty Houston, TX Permit No. 2047 PAID US Postage PRSRT STD
Travel Buzz: Corleone November Events
EDITOR’S NOTE Soon we will be gathered around our dining room tables, filled with delicious, decadent foods we look forward to each year (in my house, my sister-in-law Anita’s coveted mashed potatoes). And, for many of us, Thanksgiving Day means football. It’s hard for me, as someone who bleeds burnt orange, when maroon is prominently featured in The Buzz, but the thing we all have in common is a love for a good story. And this story by Halliday Mafrige about a group of Aggies who have a unique tailgating tradition is a good one. This issue features many other good stories too – such as Cathy Gordon’s feature on a Jeep ducking tradition that brings people joy; Andria Dilling’s on the next generation’s love for needlepointing; and Cindy Gabriel’s on remembering to be grateful in times of uncertainty. As always, I am forever thankful to our readers for sharing your stories with us. Yes, even Aggies. Happy Thanksgiving, and hook ’em. joni@thebuzzmagazines.com
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On our cover: A&M alumni Chris King, Rocky Mafrige, and Bryan Dumesnil are part of a dedicated tailgating group. One tradition is to match the food to the rival team. Cover photo by Michael Hart, hartphoto.com The Buzz Magazines has made all reasonable attempts to verify the accuracy of all information contained within. Advertising claims are solely the responsibility of the advertiser. Copyright © 2026 Hoffman Marketing & Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of this magazine by any means without written permission is strictly prohibited. Printed on recycled paper. Please remember to recycle.
TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 4
MAILBAG
Your letters, thoughts, opinions Don’t sleep on Cindy’s article Cindy Gabriel is a wonderful writer. Her recent article in the October 2026 issue on "Why I'm Losing Sleep" not only resonated loudly with me, it was hysterical (in a Dave Barry sort of way). So many of us have been or are enmeshed in the healthcare system and have had the same experiences she described. The system is so far away from efficiency, care, efficacy, quality, and patient-centeredness, it's laughable. I'm up for a massive, national protest against how our American healthcare system has abandoned a relationship with patients – the corporate model is not working! The AI robot loops are driving me insane, souring my usual joyous mood, and eating up unimaginable hours of my day. Sandra K. Hanneman
Tech troubles are relatable Thanks for the story about why Cindy Gabriel is losing sleep [Oct. 2026]. I too was sentenced to having to endure a sleep test at home, and like Cindy have found the device to be as easy to use as a Rubik’s Cube is for most of us to solve. No on or off switch, but if I touched the part I had to put on my wrist, it began blinking. Although I followed every instruction religiously, I was informed that the test results were not recorded due to – surprise! – “user error.” I am trying to reschedule another home test. I have previously done a sleep test at a facility, and felt from the moment I entered, and no matter what the experience was, I was going to be diagnosed with sleep apnea. Perhaps I will do better when I give it a second try. George Connelly
Full steam ahead I just wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed the article [The Trainiac: Journey around America by Rail by Tracy L. Barnett, Sept. 2026]!. I have gotten so many people telling us what a cool story that was. I had one friend tell me: “I used to ride a train to see my grandmother, and that article made me want to ride a train again!” My bunco group wants to go somewhere via a train and they said Mike [DeStefano] could be our conductor. All because of your writing, Tracy. Thank you for telling our story. Mary Beth DeStefano
Along for the journey Thank you for sharing this incredibly well-written and meaningful story [A Mosaic of Memories: Piecing family history together by Russell Weil, Sept. 2026]! I felt like I was walking with the three of you finding my family history as well as yours. Carolyn Schwartz Putterman TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 6
A special story Wow! What an extraordinary article [A Mosaic of Memories] depicting this journey to uncover family history. Thank you for sharing. Matthew Gabay
From an aspiring writer It was great to have written something in a magazine and for other people to read my work [Special memories in Amsterdam by Aria Thangarajah, Buzz Kidz column, Sept. 2026]. I took it to school and showed everybody. I’m excited to use this as motivation to write my own books like Harry Potter. Aria Thangarajah, age 9 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.
What’s your story? We are looking for residents for upcoming articles who: • Host a holiday cookie exchange party • Were recently married and would like to participate in our Wedding Buzz column. • Have a compelling travel tale. • Know a Buzzworthy neighbor to feature. • Have a milestone life event to share. If this sounds like you or someone you know, please contact us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com or 713.668.4157, ext 102.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inside This Issue November 2026
26 Eating the Competition: An Aggie tailgating tradition by Halliday Mafrige
4 Editor’s Note 6 Mailbag: Letters from Readers 10 Courageous Thankfulness: Finding gratitude in uncertainty by Cindy Gabriel
Cindy Gabriel reflects on staying grateful even – or especially – during times of uncertainty.
12 Rubber Meets the Road: Duckies find new homes in Jeeps by Cathy Gordon
“Ducking,” a tradition in which strangers leave a little rubber duck on a Jeep’s door handle, is a way to spread positivity and kindness.
18 Fruit Stars at the Thanksgiving Table: Playing more than a supporting role by Andria Dilling A few fruit-forward ideas to add to your Thanksgiving table, including Spiced Cranberries, Cranberry Fool, Salted Caramel Apple Pie, and a Dirty Pilgrim cocktail.
22 The Needlepoint Comeback: Younger generations picking up stitching by Andria Dilling
This group of Aggie fans has a unique tailgating tradition during away games: They eat the competition – literally.
34 Travel Buzz: Back to Corleone: Food, Faith, and Family by Tracy L. Barnett
Three generations of the Passante family traveled to Corleone, Sicily, a long-awaited journey to reconnect with their family roots.
38 SportzBuzz
by Todd Freed
40 SportzBuzz Jr.
by Annie Blaylock McQueen
42 Event Roundup
by Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld Mark your calendars for fun fall happenings this month.
44 From School Buzz: From Colombia to Claremont by Juliet Dow and Angel Huang
46 Neighborhood Tails by Mocha
Younger generations are embracing needlepoint.
30 Rumor Has It
48 Buzz About Town
by Angie Frederickson
by Sharon Albert Brier
32 Buzz Reads
by Cindy Burnett Book reviewer Cindy Burnett recommends five recently or soon-to-be released titles.
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54 Back Porch: Music for the Season by Andria Dilling
It seems holiday music starts playing earlier than ever. But is that really such a bad thing? And what are the holiday songs readers most love – or love to hate?
NEIGHBORS by Cindy Gabriel, staff writer
Courageous Thankfulness Finding gratitude in uncertainty
S
tuff happens. Life is life. Most of the time I’m thankful when stuff doesn’t happen. But in my considerable time on this planet, I have come to realize that hoping and handwringing over stuff that might happen is not a good formula. In recent days, I have noticed some spectacular examples of people living thankfully whether stuff happens or not. Last spring, Stan’s sister Heather Westendarp was diagnosed with an aggressive form of tongue cancer, of all things. No, she doesn’t smoke, and she certainly doesn’t chew tobacco. She’s basically one of the most health-conscious, positive, praying/meditating-type people I know. Cancer, like life, can be so random. Heather gathered an army of friends and family around her and took on an intense summer of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Heather’s own schedule of yoga, acupuncture, prayer, and meditation were folded into her days amongst medical appointments. I had the privilege of driving Heather to some of her radiation treatments. Of course, you find yourself in the elevator with people facing similar challenges. Heather could turn an elevator ride into a party, telling people how good they looked, laughing at their jokes, and even laughing at herself. The surgery on her tongue gave her a cute lisp, though I know it went with a lot of discomfort and pain. It’s hard to compartmentalize something when it is inside your mouth. Eating was a whole other thing. Here is what I noticed. Heather handled this chapter of her life the same way she handles life. Heather remained Heather. Even in the hospital, in intense pain, Heather wanted to know the name of anyone walking in the room, however brief, even if it was to deliver a box of Kleenex. And once the treatment ended, Heather managed to host a dinner in her home for 50 people she wanted to thank for being her support team. I found it interesting that she did this before she even learned whether the treatment was successful. It’s that gratitude thing. She would find out a few weeks later that she was actually cancer-free, but the gratitude came first. In fact, it never left, and it will continue for the next couple of years as she continues to be scanned, pricked, and monitored every two
months. Gratitude in uncertainty makes me think of another word: Courage. I see it in another friend, Keith Kirby. Keith and Sharon Kirby were that cute, dynamic couple who welcomed our neighborhood to their front porch every Halloween, fed us meals, hosted showers, and generally celebrated life. But alas, they got the itch to try out retirement in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I was THANKFUL A Texas sky seems to join Cindy Gabriel and sister-in-law Heather Westendarp in a moment of relief from a long, hot summer following Heather’s h e a r t b r o k e n . cancer treatment. Thankfully, they Here’s our update: IT’S WORKING! Your brought their sense of hospitality with them. So prayers, spiritual guidance, expressions of hope, laughStan and I are able to stop in Santa Fe on our ter, text/calls and just being yourselves are paying off. annual anywhere but Texas summer adventures. Yesterday’s CT scan showed a 36% reduction in tumor It’s interesting how much better you can get to size and no metastasization! The oncology and clinical know someone by sharing the same space for just trial teams are thrilled. There’s a higher spring in our a few days over the years. step. And Houston’s “dog days of summer” are ending. Last spring, Keith, who was already tall and He added a smiley face and thanked supportthin, began losing weight. Then, came the diagers for “helping us stay in the race.” It took most nosis: Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. Keith and of September for the dog days of summer to finalSharon knew where they needed to be, back in ly end this year. Real dogs, like people, usually Houston in the hands of MD Anderson. They prefer fall. It was about that time when Heather, too spent the hottest days of summer here for newly cancer-free, and I met in an open field chemotherapy, renting a house back in our with our dogs, to take in the moment. At this neighborhood, as old friends reunited for supmoment, I’m feeling uniquely thankful as stories port. Now they are splitting time between Santa of recent breakthroughs in research, particularly Fe and Houston as positive markers about the involving pancreatic cancer, are helping us all success of Keith’s treatments keep emerging, keep vital people in our lives. along with other inevitable physical annoyances Just as I was feeling appreciative of being with that go with the treatment itself. cancer-free Heather, I nudged her to look skyAs I write this, the Kirbys are back in their ward. It seemed as if the clouds were affirming beloved Santa Fe for a few days between treatour relief. There is nothing like a Texas sky to ments. This chirpy text came from Keith before stamp a moment. they left:
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NEIGHBORS by Cathy Gordon, staff writer
Rubber Meets the Road Duckies find new homes in Jeeps
R
ubber duckies have had quite a life. They’ve bobbed around bathtubs for decades, squeaked by the chubby hands of generations. They’ve appeared in art, inspired collectors, and, thanks to the perennially happy orange Muppet Ernie on Sesame Street, even had a song written about them. There’s no more optimistic a creature in the animal kingdom than the rubber duck. But just when you think their reach is broad enough, look to the door handle on a Jeep. Apparently, the tiny quackers have expanded their empire. It’s called “ducking,” Jeep owners will tell you. “Duck Duck Jeep” to be precise. Jeep officially traces the origins of the phenomenon to the summer of 2020, when a woman left a rubber duck on a vehicle to spread positivity and kindness. The practice quickly went viral, evolving into a recognized global brand tradition. Jeep drivers leave a small rubber duck on the door handle, hood, or side mirrors of another Jeep, to brighten one’s day, often accompanied with a note such as “Nice Jeep!” “Have a nice day!” or “You’ve been ducked!” Halley Erickson had no idea she’d been invited to the game. A few years back, she left work at Condit Elementary, heading for her bright yellow Jeep, to find a tiny yellow interloper perched on her driver door handle. No note. She had questions. Why was there a duck on her Jeep? Who put it there? What the duck was going on? “I thought it was odd,” says Halley, named after her grandfather who was named for the comet. It’s fitting that she blazes her own cosmic trail in her sunshine yellow Jeep that sports a big smiley face from its rear mounted spare. “Oh yes, I’m a major Jeep owner. Everybody in Bellaire knows my Jeep.” Halley, a grandmother of seven, is called Hattie by the crew, a name that dates back years to a young nephew who couldn’t quite pronounce her name. She liked the mangled moniker so much, she vowed to make it her grandma name, should she be so blessed. Six grandsons and one granddaughter later, her Jeep
JEEP JOY Halley Erickson – known as Hattie to her grandchildren – poses with her yellow Jeep, where rubberduck mischief is always welcome. “Everybody in Bellaire knows my Jeep,” says Halley, named for her grandfather who was named for Halley’s Comet.
