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White Linen Night in the Heights 2010

Presented by First Saturday Art Market at Houston Heights - Various Locations

August 7, 2010

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The "Entrepreneurial Spirit" of the Heights will be showcased at White Linen Night in the Heights 2010.  Sultry, steamy, exotic White Linen Night heats up the Heights on August 7. Discover The Heights treasures — markets, art galleries, shops, music, food and more White Linen Night in the Heights, billed by the organizers as sultry, steamy, exotic, and artfully provocative, is coming again from 6 – 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 7. Where: Houston Heights - 19th Street, 11th Street, White Oak, Heights Blvd, Yale St., Studewood, Houston Ave.

Art lovers will wear white linen, discover Heights treasures, and take to the streets of the Heights — one of the hottest professional art scenes in Texas and an area that promises “small town cool in the center of the big city.” The event, a celebration of art, culture, and community, will offer complimentary cooling summer drinks, entertainment, boutiques and shops, art galleries, some of the best restaurants in Houston and eclectic bars — with free pedi-cabs and shuttles for transportation. White Linen Night banners will identify the participating shops, restaurants, and galleries. Visitors will stroll in their white linen, sip beverages, browse, listen to music, shop, hail a pedi-cab or catch a shuttle from boutique to restaurant to gallery to bar to market and back again.

“It’s our favorite holiday and a way to say ‘Look, small town cool in the big city, come and play with us!’ Heightsites love the neighborhood and White Linen Night in the Heights is a way to share all of our treasured shops, restaurants, galleries and cool homes with all of Houston.” said Mitch Cohen, one of the event’s organizers.

New this year - Event stages throughout the neighborhood featuring live music, fashion shows and dance troupes. The popular pre-parties, wine walks, and more are in the planning stages now. Visitors can fortify themselves with local specialties of food and drink, among smaller, more intimate groups of people, before catching their own limo or one of the shuttles or pedi-cabs to join the larger festivities.

Business owners set up shop in the Heights for the same reason they put down roots in the neighborhood – the eclectic mix of residents coupled with the small-town-in-a-big-city setting makes it a sought after way of life. And on White Linen Night, the community comes together to showcase this special blend to all of Houston. There will be Art, entertainment, shopping, white linen fashion, dining and eclectic bars, and signature drinks, featuring Art galleries, retail boutiques, restaurants, eclectic bars, and professional businesses.

Amenities: Free shuttles, free parking, complimentary hospitality receptions. New: This year a large fold out map will be available for patrons to use a guide (or fan).

White Linen Night began in New Orleans' French Quarter's Arts District as a way for artists and patrons to celebrate their city’s creativity while wearing cooling apparel to escape the summer heat. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, several business owners relocated to The Heights and set up shop in their new community. Recognizing an opportunity to carry on the tradition set forth by the Crescent City, the new merchants approached neighboring business owners about starting a new event that mixed New Orleans soul with Heights heart.

Today, White Linen Night in the Heights is a neighborhood-wide event. It’s held the first Saturday evening in August and draws an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 attendees. Like in New Orleans, event-goers wear white linen and take to the Heights’ streets to celebrate art, culture and community while taking in some of the best entertainment, boutiques and shops, art galleries, restaurants and eclectic bars in Houston.

“It’s a way of showing everyone in the city a good time and letting them know what we’re all about,” event organizer Mitch Cohen says.

For the last decade, Houston native Jamie Zelko has had her eye on The Heights. The award-winning chef has worked with renowned chefs throughout Houston, so when it came to time to open a place where she could provide southern hospitality and local ambience, her mind was made up. Making its debut to the area only two months ago in a renovated bungalow on 11th Street, Zelko’s Bistro is positioned to be the center of White Linen Night in the Heights. During the event, the restaurant will be closed to regular service so that the staff – 75 percent of which call the Heights their home – can fully dedicate themselves to their celebration.

“White Linen Night is an opportunity for community to get together,” Zelko said. “I love communal events. This is why I live in the Heights and opened a restaurant here.

Artists will occupy the bistro itself, but the main part of the celebration will be in an adjacent parking lot. Zelko’s will have a band, sangria, drinks and fare that can be easily ported from one event to the next.

“The coolest thing about White Linen Night is that you’ll find a couple from River Oaks sitting next to a guy with tattoos who works at the local coffee shop having a conversation and finding things to talk about through the food, and through their experience of being there,” says Zelko.

In keeping with the mom-and-pop vibe of the area, residents John and Dee Dillman liked The Heights so much they decided to open two used bookstores in the neighborhood. As former New Orleans residents, the Kaboom Books owners are familiar with the event’s origins and like the neighborhood-wide twist that The Heights has put on the Crescent City event, which is concentrated in the Arts District. The Dillmans see White Linen Night in the Heights as an opportunity to support local community and businesses.

“The basic premise in New Orleans was to take a period that was retail dead and revive it in one big day,” John Dillman says. “In The Heights, it’s a series of events to get people to get out and shop. It’s certainly important to retailers.”

Donna Buchanan has lived in the Heights since 1980. Six years after moving to the area, she opened Buchanan’s Native Plants on 11th Street and her business continued to flourish. She’s seen a similar pattern in White Linen Night in the Heights.

“I think that the draw has grown so huge that people will come from all over just to be seen and to see what’s going on,” Buchanan says.

Shuttle services, flat-rate discounted taxi fare and pedicabs for tips are available to move event-goers throughout the neighborhood.

“White Linen Night organizers try to make it easy for people to see everything there is to see,” said Buchanan. “I think that’s a vital component to the event.”

For almost 23 years, Carter & Cooley Deli owner Neil Sacheim has operated out of a landmark building on 19th Street. Built in 1921, and formerly a drug store with a doctor’s office upstairs, the restaurant sits on the site of the Houston Heights Hotel where at one time, downtown’s streetcars turned around before heading back into the city.

“The event is really very important because it puts the businesses and the community into the perspective that this is a unique location. It really showcases the entrepreneurial spirit in a fun way,” Sacheim says.

About The Houston Heights:  The Heights, Houston's oldest planned community, was annexed to the City of Houston in 1918. The area still has many of the original Victorian homes and classic Craftsman Bungalows that it did in its early stages of development, with the addition of new construction that mimics the original architectural vision, sharing tree-lined streets alongside modern homes that reflect the diversity of the residents. Warehouses, old gas stations and old grocery stores have been converted into homes, cafes, restaurants and bars. Gourmet food markets, one-of-a-kind shops, restaurants and bars, and fine art galleries pepper the community. The Heights is home to more professional artists than any other area in Texas – one of the hottest professional art scenes in Texas and is home to the Heights First Saturday and the First Saturday Arts Market. The Heights unofficially now includes the Woodland Heights, Norhill Heights, Sunset Heights and surrounding tiny subdivisions that have all grown together into an eclectically charming area.

More: http://WhiteLinenNightHeights.com  is updated daily with participants and events