Zoo Ball 2024 – Wings of Wonder
On Saturday, October 19, Zoo Ball 2024 – Wings of Wonder presented by Phillips 66 rose vital funds for the Houston Zoo. At this year’s black-tie gala, a crowd of more than 825 Houstonians were welcomed to Houston Zoo’s Masihara Pavilion and raised more than $2,266,000 million to support the Zoo. This year’s sold-out event, hosted by co-chairs Jennifer and Chris Laporte and Anita O’Shaughnessy and Chris Laquer was themed to celebrate the opening of The Fondren Foundation Birds of the World exhibit and welcomed honorees Cathy and Joe Cleary and Cullen and Robert Muse.
The partygoers turned up the volume on gowns and glamour as they got to meet and mingle with Chilean flamingo chicks, ball pythons, and a chinchilla among other ambassador animals. The Zoo transformed its tented event space, Masihara Pavilion, into an elegant ballroom. City Kitchen served a delectable multi-course dinner beginning with Boston bibb wedge salad with roasted red and yellow beets, pickled celery, hazelnuts, cured olives and creamy white balsamic vinaigrette followed by grilled filet of prime aged beef tenderloin with Armagnac-thyme glace, potato and leek cake, rainbow baby carrots and broccolini caramelized garlic flatbread with parsley and sea salt with a toasted blood orange sponge cake with blood orange curd, Meyer lemon crème, honey gelato.
Houston Zoo President and CEO Lee Ehmke expressed his gratitude for the support of the event’s leading sponsors and underwriters. He also took a moment to recognize honorees Joe Cleary and Cullen Geiselman for their leadership of the Zoo’s $150 million Keeping Our World Wild centennial capital campaign. Ehmke announced that the Zoo would be naming a pair of soon-to-hatch ostrich chicks after Joe and Cullen.
During this year’s silent auction, chaired by Courtney and Zac Harmon, guests bid on items during cocktail hour with the highest bid going for Sabrina Carpenter concert tickets in the ExxonMobil suite for $18,200. After dinner, a spirited live auction called by auctioneer Logan Thomas highlighted competitive items. A five-night stay for up to eleven guests in Bozeman, MT went for $15,000. A five-night stay for 14 people in Park City, UT including two round-trip business class tickets sold for $21,500. Another week was auctioned to the runner up for another $21,500. Naming rights for a future jaguar cub went for $50,000 in a lively bidding war. Following the live auction, guests gave generously to the tune of $275,000 during the paddle raise and vied for a chance to be the “last conservation hero standing” to win a gift certificate for private jet hours – two hours each way – and a one-year Executive Jet card membership from Jet Linx. The value of this incredible opportunity was $50,000.
This year, the sold out After Party was sponsored by PNC and chaired by Victoria Villarreal and Arthur “Will” Brown. Late-night bites, open bars and dancing featuring The Drywater Band kept revelers dancing until midnight.
Faces in the crowd: Jennifer and Chris Laporte and Anita O’Shaughnessy and Chris Laquer (Zoo Ball co-chairs), (Zoo Ball co-chairs); Courtney and Zac Harmon (Auction Chairs), Victoria Villarreal and Arthur “Will” Brown, (After Party Chairs), Lee Ehmke (Houston Zoo president and CEO) and Sue Chin, Cathy and Joe Cleary and Cullen and Robert Muse (Honorees), Kelley and Stephen Lubanko, Carey Kirkpatrick, Alie and Dave Pruner, Stacy Methvin , Courtney and Zac Harmon, Sadie Rucker, Courtney and Bas Solleveld, Carina and Brooks Antweil, Mindy and Josh Davidson, Beverly and Jim Postl, Anne Clutterbuck, Debra and Mike Dishberger.