is a rolling billboard for optimism with its cheerful, “Hattie’s Jeep. Have a Nice Day!’ emblazoned across the back. “The day I came out and saw that duck on my door handle, I told my daughter-in-law about it. I said, ‘Somebody must think it belongs to me.’ She said, ‘No, you got ducked!’ and explained what it was. So, I started carrying rubber ducks in my car. I duck people and people duck me. My grandkids, when they’re bored, we go driving around parking lots and duck people just for fun.” The now-retired teacher who works part-time as a math tutor at the school, estimates her duck cargo at 35 now. Typically, drivers line them up
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along their dashboard. “But I do mine in two layers because I don’t want the line to go behind my steering wheel,” Halley explains. “I place some of my most special ducks to the left and they face me. I stick mine down with thick gel tape because it’s removeable.” She has a favorite duck, Joy, a Christmas reindeer duck. “I was having a bad day, and I was at H-E-B and someone ducked me with Joy. Joy sits and faces me. A yellow duck with reindeer antlers. I show my ducks to my grandkids as an example of just being kind and doing something to brighten someone’s day. If I can make somebody smile with a smiley (continued on page 14)
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DUCKS IN DRIVE Left: A special duck, Joy, with reindeer antlers, is Halley’s favorite, always facing her for the joy ride. Top right: Sami Chavez, a senior at The Emery/Weiner School, drove a hot pink Barbie Jeep as a child. Bottom right: Her like-colored grown-up Jeep takes fun to a whole new level, Sami says, with duck-giving and receiving. She estimates she has 40 to 50 ducks, some hanging out on a bedroom shelf due to limited dash space. (continued from page 12) face on my Jeep, or giving
them a duck, that’s a positive. And I love doing that. I think that’s why the duck thing caught on like it did. People want to make others happy.” Her new-to-driving granddaughter who attends Bellaire High School rolls in a Volkswagen, but is thinking of starting her own tradition, possibly lining her dashboard with Calico Critters, a line of miniature animal figures. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll start a whole new thing,” says Halley, who recalls a touching duck experience recently. “I ducked someone at H-E-B who didn’t appear to have a duck in their car, and I got this
beautiful note that almost made me cry. I was parked right behind her. The note said, ‘I’m sure you’re the one who ducked me. Thank you so much for the duck. I was having a really bad day, and this has brightened my day and given me hope.’ I kept that note. I know when I get a duck, it puts a smile on my face, so I love that I’m putting a smile on someone else’s.” She had a duck rejected once. “I walked out and they’d returned my duck!” Then there’s the time Halley thought she was pulling off a stealth ducking, reaching for a door handle to leave her rubber token. She hadn’t noticed the driver inside. The window rolled down and Halley handed the driver a duck. The Jeep occupant smiled, reached inside her glove
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compartment, and returned the kindness. Nothing like being caught duck-handed. Indeed, ducking has spawned its own cottage industry with Facebook groups, TikTok, and Instagram followings, and online shops with accessories and all sorts of rubber fowl paraphernalia. A full-blown quackonomy. The ducking rabbit hole goes deep. Stickers. Holding contraptions. Cards for notes. Mountable trays are available as duck launching pads that attach to the driver’s side mirror, a designated spot to leave ducks. Many owners customize ducks with tiny accessories like mini cowboy hats, sunglasses, crowns, and necklaces attached using adhesive dots. The yellow duck may be (continued on page 16)
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(continued from page 14) the
original, but its descendants have gone rogue, showing up in red, blue, purple, pink, and green. Drivers often pick from a technicolor flock, granting a fellow Jeeper a duck that matches their car. “I think that’s really fun, to match the vibe of the car you’re giving the duck to,” says Sami Chavez, a senior at The Emery/Weiner School. Sami drives a hot pink Jeep, the grown-up version to the like-colored motorized Barbie Jeep she drove as a young child. But her grown-up Jeep sprouts ducks. “It makes me feel on top of the world when I get a duck,” she says. “It just shows that life isn’t so serious. From my perspective, when I put it on other people’s Jeeps, I hope they come away smiling. I know for me, I’ve gotten ducked when I’m not having the best day and when I see it, the rest of my day gets better.” For Sami, Jeeps symbolize fun and freedom. They’re built for adventure, she says. Pop off the doors, push a button, and suddenly the roof is gone too – just the driver, the road, and a whole lot of sky. Duck-giving takes the experience to a whole new level, she says. She estimates she has 40 to 50 ducks, but not all fit on the dash. Some are on a shelf in her bedroom. One is special and always travels with her. It’s the rubber duck her mom got her. A tiny duck inside of a tiny pink Jeep. It was in her car when her parents first surprised her with it. “I was rallying hard for a pink Jeep, and we got it a little early, before I got my license, because of the color availability; you could get the pink one then.” She’d told her parents about the duck tradition and how she looked forward to participating in it. “I’m a social person. I love meeting people. It’s a great way to meet people,” she says. She recalls a recent encounter in the Barnes & Noble parking lot. She put a duck on a blue Jeep on the way in. When she came out, she’d been the recipient of a duck, too. “She was sitting in her car, smiling. We waved at each other and were like, ‘I love your Jeep!’ Just a small interaction that brightens the day.” It’s not enough that Sami is ducking Jeeps. She wants to be an actual duck. A University of Oregon duck, that is. “It’s a top school choice of mine,” says the aspiring architecture student who hopes to try out to be the university mascot if accepted. She’s been the Jeremiah the Jaguar mascot at Emery this year and last, so has the chops. Proof is in the many awards she’s won at cheer camp. “We will see. It would really be so fun, so cool to be a duck!” she says. Dad-of-three Ming Liu agrees with Sami’s Jeep assessment. “The vehicles represent fun, freedom, and an inclusivity in the community. To me, the duck thing represents the brand well. It’s welcoming, very inclusive. You don’t have to be a certain type of person to participate.” He’s on his second Jeep, a white Jeep wrangler with a six-inch lift. It sits high enough to make
QUACK PACK Top: Everyone in Ming Liu’s family is an avid Jeeper and quacker, collecting and giving a menagerie of ducks. Left to right: Sofia and Kaili provide hot pink contrasts to the family’s souped-up white Jeep, followed by Ming, his wife, Julie, and their youngest, Celeste. Bottom: An assembly of ducks in all kinds of fun costumes line the Jeep’s dashboard. The family loves the tradition so much, they’ve taken the tiny rubber toys on highseas adventures, ducking fellow passengers on cruises.
rocks, ruts, and rough roads seem a bit less intimidating – and a whole lot more fun.
“I show my ducks to my grandkids as an example of just being kind and doing something to brighten someone’s day. If I can make somebody smile with a smiley face on my Jeep, or giving them a duck, that’s a positive.” “But the kids complain about getting into it,” he quips. As a first-time Jeep owner several years ago,
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he attended a Jeep meetup that left him flat, he says. But the ducking experience with his current car has been “the opposite of that.” The duck phenomenon touches on “the different backgrounds, different personalities, and the fun and silliness in the ways we all connect.” His kids, ages 5, 9, and 11, get a kick out of ducking, and the many varieties of funny fowl. Unicorn ducks, alien ducks, sailors, all kinds. “Wonder Woman, Superman… there are so many,” he says. For Ming and his family, ducking isn’t confined to the parking lot and Jeeps. They’ve taken the critters to the high seas. They take the quackers on cruises, hiding them for strangers to find, swapping them like tiny, squeaky souvenirs. Cruise ducking is highly popular, he says. “You never know when you’re going to get ducked,” says Ming. He recalls crossing the parking lot on his way to the YMCA one day. A car slowed, a window rolled down, and a little girl’s hand emerged, offering him a duck. “And that,” Ming says, “is what it’s about. Through ducking, I see people from all walks of life. And you realize that we are all more similar than we are different. That is a good thing.”
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FOOD by Andria Dilling, staff writer
Fruit Stars at the Thanksgiving Table Andria Dilling
Playing more than a supporting role
BERRY POP Apples, oranges, and lots of warm spices join cranberries for this quintessentially fall side.
T
he time has arrived for our heads to be swimming with turkey and dressing, green beans and sweet potatoes. Anyone cooking for Thanksgiving has at least a glimmer of a menu in mind by now. Less considered, but just as integral to the traditional line-up: fruit. Maybe it’s because the fruit gets turned into something more than a bowl of berries or a slice of an apple, but the idea of it as fruit doesn’t figure into most of our typical Thanksgiving menus. Still, it’s there, on the table and on the buffet. Shiny red cranberries. Apples sliced or chopped and tucked under a crust. Even grapefruit makes an appearance, from time to time, in a spicy-fruity cocktail. Taken from past online “Back Porch Table”
columns, here are a few fruit-forward ideas from my own family’s Thanksgiving table. They might play supporting roles to the turkey, but these recipes are stars all their own.
Spiced Cranberries With fresh, tart cranberries, some still whole and popping with every bite, bits of apple, tangy orange juice, and just enough warm holiday spices, these Spiced Cranberries are just what I was hoping they would be. Beyond Thanksgiving, for anyone who thinks cranberries are just for turkey and dressing, I say try these. On their own, with yogurt or cottage cheese, alongside grilled meat, with cereal, over ice cream…the possibilities are endless. In fact,
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a wheel of brie might be calling for a date with these cranberries. 2 12-ounce bags fresh cranberries 2 large red apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into ¼-inch cubes 1 ½ tablespoons orange zest 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 2 oranges) ½ teaspoon ground cardamom 2 cinnamon sticks 2 whole star anise 1 ½ cup sugar ½ teaspoon kosher salt Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat
Andria Dilling
to medium-low, cover loosely, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the cranberries pop and the apples are softened. Let the cranberries cool, then remove the cinnamon sticks and star anise. The cranberries will thicken as they cool, and then they will thicken more in the fridge. Store the cranberries in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 month. Makes about 5 cups.
Cranberry Fool There is no better leftover than a Thanksgiving leftover. And if you love a leftover like I do, this is our Super Bowl season. The only question is whether you go for the unadulterated replay of Thanksgiving dinner or whether you turn those turkey remnants into something new. For cranberries, let’s go new. I’m not talking about anything you need to make, because by the weekend, haven’t we all had enough of making? I’m talking about a simple Cranberry Fool, which is basically cranberry sauce swirled into a whip of Greek yogurt and cream, ethereal and sweet-tart and oh-so delicious. Added to whipped cream and yogurt, the Spiced Cranberries recipe shared above are perfection. But don’t feel the need to make our recipe for cranberries: Use whatever you have on hand, even if that might be a jar (or a can). The cream and yogurt won’t discriminate. ¾ cup heavy cream ¾ cup Greek yogurt 1/8 teaspoon salt ½ cup cranberry sauce In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with a hand-held mixer), whisk the cream, yogurt, and salt together on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Fold the cranberry sauce into the cream a little at a time, being careful to leave streaks instead of stirring everything together. Divide the fool among 4 bowls (preferably glass so that you can see the swirls) and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie From “Sally’s Baking Addiction” This is the apple pie that ended my family’s apple pie recipe streak, which had not changed for at least 10 years. Sally’s apple pie is over-thetop with a caramel drizzle and a close-to-perfect crust. It’s a project, but it’s a project that can absolutely be divided into manageable steps: 1) Make the crust, divide it into two discs, wrap tightly, and freeze. 2) Make the caramel sauce, pour it into a small bowl, cover and refrigerate. You will need to warm it a bit before drizzling it into and/or on top of the pie. Once those two things are done, it’s a no-brainer. Chilled All Butter Pie Crust, recipe below (or 2 prepared pie crusts) Homemade Salted Caramel, recipe below (or store-bought caramel sauce), cooled
FOOL, BUT NOT FOOLISH Turn yesterday's cranberries into today's new favorite dessert.
½ cup sugar ¼ cup flour 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom 10 cups 1/3-inch thick apple slices, from about 8 large, peeled, and cored apples (use a mix of Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and/or Fuji) 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 large egg beaten 1 tablespoon milk Coarse sugar, for sprinkling on crust If you are not using a prepared crust, make the All Butter Pie Crust using the recipe below and wrap it to chill in the refrigerator. If you are not using store-bought caramel sauce, make the Homemade Salted Caramel using the recipe below, and set aside to cool. In a large bowl using a fork, whisk together the sugar, flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom together to combine. Add the apples and lemon juice, and toss to coat. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If you are using homemade pie crust: On a floured surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled pie dough to a circle 12 inches in diameter (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish that is 1 ½ to 2 inches deep. Tuck the dough in with your fingers, making sure it’s smooth. Place the apples in the crust. It will seem like a lot of apples, and that is okay. Pile them high and tightly together. Drizzle with ½ cup of the caramel sauce. (If homemade salted caramel has solidified, warm it on the stove or in the microwave until it’s pourable.)
Remove the second disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a 12to 14-inch diameter circle. Place the second crust on top of the pie, using a sharp knife to cut 4 small slits in the center to let steam escape.* Fold up the overhanging dough around the pie, and pinch the edges to seal the top and bottom crusts together. Use the tines of a fork to crimp the edges. Beat the egg together with the milk in a small bowl, and brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar. Place the pie onto a large, rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 375, and continue baking until the apples are bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. If the crust seems to be browning too much, loosely tent aluminum foil over the top. Remove the pie from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for at least 3 hours before slicing, so that the filling sets. Drizzle with remaining caramel sauce if desired, and serve with vanilla ice cream. The pie can sit at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serves 8-10.
