The Celebration

Tiger Ball 2019: Celebrating Asia Society’s 40th Anniversary in Houston, paid homage to founding member Barbara Bush and honored Phoebe and Bobby Tudor. The glittering event, which was held at Asia Society Texas Center (ASTC), was chaired by Michelle and Hector Herrera and Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron. The evenings honorary chairs were Shala Ansary and Hushang Ansary, Maria and Neil Bush, and Molly and Jim Crownover.

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The Story

Upon arrival, the 670 guests followed the red carpet through the center to the Chevron Gala Pavilion. Dancers from Huaxing Arts Group and Samskriti lit the way with Asian lanterns. Walking through the pavilion’s awe-inspiring archway, which was aglow with the light from massive candelabras, attendees were welcomed by ambient projections of wishing lanterns, an elegant water piece decorated with the Asia Society emblem, custom-built cast-iron wishing lanterns hanging from the ceiling, and live trees draped with twinkling lights. In keeping with the 40th anniversary, ruby was a central color in the splendid décor.

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Participants enjoyed a sumptuous Pan-Asian dinner served in the pavilion by 130 staff members from City Kitchen. The menu featured curried apple and cauliflower soup with poached shrimp and miso-soy-glazed Chilean sea bass. After dinner, guests returned to ASTC for dessert and dancing to the tunes of DJ Senega.

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The Moments

Dinner was followed by a touching candle-lighting ceremony honoring Barbara Bush.

The big-board auction contained items valued at nearly $195,000. Some of the highlights included: the opportunity to throw the first pitch at a Houston Astros game, luxury accommodations in NYC with exclusive tours of the city’s most prominent museums, and a necklace by Texas designer Becky Hollands boasting 73 pearls in  honor of the 73-year marriage of Barbara and George Bush.

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The proceeds from the memorable evening, which support the center’s 150-plus public programs, surpassed $1.418 million, breaking previous records and exceeding this year’s goal by over $100,000.

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Guests: Nancy Allen, Leslie & Brad Bucher, Anne & Albert Chao, Monjula & Ravi Chidambaram, Julie & John Cogan, Diane Lokey Farb, Jo & Jim Furr, Kathy & Marty Goossen, Marie & Vijay Goradia, Nancy & Erik Littlejohn, Sultana & Moez Mangalji, Duyen & Marc Nguyen, Sylvia & Gordon Quan, Stephanie & Frank Tsuru, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Mary & Roger Wallace, Brenda & Marc Watts, Margaret Alkek Williams, and Lynn Wyatt. Members of the diplomatic corps from Australia, China, France, Indonesia, Japan, and Korea and members of TECO were also present.

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About Asia Society Texas Center

With 13 locations throughout the world, Asia Society is the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the rest of the world. Asia Society Texas Center executes the global mission with a local focus, enriching and engaging the vast diversity of Houston through innovative relevant programs in arts and culture, business and policy, education, and community outreach.