All Butter Pie Crust Adapted slightly from “Sally’s Baking Addiction” 2 ½ cups flour, plus more as needed 2 teaspoons sugar 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into ½inch cubes ½ cup ice water, plus more as needed Place the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse again, until (continued on page 20)
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Homemade Salted Caramel From “Sally’s Baking Addiction” 1 cup sugar 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature and sliced into 6 pieces ½ cup heavy cream, room temperature 1 teaspoon kosher salt Heat the sugar in a medium, heavy saucepan (do not use nonstick) over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick, amber-colored liquid as you continue to stir, about 6 minutes. Be careful not to burn it. When the sugar is melted, immediately stir in the butter until it is melted and combined. The butter will bubble rapidly. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps up, remove from the heat and vigorously whisk to combine it again. Keep whisking until it comes back together, even if it takes 3-4 minutes. It will eventually – just keep whisking. Return to the heat when it’s combined again. When the butter has melted and combined with the caramelized sugar, stir constantly as you very slowly pour in the heavy cream. This will rapidly bubble. After all the heavy cream has been added, stop stirring and allow to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. The caramel will be a thin liquid. Allow to cool slightly before using; caramel thickens as it cools. Cover tightly and store for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. The caramel will solidify in the refrigerator; warm it in the microwave or on the stove before using.
Dirty Pilgrim Every Thanksgiving, my friend Annie and her brother designate a signature cocktail, which they have named the Dirty Pilgrim. In our biweekly, November discussions about our approaching Thanksgiving menus, Annie shares her thoughts on drinks with me. My family now has our own Dirty Pilgrim tradition, and we serve it all through the morning leading up to
lunch, while everyone is cooking or playing games or watching the M a c y ’ s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Our Dirty Pilgrim varies from year to year, and this one is a fruity, icy cocktail of bourbon, fresh grapefruit juice, and honey-cinnamon-rosemary simple syrup, sort of a holiday version of a Brown Derby. The combination is delicious and refreshing and also fitting for the season, thank you rosemary and cinnamon. And the simple syrup. While simple, it is fantastic and you will want to save the extra in your fridge for more drinks or maybe to drizzle over pound cake or maybe to drink on its own (not really, but maybe). Hope our Dirty Pilgrim tradition gives your Thanksgiving holiday a little extra cheer.
Andria Dilling
flour-coated butter. With the motor running, slowly drizzle the water in and pulse until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry, add about a tablespoon of water at a time. (You can also do all of this in a bowl using your fingers to rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the water.) On a floured surface, form the dough into a ball. Divide it in half. Use your hands to flatten each half into a 1-inch-thick disc. Wrap each disc tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 5 days (or freeze for up to 1 month). *If a lattice crust is what you want, Sally posts an excellent instruction video on sallysbakingaddiction.com/lattice-pie-crust.
Andria Dilling
(continued from page 19) you have pea-sized bits of
1 ½ ounces bourbon 2 ounces fresh FRUITY FINISHES Apple pie swirled with caramel wins the pie contest prize; grapegrapefruit juice, fruit, rosemary, and cinnamon make a party drink out of bourbon. chilled 1 fresh rosemary sprig ½ ounce honey-cinnamon-rosemary simple 1 cinnamon stick syrup, recipe follows Cinnamon stick, for garnish Place the honey and water in a medium Rosemary sprig, for garnish saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the honey has dissolved into the water. Pour the bourbon, grapefruit juice, and simAdd the rosemary and cinnamon, and turn the heat ple syrup into a shaker. Fill with ice and shake down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. 30 seconds, until frosty cold. Fill an old fashRemove from the heat and cool. Remove the roseioned glass with ice, and strain the drink into mary and cinnamon stick, pour the syrup into a lidthe glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and ded container, and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. a sprig of rosemary. Honey-Cinnamon-Rosemary Simple Syrup 1 cup honey 1 cup water
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Editor’s note: See Back Porch Table by Andria Dilling every Friday for more recipe inspiration. And search thousands of recipes at thebuzzmagazines.com/recipes.
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ARTS by Andria Dilling, staff writer
The Needlepoint Comeback Younger generations picking up stitching
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eedlepoint is having a moment. You might call it a resurgence, but for the fact that the new wave of popularity isn’t based on what you might deem traditional. The basic stitches remain timeless, and, like hundreds of years ago, groups are gathering to stitch together. But the new craze is fueled by engaging social media videos of the process and the product of the craft – you-can-do-this rallies that suck you in and get you started. Threads are metallic, fuzzy, ombre – modern iterations of the classic wool. Canvases go beyond “baby sleeping” signs and Christmas stockings. And young, new stitchers are fitting their hobbies in during lunch hours and happy hours, years before carpool lines even cross their minds. Tali Kalmans is one of the young people embracing the art of needlepoint. A junior at the University of Houston Bauer College of Business, Tali has been working for a friend who owns a needlepoint shop about to open its brickand-mortar store in Orlando (they’re currently set up in a temporary space). She’s creating their website and scheduling canvas trunk shows through 2029. “It’s crazy the permanent store hasn’t even opened, and they’re scheduling three years out,” Tali says, attesting to needlepoint’s popularity. Tali thinks the reasons for that popularity are many. “We’re all trying to get off our phones, and lots of people want an activity that you need two hands for, so they can’t be on the phone. Also, there’s community. Going to classes and stitch groups, meeting new people. You can talk to people while you’re needlepointing, you can listen to music or a podcast, you can watch a sports game.” Google the needlepoint stores in your neighborhood, and you’re likely to find a roster of events designed to bring people together around needlepoint: classes, gatherings during the day and at night, movie nights, even pajama parties. “Girls my age are looking for ways to get involved and meet people,” says Ellie Clark, a recent graduate of LSU’s design program and needlepoint enthusiast. “Needlepoint helps bring people together.” Kittsie Klaes goes so far as to say that most of her adult friends have been made through
needlepoint. Kittsie is 31 and took up needlepoint with a vengeance four years ago, two months after getting married. “When I started dating my husband [Davis Hance], I didn’t even know what needlepoint was,” Kittsie says. “His grandmother SHARING A PASSION Tali Kalmans (on right) learned to needlepoint by watching gives each family her mom, Elyse Kalmans (on left). A stitcher for more than 30 years, Elyse now has member a countless finished products that Tali has grown up with, including pieces to celebrate birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, and more. Tali’s favorites are Christmas orna- the “candy bars” that get displayed in a bowl at Halloween. ment at University],” Elyse remembers. “There were very Thanksgiving. After we married, she was like, few women there, and fewer single women. A Now that you’re not planning a wedding, you have friend had learned to needlepoint from her time to learn. She taught me in an afternoon, and mother or grandmother, and she taught me. It in a week, I had several projects going.” was a good balance for the craziness of business Now, Kittsie is part-owner of The Courtly school. It relaxed me.” Canvas, a Houston needlepoint store, and she Tali’s first project was a basketball. “I’ve also stitches every day. “I don’t want a day to go by done a soccer ball and a softball,” she says, when I don’t get some stitching done. It’s a ther“because those were the sports I played growing apeutic motion. I feel antsy if I don’t get to do up.” Like most stitchers, Tali started by learning it.” Kittsie’s husband, a banker, has joined her, the continental stitch, which is the most basic and the two sit with their dogs every morning of needlepoint stitches and what most people to work on projects. Davis is working on a belt think of when they think “needlepoint.” (chosen by Kittsie) that says I love my wife I love Through the years, she has expanded her repermy wife I love my wife. Davis says now that he toire of stitches, canvases, and sources. knows what goes into each project, he needs to “Now, everywhere I go, I go to the needlecall his grandmother and thank her. point stores,” Tali says. “I was in Cincinnati Kittsie jokes, “Now watching TV is producrecently for less than 48 hours and went to three tive, because I’m working on Christmas presdifferent stores. I was in New York City for my ents.” She credits its tactile nature with its resurbirthday and went to four stores. In February, I gence. “It gets you away from scrolling, and you was in Maine for two weeks and drove over an can see the work you poured into it. You finish hour to visit two different stores. I’m sort of a with a tangible item you can keep or gift.” collector of the stores,” she says. Tali and Ellie both learned to needlepoint Ellie, too, is following in the footsteps of her watching their mothers and grandmothers do it. mom Susan Clark, grandmother Cinda Tali learned when she was a little girl of 8 or 9 Matthews, and her aunt Debbie Jones, who watching her mom Elyse Kalmans, who is an works at Needle House, another Houston expert stitcher. “I started needlepointing in needlepoint shop. “I’ve grown up around them 1993 when I was in grad school at Kellogg needlepointing, and when I got to college, I was [School of Management at Northwestern
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lawellphoto.com MORE THAN A HOBBY Top right photo: Tali Kalmans began working on her first needlepoint project when she was about 8 years old. Left: Today, Tali is stitching more than ever, enjoying the time away from screens. Bottom right: Mom Elyse brings out these pieces each year at Thanksgiving.
looking for a hobby that would be creative and relaxing,” Ellie says. “I love interior design, which is creative, but it had started to feel like work. Needlepoint is a nice way to be creative without the work.” Ellie specifically remembers paying attention to needlepoint when it began showing up on her TikTok feed during Covid. “People were looking for an activity they could do during quarantine, and I think it just transferred over to life after Covid,” she says. “Social media has played a big part in spreading needlepoint to people not as familiar with it.” Thanks to that surge in popularity, needlepoint supplies have been in short supply. Purveyors – and customers – have seen a shortage of wood stretcher bars (which hold a canvas in place while it’s being stitched) and blank canvas in recent months. “Plus,” Tali says, “everything is taking longer.” She’s referring in part to the expanse of time between when a stitcher completes a canvas and when they hand it off to a “finisher” to be made into ornaments, pillows, purses, photo frames… the list of possibilities of what to turn a stitched canvas into is endless. But don’t think completing an ornament in September will give you
plenty of time to get it finished before the holidays. Lead times can be up to nine months, sometimes more. “It’s funny because we joke that in needlepoint, you’re either ahead for next year’s Christmas ornaments or behind for this year’s,” Tali says. “It’s made things interesting because people have gotten more creative,” she says. To speed up the process – and to make needlepointing more affordable – some stitchers have started painting their own canvases. “I have not done that yet,” Tali says, “but my mother did just order canvas and acrylic paint pens, so I see that in my near future.” Cost is often mentioned as one of the downsides of the hobby. Many canvases are intricately hand-painted, and the work to finish pieces is tedious, time-consuming, and requires a certain level of skill. But along with the influx of online needlepoint influencers (if you will), there’s an onslaught of tutorials on painting your own needlepoint canvases, learning fancy stitch techniques, and turning completed canvases into finished products. Screen-printed canvases have also entered the market as more affordable alternatives to the hand-painted ones, and there are a range of options available online as cottage
industries take off. “My mom once went to a needlepoint finishing class at St. Martin’s [Church],” Tali says. “She jokes that it was a three- or four-hour class, and when she was done, it looked fine. Then she said, I’ve done it once, and now I’m willing to pay for someone else to do it.” Tali keeps an ongoing wish list: an espresso machine canvas, a blue-and-white checkered stand mixer, “perfect to put in a kitchen,” Tali says. “I need all of these, and my mom’s like Your stash is already crazy, and I’m like Well I learned from you.” She is also sitting on about 15 WIPs (see the glossary below), including a series of buoys that she wants to use as a garland, a boat tote, several champagne bottles, and a set of coasters. “I did tell myself I had to finish two before I buy the next [canvas], but that doesn’t always work. If this gets published,” Tali says, “my mom’s going to be like Now you have to finish!” Some criticize needlepoint as a “color-bynumbers” project lacking creativity. To that, Tali says, “Even if two people were to stitch the exact same canvas, it will look totally different based on the stitches they choose, the fibers they choose, whether they use sparkle, beads, wool, or something more silky. (continued on page 24)
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A COMMON THREAD Clockwise, from top left: Davis Hance stitched a belt canvas chosen by his wife, Kittsie Klaes, declaring his love for her; Ellie Clark needlepointed "match boxes" of some favorite spots; Kittsie fell in love with needlepointing when her new husband's grandmother taught her; Ellie takes a break after work to stitch. (continued from page 23) And also, ultimately, how
they finish it.” Beyond the creative outlet and the friendships made, there’s this: “Needlepointing brings
me so much joy,” Kittsie says. “Even if for a few minutes, I can sit down and get some work done. It’s a little positivity in each day.” Maybe our grandmothers and great-grand-
mothers loved the joy they got from needlepoint, too. Surely, they were proud of their creations. Still, this new iteration of needlepoint is not our grandmother’s needlepoint.
Needlepoint: The basics Canvas – The mesh foundation used to stitch on; mesh size is generally 13 holes per inch (best for beginners) or 18 holes per inch (standard) Thread – The fibers used to stitch a canvas; thread ply refers to the strands of thread, dye lots are colors, and skeins are threads packaged in one dye lot Stretcher bars – Wood frames that keep a canvas tight during stitching WIP – Work in progress LNS – Local needlepoint shop Needleminder – A magnet that affixes to a canvas to keep a needle in place when it’s not in use Laying tool – A sharp, usually wooden tool used to ensure threads lay smoothly in a canvas Stitch guide – A plan of stitches and threads to use when working on a canvas, along with the sequence in which to stitch it
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FOOD by Halliday Mafrige, contributing writer
Eating the Competition An Aggie tailgating tradition
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Bryan Dumesnil’s Go-To Pulled Pork Chef Chris Lilly’s Six-Time World Championship Pork Shoulder 1 whole pork shoulder (approximately 16 pounds) 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce For the pork shoulder rub: ¼ cup dark brown sugar ½ cup white sugar ½ cup paprika 1/3 cup garlic salt 1/3 cup kosher salt 1 tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon oregano leaves 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon black pepper For the pork injection: ¾ cup apple juice ½ cup water ½ cup sugar ¼ cup salt 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Make the injection: Combine juice, water, sugar, salt, and Worcestershire and blend until
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very time the Texas A&M football team plays on the road, a Houston home is lit up with a cacophony of light, sound, and scent. And that sound is mostly yelling. “CHEATERS!” Rocky Mafrige, my dad, class of 1989, shouts at the television as the opposing team gets a penalty. “Ah, come on!” yells Bryan Dumesnil, class of 1992, as the referees miss an obvious call. The scent, however, changes based on the opposing team. Often, the food served is determined by the team we play. Dishes are inspired by the city or state where the school is located, or, in a few cases, by the mascot. One year, Bryan decided to make pulled pork when the Aggies played Arkansas – whose mascot is a pig. “It started as a joke – ironically,” Rocky says. “Bryan made pork one time for Arkansas and the themes kept coming where the food is very prominent.” I guess you could say we are literally eating the competition.
AWAY GAME EATS Pictured, from left: Rocky Mafrige '93, Joe'l Mafrige, Bryan Dumesnil '92, Linda Dumesnil '92, Lucille King '91, and Chris King '93 enjoy a spread of fried crawfish, crawfish bread, and corn dogs as the Aggies take on LSU on the road.
the sugar dissolves. Using a meat syringe, inject pork shoulder evenly with injection solution, about every one inch. Use the entire amount of the injection solution. Make the rub: Combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Apply a generous amount of rub onto the meat and pat so the rub will adhere. Place in a smoker and cook with indirect heat for 16 hours at 225 degrees. The internal temperature of the pork should reach 195 degrees. Move the pork to a cutting board and let stand for 30 minutes. The meat should pull off the bone easily. Serve with sauce on the side or paint shoulder with sauce the last 20 minutes of cooking.
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he tradition simply evolved from there. When the Aggies play The University of Texas, there is always some kind of barbeque or beef in honor of their Longhorn mascot.
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Every year that the two rivals have been in the same conference, A&M plays UT on Thanksgiving weekend. This year, the Aggies play UT at Kyle Field, where we will all be enjoying the game and stadium snacks. However, when we play in Austin, the tailgating group hosts a Friendsgiving. “That's just sort of a mix and match of all the traditional things you have at Thanksgiving,” says Bryan, “or something different like steaks, which would be the cow for the UT game. You've got to have some beef on the table somewhere.” While we will not be doing it this year, the Friendsgiving is something I always look forward to, whether we win or lose the game.
“I
don't know what I would do if there weren’t snacks or anything,” says Andrea Register, class of 1995, Bryan’s sister, and mem-
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hartphoto.com AN AGGIE TRADITION Pictured, clockwise from upper left: Bryan Dumesnil stirring his famous seafood gumbo; Chris King, Rocky Mafrige, and Bryan pictured tailgating in 2011 before the Aggies played UT; Chris, Rocky, and Bryan pictured recently in front of a spread of Cajun-inspired food; Linda Dumesnil, Joe'l Mafrige, Bryan, and Rocky watch from Kyle Field as the Aggies take on LSU in 2011.
ber of the tailgating group. “I would just scream a lot more, I think.” We have been tailgating with the same group for decades – ever since my dad met Linda Dumesnil, class of 1992, on my first day of PreK at Hunter’s Creek Elementary School. While Linda and Bryan’s daughter, Lauren, and I were becoming fast friends, our parents were doing the same. From there, we joined forces with Chris and Lucille King, classes of 1993 and 1991, respectively. Chris had briefly known my dad in college and then they got reconnected when he started working for my uncle Jeb Wait, class of 1981. Together, we began tailgating before Kyle Field football games and supporting the team during every away game as well. “Aggies don’t 2 percent our loyalty,” says Andrea.
For LSU game days, the group draws on the Cajun roots of the state and serves gumbo and crawfish. However, for LSU, the group also includes corn dogs. “It’s internet lore from some guy approximately 20 years ago who got the LSU fans bent out of shape by writing this spoof article online about how he perceived that LSU fans smelled like corn dogs,” Chris says. “When he pointed that out online, I guess it got pretty widely circulated and gained enough traction that now many opposing rivals for LSU – of which there are many for a lot of reasons – started referring to them as the ‘corn dogs’ as a way to disparage a rival and to get under their skin.” The star of the LSU show, though, is gumbo – and luckily for us, Bryan has cracked the code on the perfect one. “It’s something I enjoy doing and it’s great to have it turn out well and people enjoy it,” says
Bryan. “Usually there’d be some sports on while I’m cooking, so I make it part of that. It’s just part of the fall football experience.” Bryan Dumesnil’s Seafood Gumbo Slightly modified from New Orleans chef John Besh’s Mama’s Seafood Gumbo. For the stock: 3 quarts water 1 pound fresh shrimp Bay leaves Garlic cloves Peppercorns For the gumbo: 3⁄4 cup duck fat 3⁄4 cup flour 2 large onions, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced (continued on page 28) 2 cups sliced okra
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hartphoto.com FAMILY FAMILIARITY Pictured, from left: Halliday Mafrige stirring Andrea Register's "Crack Dip" Queso in 2026; Halliday held by her father Rocky at Kyle Field in 2005 at age two.
1 tablespoon fresh or dried thyme 2 bay leaves 1 pound smoked sausage, sliced 1⁄2 inch thick 4 green onions, chopped 6 blue crabs, quartered 2 tablespoons creole spice blend Salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste
(continued from page 27)
Make the shrimp stock: Peel the shrimp. Add shrimp heads and shells, bay leaves, garlic cloves, and peppercorns to a stock pot of boiling water. Boil then simmer for around an hour or two. Make a roux: Fry flour in hot duck fat for about 15 minutes over high heat, continuously stirring so it doesn’t burn, until very dark brown in color. Add onions, reduce heat to medium low, and continuously stir for 10 more minutes until mixture looks almost black and glossy. Raise the heat to medium and add in the celery and garlic, stirring for around 3 minutes. Add fresh shrimp stock, thyme, okra, and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and skim off the fat from the top of the pot. Add the sausage and green onion to the pot and cook for 15 more minutes. Add peeled shrimp and crab meat and cook for 5 minutes. Season well with creole spices, salt, pepper, and
Tabasco. Serve with rice.
O
f course, there are staples that are present during every road game, like Chris and Lucille’s daughter Natalie’s chocolate chip cookies. “Natalie started baking them because it’s my favorite food,” Chris says, “then we just conscripted her into service whenever we could to bake cookies. They seemed to be pretty popular and often went pretty fast. So, we eat a lot of cookies.” The cookies, which are made by following the recipe on the back of the Nestlé chocolate chip bag, have often made their way up to College Station before home games as well. There are usually very few, if any, left at the end of the fourth quarter. Another game-day staple is Andrea’s “Crack Dip” queso. The recipe was born from a want of a new cheese dip – her husband Terry, class of 1995, used to simply combine Rotel and Velveeta in a blender, no heating necessary. After craving a warm queso, she invented the combination that won over tailgating crowds immediately. “Everybody kept asking me to make it and they're like, ‘it's like crack, we have to have it,’” Andrea says. “I was like, it's the official crack dip. That's where the name came from.”
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Andrea Register’s “Crack Dip” Queso 16 ounces Mexican Velveeta 16 ounces regular Velveeta 1 can original Rotel 1 can hot Rotel 1 pound ground hot Italian sausage ¼-½ cup 2% milk Fresh cilantro (optional) Cook the sausage in a skillet until brown. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and heat on low until melted and blended, around 30 minutes.
“I
love Aggie football,” says Andrea. “Am I a huge football person? Not necessarily. It’s because of the camaraderie and getting people together, that's my favorite part. The football is just a bonus.” At the end of the day, though, it is not the food itself that brings us together, it is the people we spend time cooking and eating it with. “Traditions have unfolded surrounding how we all celebrate together and gather,” says Chris, whose daughter Claire currently attends Texas A&M. “It's like having an inside joke for a really long time that we have the same foods. The kids are part of it too, a couple of generations – if not three generations – of people who’ve been involved. It really is just a marker of the time that we’ve had together and are fortunate enough to still have.”
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NEIGHBORS
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by Sharon Albert Brier, staff writer
Rumor Has It Eighty is the new 60. The private room at Del Vista was labeled “Cool People,” and frankly, the sign didn't lie. Elizabeth Fisher gathered this elite squad of retired Neiman Marcus beauty gurus to celebrate Anna Mair’s milestone birthday. Having spent decades turning ordinary mortals into runway goddesses, they were finally liberated from retail hours and orthopedic shoes. The glam train eventually rolled to Emma Carruth’s house, where they aggressively tackled a Chantilly cake and blew out candles with professional flair. Still flawless, obviously. Wish fulfilled. They wanted a mix of beach, history, and adventure. The Morrissettes took Europe by storm to create memories for their twins’ first trip to Europe. Vince and Tiffany and teens Maddie and Alex Morrissette kicked their trip off in Zurich eating their weight in chocolate at the Lindt Home of Chocolate, before a playdate in the snow in Interlaken, where they were in awe of the ice sculptures. A train ride to Lake Como to experience life-like celebrities was calm but life got wild in Genoa with a terrifyingly steep drive to a cooking class. All survived it, loved the villa, and would risk their lives again! After hitting Portofino and other hot spots, they wrapped up in the French Riviera and Monte Carlo, pretending they knew how to drive Formula One cars. A wild time. Considering what happened on their 12-day safari in Tanzania, Sue and Mitch Feinberg and Lynn and David Rosen were relieved that nobody got eaten. Close, though! On night one, an elephant tried to join Sue and Mitch’s tent party, but guards shooed him off. The night before, two lions were getting very romantic in camp. On a night drive, a leopard appeared inches away, and an armed ranger leapt behind Sue like a very serious bodyguard. A Serengeti balloon ride delivered sunrise and a lion with brunch. They sighted the Big 5, plus an incredible scene in which leopards, cheetahs, and 11 elephants crossed a river. Everyone cheered when wildebeests and zebras beat the crocodile. Once, the croc won. Awkward. Sue, Mitch, Lynn, and David now officially love wildebeests, all 1.5 million of them, still com-
muting 1,000 kilometers between Tanzania and Kenya. Did you hear? The Houston Symphony League’s Happy Hour at Hearsay restaurant kept the patriotic party going right after Labor Day, celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a little Hollywood – and plenty of star power! Jackie O (Angela Bowers) was in the house, while Harriet Gertner channeled Marilyn Monroe for a COOL PEOPLE Anna Mair’s milestone birthday was celebrated with a group of memorable “Happy “cool people” at Del Vista. Pictured (front row, from left) Margarita Peterson, Linda Birthday” serenade to Blakeney, Maria Salles, Cecile Nance; (middle row) Emma Carruth, Jodi Bishop, Suki Posevina; (back row) Heidi Feeney, Fei Lee, Anna Mair, Elizabeth Fisher, and Jack Kennedy (Phillip Frances Delgado. Smith). The costume up. By the way, no harpy eagles were sighted. crown went to Julie DiFonzo as Ms. Patriotic Who knew a hog hunt could be a and Angela and Harriet for impersonation, hot ticket? It was one of the auction items at while Diane Melia won the drawing. Co-chairs the 2026 Texas Coastal CattleWomen’s Legacy Barbara Files and yours truly kept the fun flying Lunch and Fundraiser, where 350 guests gathwith First Lady trivia, joined by Laurie Foxx, ered at Lakeside Country Club. During the aucPat Moon, Sue McCarron, Roz Cooley, Emma tion, the Houston Rodeo grand-entry wagon Carruth, and Barbara McKee. Who needs and/or fire truck was such a hit that a second Hollywood when we have Symphony League? ride had to be added. Legendary cattlewomen A hunt for harpy eagles. It was quite Sugie Sartwelle, Lavinia Sartwelle Owen, and an adventure for Beata Lerman and her 8-yearElise Sartwelle shared memories of growing up old daughter Dora Stashkevich, who spent 2 around the Historic Port City Stockyards. and a half weeks in the Ecuadorian Yasuni Meanwhile, illustrious cattlemen Bill Sartwelle, Biosphere Reserve. Getting there was its own Dave Scott, and Jim Sartwelle III reviewed a expedition: a seven-hour car ride, a five-hour century of Gulf Coast ranching. In 1931, J.W. boat ride, plus three hours by motor canoe. Sartwelle led area cattlemen in creating the Dora’s verdict on “are we there yet?” is unrecordstockyards (that put the Houston cattle industry ed. They tasted a miracle fruit, Fruta Milagrosa, on the map), later pioneering Brahman cattle which makes sour food sweet for hours. Then and the first Houston Fat Stock Show and they fished for piranhas in the Napo River, Exposition. Saddle up for history! which were delicious, said Beata. While Waorani hunters sharpened poison darts with piranha teeth, Beata and Dora hand-made See Rumor Has It at thebuzzmagazines.com for chocolate from ancient cacao trees. Best chocoadditional photos. Have some good news to share? late on Earth, according to Beata, who should Email us at info@thebuzzmagazines.com. know, being a chocolate maker from the beans
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MORE ONLINE
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by Cindy Burnett, staff writer
Buzz Reads
Cindy Burnett
ARTS
Five picks for November
Buzz Reads is a column about books by reviewer Cindy Burnett. Each month, Cindy recommends five recently or soon-to-be released titles. Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson (literary romance) – After Selina Chan’s caustic and blistering review tanked Parker Navarro’s debut novel, a viral literary feud ensues when she is assigned to review his second novel and pans it as well. As their dispute plays out on social media and in the literary world, the pair begin exchanging messages on the side, reframing how they view each other as well as how they approach their work and what qualifies as success. The insider’s look at the publishing industry is entertaining, and the well-crafted characters, vibrant depictions of New York City, and her musings on the cost of creation in today’s world make this story a standout. Readers who love books about books, quality writing, and slow-burn romances will enjoy this one. The Cursed Diamond by Anna Rasche (historical fiction) – In 2010, Jennie is working as a runner in the diamond district of New York City, when a family friend’s death plunges her into a centuries-old mystery involving a long-lost jewel. In 1910 New York City, heiress Marcella Porter finds herself the owner of the Midnight Diamond, a stone with the ability to influence the lives and fortunes of those who own it. As she weaves together these two women’s stories and the mysterious gemstone that connects them, Rasche provides a peek behind the curtain of the gem business and the history of gemology as well as creating a vivid depiction of New York City in the 1910s and 2010s. The Cursed Diamond is an engaging read for fans of historical fiction with a touch of magical realism, stories with a strong sense of place, and books featuring strong female characters. The Natural Order by Matthew Aldrich (thriller/speculative fiction) – Tech billionaire Paul Whitmore is 122 years old but looks 50. His company has unlocked the path to living forever, and for the last 65 years, Paul has served as the test subject for their product, called The Method. As the company prepares
to launch The Method to the public, his enemies begin a campaign to destroy Paul and his company, while targeting his estranged son Max. As the threat against Paul grows, he seeks to protect Max and heal their fractured relationship. This fastpaced thriller raises fascinating and timely questions about living longer, mortality, wealth, the unintended WHAT TO READ This month’s selections include a romance that ignites with a consequences of tech- literary feud, historical fiction centering on the gem industry and a mystery involving nological advances, and a long-lost jewel, a speculative fiction novel about technology, mortality, and unintended consequences, a nonfiction book about a KGB spy in Iran, and a multiwhat makes a life worth generational saga depicting one family’s Irish immigrant experience. living. The film rights nents, Whale Harbor is a multi-generational saga were acquired by Universal Pictures with Glen about an Irish family of 11 brothers whose lives Powell set to star in it. Fans of Blake Crouch are forever changed by a sudden tragedy. as well as those who enjoy creative and Inspired by the author’s own family history, this thought-provoking premises will love this one. moving and character-driven novel follows the Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold various siblings: the younger brothers stay in War’s Most Extraordinary Spy by Ben Ireland and the older ones move overseas to Macintyre (nonfiction) – Redwood tells the New York and Montana, where they find work story of KGB Major Vladimir Kuzichkin, a and create families of their own. When one Soviet spy in Iran working to undermine the brother goes missing, his absence sparks a lifenew regime following the Islamic Revolution. long quest to locate him. Whale Harbor masterHobbled by a debilitating secret that could cost fully depicts the Irish immigrant experience, him his job and eager for a solution, Kuzichkin both through the eyes of those who left and approached Britain’s MI6 and agreed to spy for those who stayed behind, while also weaving them. What follows is a harrowing and cauinto the narrative how society’s changing views tionary tale about the way in which unintendand newer technologies altered character’s lives ed consequences can reverberate long after an and attitudes. I loved this book from beginning event. While the operation brought down the to end, and it will be a top read of 2026 for me. Iranian Communist party, potentially stopping It will appeal to fans of character-driven tales, a Russian coup and a nuclear confrontation epic family sagas, and beautiful writing. with the United States, it also cemented the Ayatollah’s iron grip on Iran, led to the death Editor’s note: Book reviewer Cindy Burnett of more than 30,000 Iranians, and indirectly also writes our weekly Page Turners column at contributed to September 11th and the current thebuzzmagazines.com. She hosts an award-winIranian conflict. Redwood will appeal to fans of ning book podcast entitled Thoughts from a Page spy stories, history and the Cold War, and Podcast www.thoughtsfromapage.com, runs the timely tales. Instagram account @thoughtsfromapage, and regWhale Harbor by Mary Beth Keane (hisularly speaks to groups about books. torical fiction) – Set across decades and conti-
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TRAVEL
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by Tracy L. Barnett, staff writer
Travel Buzz
Back to Corleone: Food, Faith, and Family
J
ack Passante knew they had to stop. The bus was carrying 16 members of his family through the Sicilian countryside toward the small mountain town his grandparents had left more than a century earlier. They were trying to get to the church. But then Jack saw the sign. CORLEONE “We have to get out right now,” his granddaughter Bailey Raymond remembers him insisting. The younger generation groaned. There would be plenty of pictures, they told him. But Papa wasn’t having it. So out they piled – all 16 of them – and crowded around the roadside sign for the picture he insisted they take. “It’s one of my favorite pictures from the trip,” Bailey said later. “We just looked like such tourists and Americans, crowding around this random tiny town sign.” But to Jack, 78, it was anything but random. For decades, he had been telling his three children and seven grandchildren about Corleone, about the people who had left it and the price they had paid to give their descendants another life. This May, for the first time, all three generations were standing there together. “Papa was brimming with energy,” Bailey said. “This was his best day of the trip.” The Corleone behind the name For many Americans, Corleone evokes something else entirely. Bailey finally watched The Godfather from beginning to end on the flight to Italy. Jack had tried for years to get her to watch the classic 1972 film. This time, headed for Sicily, she loved it. But the Mafia was not simply movie mythology in her family’s history. According to the story handed down through generations, Mafia intimidation and poverty helped drive the Verdina brothers from Corleone in 1901. Jack grew up hearing that history from parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. His parents tragically died within months of each other when he was 19, before he knew all the questions he wished he had asked. What survived was the family account: Francisco Paolo Verdina and his brothers left
ROOTS IN CORLEONE Three generations of the Passante family pause at the entrance to Corleone, Sicily, during a long-awaited journey to reconnect with their family roots. Pictured, back row, from left: Gina Biaga Milone, Christina Martinez, Cameron Sauer, Vincent Martinez, Brianne Raymond, Jennifer Raymond, Ben Raymond, Dante Martinez, Tony Passante, Payton Passante; front row, from left: Rosalia Martinez Sauer, Madison Passante, Jack Passante, Brenda Passante, Sophia Martinez, Monica Passante, and Bailey Raymond.
Corleone seeking a better life. They traveled as stowaways; two died of suffocation on the voyage, Jack said. Those who survived took hard jobs, eventually saving enough to open grocery stores and invest in property in Houston. “There was a price paid for this happiness and this opportunity,” Jack said. “We need to remember where we came from and the hardships and sacrifices that people made to get us where we are.” Waiting for the right moment Jack and his wife, Brenda – Nana to her grandchildren – had visited Corleone decades earlier, but they wanted to return with the whole family. They waited until the grandchildren were old enough not merely to remember the trip but to appreciate it. Bailey, 21, was the youngest. “My parents always promised that when we were old enough, we would go with everyone to Sicily,” she said. “The rest of my life, I was counting down.”
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Part of “old enough,” she admitted with a laugh, meant old enough for the wine tours. By May, the seven grandchildren were all in their 20s. Some negotiated time off before starting new jobs. Then came a much bigger obstacle. Brenda, 76, had struggled with serious illnesses; at one point the family feared they might lose her. Jack underwent cardiac procedures of his own. Even the week before departure, he said, they weren't certain Brenda would be strong enough to go. She went – and, with help from her family, missed virtually nothing. For Jack, simply getting all 16 people there felt miraculous. Palermo: a strange kind of homecoming Their first stop was Palermo, where Brenda’s family has its roots. “It just felt like we were home,” said Jennifer Raymond, Jack and Brenda’s daughter. “You didn’t feel like you were a foreigner in the country. It just felt like you were meant to be there.”
FAITH, FAMILY, AND FOOD Top left photo: The Passante family gathers on the altar steps of the Mother Church of San Martino in Corleone. Pictured, back row, from left: Ben Raymond, Jennifer Raymond, Monica Passante, Tony Passante, Padre La Franca, Rosalia Martinez Sauer, Cameron Sauer, Vincent Martinez; front row, from left: Madison Passante, Brianne Raymond, Bailey Raymond, Jack Passante, Brenda Passante, Christina Martinez, Payton Passante, Sophia Martinez, and Dante Martinez. Right photo: Sophia Martinez shows off handmade linguine during the family’s Sicily cooking class. Bottom left photo: The Passantes gather for their annual Christmas cookie-baking celebration. Pictured, back row, from left: Gabriel Rombado, Vincent Martinez, Cameron Sauer, Lucian Rombado, Sarah Rombado, Christina Martinez, Brianne Raymond; front row, from left: Sophia Martinez, Brenda Passante, Minnette Carrabba, Marissa Rombado, Jennifer Raymond, Rosalia Martinez Sauer, and Bailey Raymond.
Palermo unfolded in layers – ornate churches, historic buildings, bustling streets and markets and, inevitably, food. Food had always been one of the family’s strongest links to Sicily. Sundays meant dinner together, often beginning with Mass and ending around a table. Jennifer grew up with sugo, the family’s slow-cooked red sauce. Before Christmas, relatives gather for an Italian cookie-making day, turning out favorites such as cucidati. Bailey has begun carrying those rituals forward. At college, she gathered roommates to make the Christmas cookies. In Sicily, she undertook another culinary mission: finding the best cannoli. She estimates she sampled about 10. Walking into the family story At the center of the Corleone visit was Gina Milone, a travel agent and distant cousin in Sicily who had helped Jack and Brenda trace the family history on an earlier trip and now helped welcome the next generations back. She arranged the visit to the Mother Church of San Martino and helped them find the streets and homes tied to their ancestors. Inside, the priest led them into an archive of weathered sacramental books dating back some 500 years, fragile enough to require gloves. In one, he found their family name. “It was really amazing,” granddaughter
Rosalia said. “Just to see how long our family’s been in Sicily and to see where we came from.” The records also gave them old family addresses, leading them into Corleone’s cobblestone streets. For Bailey, that was where imagination took over. Standing before the ancestral home, she pictured the people she had heard about all her life stepping onto those same streets, neighbors calling out, a young couple stealing glances. “It really felt like time travel,” she said. For Jack, the modest building carried another message. Now his grandchildren could see the humble circumstances their family had left behind – and how different their own lives might have been had their ancestors not left. A blessing across generations At the church, the priest invited the married couples to renew their wedding vows in a ceremony that had been arranged in advance. Jack and Brenda stood with their three married children and their spouses. Rosalia, who had married the previous year, joined them with her husband. For Rosalia, renewing her vows alongside marriages that had lasted decades, in a church tied to generations of her family, was an unexpected gift. “It just seemed like we had even more support,” she said, “even more people that we could go to – both in the church and just for marriage
advice as well.” Bailey watched from the pews. “It was like witnessing my parents’ wedding,” she said. To her, the generations gathered at the altar seemed to say: We’ve made it this far together. We’re going to keep going. Papa’s golden nugget Jack is famous among the grandchildren for his “golden nuggets” – bits of family history and advice. During the trip, he jokingly announced that he was giving them his last one. The grandchildren rejected that immediately. Papa, they knew, would always have another story. This one was about the thread of family. “The only thing that got us through all of this was family,” Bailey said. “Family is the thread that has consistently connected us and that brought us away from Italy to survive and live and thrive in America, and then brought us back to Italy all these years later.” Jack put it more simply: “Let us never take for granted the sacrifices that helped shape our lives today – but never forget the price that was paid.” The little moments The pilgrimage to Corleone was the emotional center of the trip, but 10 days together created another kind of (continued on page 36)
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A TASTE OF SICILY Left photo: Brenda Passante stirs Pasta alla Norma during a family cooking class. Top right photo: Cousins Dante Martinez, Rosalia Martinez Sauer, Sophia Martinez, Bailey Raymond, Brianne Raymond, Madison Passante, and Payton Passante at Palmento Costanzo winery on Mount Etna. Bottom right: a panoramic view of Palermo and the coast. (continued from page 35) family history.
They cooked together, visited towns and wineries, shared long meals, and played games at night. The men played pool and wagered shots of grappa. One evening, Bailey rode back from dinner with her cousins and Nana. For 40 minutes, they reminisced about something as ordinary as Nana putting M&M’s in their popcorn when they were children.
“There were those big moments,” Bailey said, “those meaningful times of having the vows renewed or the cooking class. But I think it was the little moments that all added up to make it the best trip of my life.” The photo book Bailey made afterward captures both the monumental and the mundane. Its title: Passante Family Vacation: The Trip of a Lifetime. The book ends with an epilogue tracing the
family’s journey from 1901, when Francisco Paolo Verdina and four brothers left Corleone, to another epic journey 125 years later, in 2026, when 11 of his descendants returned with five of their spouses. It closes with a message from Papa: “When their children ask, ‘Mom/Dad, what is the American Dream?’ they can confidently say, ‘Darling, you are the American Dream.’”
Tips from Our Travelers By Jennifer Raymond Worth the splurge: Rent a boat. A day on the water is unforgettable. Don’t miss: Take a cooking class at Mimmo, in Palermo, or spend time exploring the charming town of Cefalù, about an hour north of Corleone. Favorite restaurants: Ostería Villena – it accommodated all 16 of us and was lovely! We especially enjoyed having a chef cook at our house. Currency: The Euro. Order some in advance from your bank so you arrive with cash on hand. Credit-card tip: When paying by credit card, if you’re asked whether you want to be charged in dollars or Euros, choose Euros. Packing: Carry on if you can, and pack efficiently with a capsule wardrobe. Don’t bring: Fancy shoes. You won’t need them. Don’t forget: Leave room in your suitcase for linen, olives, and pistachios. Local favorites: Pistachio cream and cannoli. Safety tip: Drive with caution, and use a crossbody purse when you’re out exploring. Not really worth the trouble: Trying to find American-style coffee. Embrace the Italian version instead. Unexpected hit: The drivers on the longer-than-expected trip to the vineyard turned out to be exceptional tour guides, sharing Sicilian history and local knowledge along the way. What could have felt like a long transfer became one of the highlights of the trip. TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 36
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by Todd Freed, staff writer
SportzBuzz I
n a matchup of powerhouse field hockey programs, the Kinkaid Falcons rallied for a dramatic 3-2 victory over the rival St. John’s Mavericks in a highly anticipated regular season matchup. “The rivalry with St. John’s brings out the best in both programs,” said Kinkaid head field hockey coach Jackie Ciconte. “We respect St. John’s tremendously and embrace the challenge because iron sharpens iron, and games like this are exactly what we prepare for all season.” The Falcons have been quite up to the challenge in a season that has Kinkaid ranked fourth in the MAX Field Hockey West/Mid-West Region Top 20 rankings, as well as 24th overall in the national rankings. Early into the season, Kinkaid defeated national power Loyola Academy by a 4-0 final. “That victory was especially meaningful,” said Ciconte. “Loyola is an exceptionally talented and well-coached team from Chicago, and our players executed our game plan with focus, discipline, and confidence.” The Falcons success hasn’t been limited to this season, with the team making its mark as a tradition-rich field hockey program while competing and defeating some of the nation’s premier field hockey teams. “Our success comes from the character and commitment of this team,” added Ciconte. “Our culture is something that we try to instill in every player in the program from day one. This year we have a small roster of just 16 players, but every athlete brings tremendous skills, determination, grit, and a willingness to put the team first.” The Falcons talented roster this season includes junior Nina Piazza, who was selected to the U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team and has already committed to play in college for Stanford University. In addition, Falcons sophomore Harper Strachan is on the U.S. U-16 Women’s National Team while her older sister Blair Strachan is a returning All-American who’s committed to Duke University. “We have an exceptionally gifted roster featuring U.S. National Team athletes, returning All-Americans, All-Region selections, and eight players on the NFHCA watchlist,” said Ciconte. “Several of our girls are rightfully recognized among the top players in the country. But what
makes this group special is that individual accolades never come before the collective.”
M
Jack Chavez
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David Shutts Photography
SPORTS
eantime, it’s been another outstanding season as well for the St. John’s Mavericks field hockey program, which includes a 7-2 victory over nationally ranked The Hill School from Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The Mavericks defeated The Hill School while playing in the MAX Field Hockey National Invitational. “That was a pretty remarkable win for our team,” said St. John’s field hockey coach Emily White. “The Hill School POWERFUL STICKS Top photo: Kinkaid Falcons junior Nina Piazza goes on is a national power every the attack in Kinkaid’s regular season win over St. John’s. Piazza was selected to the U.S. U-18 Women’s National Team and has committed to play in college for year.” Stanford University. Bottom photo: St. John’s senior captain Sofia Ruegg is among Also, the Mavericks the top returning players for the Mavericks this season. Ruegg will play field hockey were tied at the end of in college for Wake Forest University. regulation with national levels including USA Olympian Kelsey Bing.” #22 ranked Conestoga of Berwyn, Pa. before In addition to Baizan, the Mavericks return falling 3-2 in overtime in the same MAX senior captain Sofia Ruegg, who’s committed to National Invitational. “We’re probably playing play collegiately at Wake Forest. Also, junior one of our hardest schedules, including a game defender Ellie Lewis has committed to play at against Oak Knoll of Summit, New Jersey, Yale University, while junior goalkeeper which is ranked fourth in the nation.” Oak Caroline Engle is committed to the University Knoll defeated St. John’s in a tough 2-0 final. of Pennsylvania. While graduating a trio of seniors who are “Overall, we have a young but very talented now playing field hockey at the major Division team,” added White. “We’re a team that’s on I level, the Mavericks returning starters include the rise with high expectations.” senior Stanford University commit Valentina Baizan, who was selected to the U.S. U-18 Editor’s note: Todd Freed is the host and execWomen’s National Team. “Valentina is a great utive producer of H-Town High School Sports, player who’s worked extremely hard to get to which airs Saturdays at 9:30 p.m. on CW39 this point and be selected to the USA roster,” and throughout the week on Space City Home said White. “She’s a senior captain and one of Network. To submit high school sports news for our top scorers in goals and assists. Valentina’s possible inclusion in SportzBuzz, please email followed nicely in the footsteps of other players todd@thebuzzmagazines.com. we’ve had on the national roster at various age
TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 38
SPORTS
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by Annie Blaylock McQueen, staff writer
SportzBuzz Jr. W
elcome to SportzBuzz Jr., a column spotlighting neighborhood athletes in elementary and middle school.
Galacticos shine The Rummel Creek Elementary School 8U Spring Branch-Memorial Sports Association Galacticos soccer team kicked off its fall season with an evening of soccer, teamwork, and fun under the lights with their biggest fans. Parents and siblings gathered on the sidelines to cheer on the boys as they took the field to play Team Canada. Head coaches Brian Walker (not pictured) and Cassie Ghaffar (pictured, in the white jersey in the middle) are helping the players develop their soccer skills while making the season a fun and memorable one. Team members include Connor Arciero, Conor Coghlan, Jacob Madden, Ethan Morgan, Austin Williams, Theo Zazzi, August Nguyen, Kian Ghaffar, Alexei Langarica, Robert Zummo, Michael Mitchell, Leland Walker, and Logan Judd.
Fall in full swing Blue Anchor Baseball 12U-Central kicked off the fall season with two championship game appearances, most recently finishing as runner-up at the Perfect Game Labor Day Showdown. The team has represented Houston at the Perfect Game East Cobb World Series for three consecutive years and plans to continue competing against some of the nation’s top teams. Blue Anchor is also looking for elite local talent to join its roster and compete on a national stage. Pictured (from left) are Kade Turnbo, Eli Musher, Rudy Ramirez, Beckett Whitman, Zain Thowfeek, Colt Barcelo, Cason Chance, Cason Lim, Colin Killian, Colman Chance, and Briggs Whitman. Coaches (pictured, from left) are Brad Wilcott and Rob Whitman.
Basketball stars A team of Bunker Hill Elementary School fourth graders dribbled their way to first place in the 2026 Westchester Summer Basketball League Fourth Grade Playoff Tournament. The Gray team came out on top in the eight-team tournament, winning three consecutive playoff games to claim the championship. The boys’ victory was even more impressive because players in the league serve as their own coaches, handling substitutions, calling plays, and making game-time decisions without an adult coach on the sidelines. The championship team (pictured, from left) included Ben Marshall, Wyatt Sutter, Alex Tyshovnytsky, Liam Rutledge, Baker Thomas, Ben Luke, Michael Crain, Anderson Ly, Parker Agnew, Clay Stellar, and Corbin Harper. 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. TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 40
Get Your Morning Buzz Every weekday morning, enjoy your coffee + the buzz in your inbox. Our e-newsletter, Morning Buzz, features buzzworthy stories about neighbors every day, Monday-Friday. Sign up to find out what we’re buzzing about at thebuzzmagazines.com/morning-buzz.
TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 41
Melissa Taylor
ENTERTAINMENT
by Jordan Magaziner Steinfeld, staff writer
Event Roundup T
his month, look forward to tons of fun fall events, plus the kickoff to the holiday season. Here’s a sampling of some Buzzworthy events this month: Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival Sun., Nov. 1-Sun., Nov. 15, times vary See the schedule for venues, prices, and more details The annual Jewish Book & Arts Festival, one of the largest of its kind in the U.S., represents a myriad of themes. The festival kicks off with a powerful conversation with Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin (Nov. 1) and the lineup is packed with bestselling authors, including podcaster and advocate Zibby Owens, author and actor Annabelle Gurwitch, Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller, journalist Rebecca Blumenstein, musician Merryl Goldberg and more. The annual Oliver Lapin Family Day (Nov. 8) is geared toward families with young children; the Local Literati program (Nov. 10) features a panel of local authors. This year’s festival is chaired by Michelle Moses with vice chair Susan Rosenbaum. See bit.ly/jhoubookfest. Asia Society’s Night Market 2026 Fri., Nov. 6, 6-10 p.m. Asia Society Texas Free: outdoor market, performances, activities; $5/ticketed indoor activities (additional $5/sumo wrestling demos) Drawing inspiration from street markets in East and Southeast Asia, the family-friendly festival celebrates Houston’s Asian and Asian American communities through an evening of food, dance performances, shopping, games, and activities. Colors of the Prairie: Chalk Art Festival Sat., Nov. 7, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Willow Waterhole Free Colors of the Prairie brings together chalk artists, families, and nature lovers for a day of creativity. The festival marks their 25th anniversary with vibrant chalk murals, live music, hands-on ecology, and a native plant giveaway. There will be a dedicated Kids’ Chalk Zone for young artists to enjoy.
Bellaire’s 17th Annual Tents in Town HOLIDAY SHOPPING FOR A CAUSE The Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market features more than 280 merchants offering everything from holiday decor and gourSat., Nov. 7, 1 p.m.- met foods to apparel, jewelry, and gifts. Proceeds support the Houston Ballet, its Sun., Nov. 8, 10 a.m. Academy, and community programs. Bellaire Civic Center Discovery Green and Great Lawn Mon.-Thurs.: $18/person; Fri.-Sun.: $28/perFamily of 4: $200 (add additional campers for son; children ages 3 and under are free (boats and $40/each); VIP “glamping” experience for $600. rides are included; food sold separately). Purchasing Bring a tent or reserve a VIP glamping spot. tickets in advance is recommended. The Great Lawn at Bellaire Town Square will Celebrate fall as the Houston Pumpkin turn into a campground for this favorite neighFestival transforms Discovery Green into a fesborhood tradition. Families will pitch their tents tival farmland of pumpkins, rides, and photo for a fun night with neighbors. Bounce houses, opps. Ride on the carousel, explore the lake by face painting, balloon art, stargazing, food, and boat, race down the 30-foot slide, bounce activities are all part of the “urban campout” around the Jumpkin’ Pumpkin, and more. experience. Tents in Town benefits Bellaire parks and community programs. City of Houston’s Veterans Day Celebration Standing Tall: A Texas Tree Festival Weds., Nov. 11, 10 a.m.; parade begins at Sun., Nov. 8, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. 11:30 a.m. Houston Botanic Garden Downtown, parade begins on Dallas at Bagby $20/adult; $16/child/student/senior/military Free In connection with Texas Arbor Day, the The City of Houston hosts its annual Houston Botanic Garden introduces “Standing “Houston Salutes American Heroes Veterans Tall: A Texas Tree Festival” to celebrate the native Day Celebration” beginning with acknowledgetrees of Texas. This family-friendly event will feaments and a distinguished keynote speaker recture a kids’ zone with tree-themed crafts and activognizing our local heroes. At 11 a.m., there will ities, guided walks to learn more about native trees be a moment of silence in memory of the signing around the Garden, a marketplace including food of the Armistice, which ended WWI. The vendors, live entertainment, and more. American Heroes Parade will begin at 11:30 a.m. at Dallas and Bagby. Local veteran organizations, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s Fall ROTC, bands, and supporters will march in the Festival: Harvest Cosecha parade to show respect and to honor our veterans. Sun., Nov. 8, 1-5 p.m. MFAH, Main Campus Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market Free Thurs., Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri., Nov. The MFAH’s fall family festival celebrates 13, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 14, 10 a.m.-6 the environment, native flora, and the 40th p.m.; Sun., Nov. 15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. anniversary of the Cullen Sculpture Garden. Reliant Center The annual festival includes food, live music, $25/General admission dance performances, lotería games, short films, Featuring more than 280 merchants, the annual art-making activities, and more. The event feaNutcracker Market offers everything from holiday tures four new, temporary large-scale sculptures décor and gourmet foods to apparel, jewelry, and created by local Latino artists. specialty gifts. As one of Houston Ballet’s largest annual fundraisers, proceeds from ticket sales and Houston Pumpkin Festival a portion of merchandise sales support the compaThrough Nov. 8; Mon.-Thurs.: 3-11 p.m.; ny, its Academy, and community programs. Fri.-Sat.: 10 a.m.-11 p.m.
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23rd Annual Run in the Park Sat., Nov. 14, 8-11 a.m. Molly Ann Smith Plaza, Hermann Park $40/5K or 10K; $30/1K Kids Run Run or walk to support Hermann Park’s conservation efforts. Proceeds go toward the crucial work needed to maintain Hermann Park and its trail system. The event starts and ends at the Molly Ann Smith Plaza, near the Jones Reflection Pool, and includes a post-run party with food, drinks, and music. Bellaire Arts and Crafts Festival Sat., Nov. 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Paseo Park Free Browse arts and crafts from local vendors. Parking is available at Condit Elementary, the Bellaire Water Tower Lot, and Fifth St. near the Bellaire Recreation Center. Diwali, Festival of Lights Sat., Nov. 14, 4-10 p.m. Discovery Green, Anheuser-Busch Stage Free Enjoy a celebration of Diwali with Discovery Green and Tx2 Dance Company. There will be vibrant Bollywood dance lessons, spectacular performances, henna art, shopping, delicious food, and more. Houston Diwali 2026 Sat., Nov. 14, 5-10 p.m. Levy Park Free Celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, with an outdoor street festival featuring entertainment, including a live concert, dance performances, and comedy, plus a bazaar, fashion show, street foods, a fireworks finale, and more. Space Center Houston’s Galaxy Lights Sat., Nov. 14-Sun., Jan. 3, 6-10 p.m. (select days) Space Center Houston $19.95 - $27.95 Galaxy Lights transforms Space Center Houston into an out-of-this-world light experi-
Plan B Television
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Produced by Open Dance Project Fri., Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. Miller Outdoor Theatre Free Based on Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, with a whimsical score by Two Star Symphony’s Kirk Suddreath and John Duboise, spoken text and narration, fairy creations by Afsaneh Aayani and Sasha Blaschka, and guest performances by Open Dance Project’s pre-professional youth ensemble, ODP2, A Midsummer Night’s Dream offers young audiences and their families the experience of dance theater and a celebration of creativity and imagination. See www.milleroutdoortheatre.com for the full performance schedule this month. THANKFUL Kick off Thanksgiving Day with the annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade downtown.
ence. Highlights include: Immersive Crystal Fireworks Show, a dazzling two-lane synthetic ice slide, a dancing lightscape featuring snowflakes and light tubes, a 200-foot LED light tunnel, lantern displays recreating iconic moments in space exploration, illuminating light swings and an interactive astronaut selfie station, and festive treats. Nature Discovery Center’s 31st Annual Twilight Gala Fri., Nov. 20, 6-10 p.m. The Junior League of Houston See naturediscoverycenter.org/ for ticket options Support the Nature Discovery Center at its annual Twilight Gala. This year’s theme, Where Wonder Takes Wing, celebrates the spirit of curiosity, discovery, and connection to nature. The evening features dinner, dancing, and entertainment by Password. Guests will receive an exciting update on the Enchanted Woods Nature Play Space & Classroom Project. Gala chairs are Kim and Ken Jones; 2026 honorees are Brenda and Tom Koch. Great Gobbler Fest Mon., Nov. 23-Sun., Nov. 29, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Children’s Museum Houston General admission: $21.95/adult and child; child under 1: free Get in the Thanksgiving spirit at Children’s Museum Houston with turkey-themed games and music, a Turkey Pardon Parade, and more Thanksgiving-themed activities and programming. See www.cmhouston.org for the schedule. The Turkey Trot Thurs., Nov. 26, 7 a.m. (6:50 a.m.: National Anthem) Saint Arnold Brewing Company $33/1-mile walk; $39/5K; $49/10K Start off your Turkey Day with a family-friendly run or walk. Options include a 5K Turkey Trot, 10K Turkey Trot, and 1-Mile Walk downtown. Following the run/walk, enjoy an afterparty including a pie-eating contest and turkey cos-
tume competition (10 a.m.). A percentage of ticket revenue supports nonprofit CoolxDad. Houston Methodist Turkey Trot Thurs., Nov. 26, 7:30 a.m. Dillard’s near the Galleria $25/Kid’s Run, $44.99/5K; $49.99/10K Head to the Galleria area for Houston Methodist’s Turkey Trot, offering a Kids Run, 5K Run/Walk, and 10K Run/Walk. Post-race party takes place from 7:45-10 a.m. The race’s charity partner is nonprofit Be An Angel. 77th Annual H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade Thurs., Nov. 26, 9 a.m. Downtown, starting at Lamar and Smith Free Kick off your Thanksgiving Day with the beloved downtown parade tradition. Look forward to elaborate floats, entertaining performances, and more. Texas Renaissance Festival Through Sun., Nov. 29, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. (no entry after 7 p.m.); open Saturdays, Sundays, and Thanksgiving Friday. Texas Renaissance Festival grounds (21778 Farm to Market 1774, Todd Mission, TX 77363) $15.25+. Kids 4 and under are free every day. Kids 5-12 are free every Sunday. The Texas Renaissance Festival, the nation’s largest and most acclaimed Renaissance-themed event, attracts more than half a million annually to its 70-acre recreation of a 16th-century European village an hour north of Houston. The festival includes food, fun, artisan markets, performances, and more. Themed Nov. weekends include Heroes and Villains, Barbarian Invasion, Highland Fling, and Celtic Christmas. Editor’s note: See this story at thebuzzmagazines.com for event links. Events are subject to change. Find more happenings on our calendar and see our Weekend Roundup every Friday.
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Diego Bermudez
SCHOOL BUZZ
A YEAR ABROAD Emilia (Emi) Bermúdez, a junior at St. John's School, is an exchange student from Colombia, spending her junior year in Houston through the ASSIST Scholar Program. Here, she is pictured posing in front of the St. John's emblem.
by Juliet Dow and Angel Huang, St. John's School juniors
From School Buzz Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on our School Buzz blog, which highlights what’s going on in local high schools from students’ perspectives. Read more at thebuzzmagazines.com/columns/schoolbuzz.
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he first time junior Emilia (Emi) Bermúdez saw a squirrel dash across the street, she texted her new classmate, junior Lily McEnany, in utter shock. “In Colombia, squirrels belong in the zoo. They are not in the streets or in backyards like they are here in Houston,” Bermúdez said. In early August, Bermúdez traveled from Colombia to attend St. John’s School for her junior year. Bermúdez was selected by the ASSIST Scholars Program, a global program that gives out scholarships to students to study a
From Colombia to Claremont
year abroad. After a grueling interview process, Bermúdez was excited to find out that she was assigned to spend her junior year in Houston. “I wanted to see the world beyond the bubble that I live in as well as get out of my comfort zone and meet new people,” Bermúdez said. Yet Bermúdez was nervous about integrating into a host family. “But then I started talking with them more frequently, and they were really nice,” Bermúdez said. Now, Bermúdez finds the hardest part of her study abroad experience is finding the balance between interacting meaningfully with her host family every day while leaving enough time to finish her homework. “I’m trying to prioritize my family here, so I spend most of my time with them,” Bermúdez said.
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St. John’s sophomore Asher Gurr, who has three younger siblings, appreciates having another high schooler in the house. At school, Bermúdez has become an involved member of the community. She is part of the varsity volleyball team and had the chance to travel with the team to Austin for a tournament. While Bermúdez is still adjusting to life in America, she has positively embraced the challenge. “I am so excited to have this sense of independence,” Bermúdez said. “There are things to do around the world that you probably can't even imagine if you stay in the same situation every day.”
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A clearer view of care
Neighborhood Tails Mocha, age 2, American Shorthair, Candlewood Lane Hi, I’m Mocha, a two-year-old American shorthair, and as you can see, I always dress for the occasion! My brown tabby stripes come with a built-in tuxedo and four white socks I keep spotless. Don’t let my serious face fool you. I’m not serious; I’m just paying attention! My green eyes follow everything that happens in this house, and if you look closely, you’ll spot an M on my forehead. I like to think it stands for Mocha! My favorite place to nap? My dad’s computers! They’re warm, they hum, and when I’m lying on the keyboard, he finally takes a break. And shrimp? Shrimp is the best food in the world! I’m dressed for a fancy dinner, after all. Somehow, I always know when there’s shrimp on the counter, and one whiff makes me the friendliest cat around. Come say hi, and bring shrimp! Got a cute critter? Email a picture of your pet with approximately 150 words to info@thebuzzmagazines.com.
One of the biggest challenges families face isn’t finding someone to care for a loved one – it’s staying connected to that care after they leave. You naturally want to know how Mom’s day is going. Did Dad eat lunch? Has anything changed that should concern you? The more informed families are, the greater their peace of mind. That’s why we’ve introduced SmartCare, a secure electronic medical records system that gives authorized family members greater visibility into the care their loved ones receive. They can access caregiver notes, care plans and schedules, and – with permission – even view photos of meaningful activities and special moments. Secure messaging also makes it easier to stay connected. The greatest benefit, however, isn’t convenience; it’s communication. When a caregiver notices a change in a client’s health or behavior, that information can be shared more quickly with the people who need to know. Families and healthcare providers can respond sooner, before a small concern becomes a larger one. Technology will never replace the personal relationships that define exceptional in-home healthcare. It should strengthen them. When families have a clearer view of their loved one’s care, everyone is better equipped to work together to provide attentive, personalized care every client deserves. S. Gerber & Associates, 3730 Kirby Dr., Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77098, 713.857.3227, sid@personalcaregiving.com
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FDIC insurance, the SIPC, and related mysteries Everyone who has survived a financial crisis knows that FDIC and SIPC coverage are good things. They are examples from two of three tiers of consumer financial protection – guarantee, insurance, segregation – and both change on death. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures bank deposits and pays the depositor if the institution fails, up to $250,000 per depositor, per institution, per ownership category. Under different rules the Texas Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Association insures life insurance and annuities, the PBGC insures defined-benefit pensions, and the NCUA insures credit unions. Insurance is not as good as a guarantee, which backs the promise of repayment with the full faith and credit of a state or the federal government. The now closed Texas Tomorrow Fund is guaranteed by the Texas Constitution. The Texas Tuition Promise Fund and College Savings Plan are not. TreasuryDirect holdings, e.g., savings bonds and Treasury bills, notes, and bonds are federally guaranteed. Insurance is better than “segregation,” the rule that the custodian keep the asset apart from its own. Securities at a broker-dealer are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) from the firm’s insolvency (but not market losses or bad advice), up to $500,000 per customer (with a $250,000 limit for cash), per firm. Mutual funds, money market funds, and variable annuities are protected by different segregation rules. Both FDIC and SIPC coverage can be multiplied, within limits, by spreading the same cash or securities across accounts with a different ownership category (cash) or capacity (securities). A second account, cash or securities, at a second institution, doubles coverage. A second account at
the same institution doesn’t increase FDIC or SIPC coverage for the same person. However, if the same individual opens a joint account at the same institution, bank or broker-dealer, or a POD account at the same bank, the second account qualifies for FDIC or SIPC coverage. FDIC and SIPC coverage rules differ for trust accounts. Cash trust accounts enjoy $250,000 coverage per eligible beneficiary (up to 5), per grantor, per bank, aggregated across the grantor’s trust and POD accounts. There are no SIPC multiplier rules for securities trust accounts, but a written trust is a separate customer with its own $500,000 coverage. No matter how Mom multiplies her FDIC or SIPC coverage, those rules change on death. Postmortem, Mom’s bank deposits enjoy only the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount, subject to a six-month grace period. That rule does not reach POD accounts. There is no SIPC grace period. On death, Mom’s individual security accounts and her estates become one $500,000 customer, although any trust’s brokerage account remains a separate customer. 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
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NEIGHBORS
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by Angie Frederickson, staff writer
Buzz About Town
Couture for a cause Deb Korkmas, Dodi Willingham, and Julie Little (pictured, from left) led the fourth annual Couture Boutique shopping event benefiting The Blue Bird Circle. This year’s event welcomed 1,100 shoppers, many who lined up well before the opening time, to shop a curated selection of resale designer apparel and accessories from Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Valentino, Givenchy, and others. The Blue Bird Circle president Deb Korkmas, PR chair Debbie
bond in a truly unique way. Read more; search "Meet Houstonians Anuar Tager and Andrea Tager Ballesca Running 'The Amazing Race'" by Halliday Mafrige at thebuzzmagazines.com.
Greatest mission on earth Daniel Ortiz
Anne-Laure Stephens, Sara Speer Selber, Martin Cominsky, Rochelle Jacobson, and Andrea Link (pictured, from left) supported The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Houston Galveston (ASFHG) at the Lighting the Way gala at the Royal Sonesta Houston Galleria. The ASFHG is a nonprofit that aims to improve community health across the state by partnering with local agencies. Lighting the Way celebrated the work of the recent class of Schweitzer Fellows and raised a record-breaking $500,000 to support future healthcare leaders. Chaired by Sara Speer Selber, the event honored Rochelle Jacobson and Anne-Laure Stephens for their commitment to the organization. Beyond celebrating current participants, the gala reconnected a network of program graduates, known as "Fellows for Life," who continue healthcare initiatives after their fellowship ends. Gala attendees toured interactive displays showcasing the innovative health initiatives led by current Schweitzer Fellows to help meet health needs in the community.
Armes, and event shop chair Dodi Willingham, along with more than 50 other volunteers, helped raise $159,000 for neurological research at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. Founded in 1923, The Blue Bird Shelley Daly
Freddy Hinojosa
Lighting the way
Circle is a female-led nonprofit that supports the lives of children with neurological disorders.
The amazing father-daughter duo CBS’ The Amazing Race contestants Anuar Tager and Andrea Tager Ballesca (pictured) were surrounded by friends and family at On The Kirb for a watch party to kick off the 39th season of the reality show. The father-daughter team, Team Red, dressed in their competition colors and watched their own season opener of the reality competition show where teams of two race around the world for a $1 million prize. Both Anuar and Andrea are avid fans of the show and couldn’t believe it when they were selected as contestants. During Andrea’s days as a student at Duchesne Academy, the duo spent each Wednesday night together eating Chinese takeout and watching the show. They decided to apply to be contestants and were selected. After preparing with plenty of exercise, including walking for miles with heavy backpacks in the Houston heat, Anuar and Andrea competed in the show that was filmed in the fall of 2025. Did they win? As of press time we don’t know, but Anuar and Andrea had an amazing experience and strengthened their father-daughter
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Benny and Nichole Agosto (pictured) joined more than 420 supporters at The Post Oak Hotel for The Greatest Mission on Earth benefiting The Mission of Yahweh. This year’s gala was chaired by Robin and Danny Klaes, along with honorary chairs Leila Perrin, Beth Wolff, and Cynthia Wolff, and raised more than $800,000 for women and children experiencing homelessness. The circus-themed evening, led by emcees Frank Billingsley and Ernie (continued on page 50)
(continued from page 48) Manouse with auctioneer
Johnny Bravo, featured stilt walkers, a magician, and a snake charmer, along with a silent auction and raffle. Guests heard from advisory board members Monica Hartland, Samantha and David Kennedy, and Warner Roberts about the impact the organization’s outreach has on women and children in the community.
Josh R. Garcia
Dare to reach
Bryan and Megan Johnston and Ana and Eric Hilstad (pictured, from left) attended the Dare to Reach gala benefiting Elijah Rising. More than 400 supporters gathered at The Post Oak Hotel and raised more than $860,000 to combat sex trafficking in Houston. Gala funds will support an emergency center for survivors to provide trafficked women tangible ways to exit exploitation and rebuild their lives. Valerie McIntosh led the gala as event chair with Johnny Bravo serving as emcee. Supporters heard from Elijah Rising Executive Director Micah Gamboa and Senior Development Advisor Courtney Ritter, and from trafficking survivor CJ Strong.
Empathy lives on Madeleine Ferris, Ashley Zindler, Arden Ferris, Haley Zindler, and Bradley Zindler (pictured, from left) celebrated the life and legacy of their son, father, and uncle Greg Ferris at a fundraising event for the Gregory
Reed Ferris Empathetic Care Fund hosted by the Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation. Greg, a graduate of The Kinkaid School and Dartmouth College, and a devoted husband and father, passed away in 2016 after battling lasting complications from leukemia. During extended hospitalizations, he became deeply aware of the emotional challenges involved with living with chronic illness, including loneliness, anxiety, discouragement, and isolation. Despite his own struggles, Greg focused on helping others, becoming an advocate for cancer survivorship and quality-of-life issues. To honor his legacy, Greg’s family established the fund to support patients enduring lengthy, repeated hospital stays by improving their emo-
tional, mental, and overall well-being through compassionate care. Guests heard from members of the Ferris family who shared Greg's personal journey and the inspiration behind the fund created in his memory.
Giving selflessly Nineteen members of the National Charity League (NCL) Memorial Chapter (pictured) recently received the Katherine Ferruzzo Servant’s Heart Award. The new award is named in memory of Katherine Ferruzzo, who dedicated her time to NCL, serving families and the community, with an emphasis on volunteering with organizations that provide autism support. After Katherine tragically lost her life in the Hill Country flood while caring for young girls as a summer camp counselor, her NCL chapter created this award to honor and remember her legacy. Current chapter members who received the award went beyond standard requirements, displayed a true commitment to service, empathy, and inclusion, and received a letter of recommendation from someone who witnessed their heart of service firsthand. The inaugural Katherine Ferruzzo Servant’s Heart Award winners are (top row, from left) Ashton Streit, Meadow Morales, Evelyn McCormack, Nikki Macia, Leighton Lufburrow, Stella Krejci, Abigail Higgins, Lauren Haines, Katherine Haines; (bottom row, from left) Olivia Streit, Blakely Powers, Charlotte Cornett, Mia Cha, Hannah Cha, Katie Briscoe, and Hollyn Bothe. Not pictured: Maddie Harvin, Anya Mehta, and Camila Vela.
Heart of Houston Leisa Holland-Nelson and Leila Perrin (pictured, from left) supported (continued on page 52) TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 50
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the event that acknowledged Becky Reyes as the 2026 Community Leader Honoree. KHOU Channel 11’s Anayeli Ruiz led the afternoon event as emcee, introducing Marcie Mir, El Centro’s chief executive officer, and keynote speaker Patricia Velásquez, an award-winning actress, entrepreneur, author, and mother.
Vagabonds at the game
(continued from page 50) El Centro de Corazón (El
Centro) at the annual Making a Difference luncheon. Held at Hotel ZaZa, the 19th annual event raised more than $135,000 for lowincome, medically underserved children, adults, and families in Greater Houston. Each year, more than 13,000 patients are seen at El Centro health centers for adult and pediatric primary care, women’s health, dental care, and behavioral health services. Maritza Gonzales chaired
What started as a seniors’ group at St. Thomas More Catholic Community evolved into a social group of 20 men and women who named themselves The Vagabonds and get together for fun outings around town. Romy Schneider, Linda Schneider, JoAnn Pinkerton, Joan Carl, and Eva and Scott Talbot (pictured, from left) enjoyed watching the Astros beat the White Sox at Daikin Park during an outing with The Vagabonds. The group boarded a bus and rode to the stadium to watch the game and then finished the day with dinner at Cleburne Cafeteria. Astros games are a group favorite activity, but
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The Vagabonds have also visited The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston Botanic Garden, enjoyed dolphin watching in Galveston, and viewed Christmas lights at the Houston Zoo’s holiday event.
Merry marketplace It’s almost time for the 7th annual Steel Magnolia Moms Holiday Market. Steel Magnolia Moms (pictured at the 2024 holiday market), led by event chairs Maribel Farish and Stephanie Tobola, will host the highly anticipated shopping event on Thurs., Nov. 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Goodman at Village Towers (9655 Katy Freeway). What began as a community fundraiser to support families with special needs has grown into a beloved holiday tradition and is expected to welcome more than 800 shoppers. This year, holiday-gift hunters can shop for jewelry, apparel, home décor, artwork, gourmet treats, and handcrafted goods from 65 local artisans and small businesses. Guests can also enjoy signature cocktails, raffle prizes, and a visit with certified special-needs-friendly Santa and Mrs. Claus. Proceeds from the market will support Steel Magnolia Moms programs including funding inclusive summer camps, counseling, support groups and educational workshops, health and well-being initiatives, and “Moms Camp,” a restorative weekend retreat for members. 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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NEIGHBORS
by Andria Dilling, staff writer
Back Porch T
Music for the Season: The songs we love, and the songs we love to hate
his year, I bought my first bag of Brach’s Mellowcreme Pumpkins in early August. It felt a little bit like cheating on summer, skipping from aqua-striped inner tubes to candy corn, with no school supplies or tax-free days in between. But I was so excited to see that orange bag of compressed sugar on the shelf at H-E-B that I made the leap. It’s kind of the same with Christmas. Scouting Halloween decorations this September, I felt that panicky worry that happens when you realize you’re late, because the bigger display in the store was “permanent” pine trees (as I understand is now the preferred term for “fake”) covered in baubles and sparkles, and who can resist that? So when the Christmas music starts playing November 1, I’m no longer surprised. On the contrary, I perk up and hum along when I hear the season’s first run of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” as the radio station settles into its holidays-only playlist for the duration. Attorney Wendy Burgower is another “All I Want for Christmas” lover. “It reminds me of ‘Love, Actually’ and makes me smile and sing and maybe if no one is watching, dance,” she says. Carey’s classic might top the charts and some of our personal playlists, but there’s a notorious contingent harboring a love-hate relationship with the jingle (sorry). Last Christmas Eve, Fox News culture writer Matt Reigle published a story entitled, “Readers Would Rather Be Waterboarded Than Listen To A Certain Mariah Carey Christmas Classic,” where he polled readers about the Christmas tunes that send them into Grinch mode. Reigle describes the song as “a straight-up pop song with jingle bells,” and Tom, a write-in reader, elaborates: “‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ will probably be the song people send in most, but it’s actually a pretty good song – the first 1,000 times you hear it. Still, it’s overplayed because it is good. That’s the fault of the idiot who played it AGAIN….” Side note: Released in 1994(!), “All I Want for Christmas” got a huge boost in 2003 when it was the song in [one of the best holiday movies of all times] “Love, Actually.” It finally hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2019 and has soared to No. 1 every holiday season since – a
total of 22 weeks – making it the record-holder of number-one songs… until just this fall Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” toppled it, with a 23-week run at the top. Stay tuned this month and next to see where this battle goes. Joining the favoritenot-favorite category is – another Billboard No. 1 (put it perspective, that means it beat out Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”) – “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” written by Randy Brooks and originally recorded by the husband-wife duo Elmo & Patsy (that’s got to be another story…). As legend goes, upon its radio debut on Christmas Day 1979 in San Francisco, a listener called in and said Don’t HOLIDAY TUNES Ready or not, Mariah Carey is coming soon to a playlist ever play that song again. near you. Well, we all know what My friend Jacqueline has an art school where she happened. And what good fortune for the teaches “a lot of little friends,” some of her Fradkin family here in Houston: Allan and his favorites being young people with special needs. grown children Brendan and Allegra say it’s a One of those friends especially loves Leona family favorite. “We can’t wait until it starts its Lewis’ catchy “One More Sleep.” “She’s nonverannual recurrence on the radio stations,” Allan bal, and every time the song comes on, she cracks says. Then there’s Catharine Faulconer, who up laughing. She loves that Christmas music says, “If I hear ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a pops up on my playlist all year long,” Jacqueline Reindeer’ one more time, I may run over says of her friend. “The power of music is insane. Grandma!” It’s not just about decorating a tree, sometimes Holiday hip-hop tracks are another love-’emChristmas music brings joy all year round.” or-hate-’em. Take Lil Jon’s “All I Really Want So really, what kind of wrong does an early for Christmas,” which is nothing like “All I bag of Mellowcreme Pumpkins cause? As for my Want for Christmas,” but does reel you in as it current state, Mariah Carey is singing on a loop features Kool-Aid Man answering the question in my head. It’s not quite November 1, but I You ready for Christmas? with a raspy Oooh yeah. think it might be time… There are those of us who can’t get enough.
TANGLEWOOD/RIVER OAKS BUZZ NOVEMBER 2026 54
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