A Coven in the Heights: 2nd Annual Witches Luncheon at Stella Sola

The Friday before Halloween, I attended the 2nd Annual Witches Luncheon. This great event is put on by the Houston Heights Women's Club and is a great New Orleans tradition brought to the Heights by member Trudy Nelson. I was so happy to be able to attend again this year. The Heights Women's Club is a great organization (of which I need to join but just keep forgetting to send my money. Sigh) with a great mix of women from the Heights, as well as women who no longer live in the Heights but have personal or family history here.

Like last year, the luncheon was held upstairs at Stella Sola. If you've never seen the event rooms upstairs, they are a nice blank canvas- clean, spacious, lots of windows. Last year, Stella Sola was a new restaurant at the time of the luncheon. In fact, if I remember correctly they weren't even open for business. What a difference a year makes. Not only has the restaurant received national recognition and it's Chef du Cuisine, Justin Bayse, nominated for a James Beard Award, but Chef/Owner Brian Caswell was a contestant on The Next Iron Chef, narrowly missing the Final 4 (and making H-town very proud).

Fun, festive table settings.

Heights Women's Club member Joanne Starbuck made these gorgeous programs for the tables. Is there any shortage of creative people in the Heights? You can find out more about Joanne's hand stamped cards and gift ideas on her webpage.

Area women mixed and mingled. I ran in to a couple of people I met last year and also saw some folks I know from around the neighborhood. It was a great mix of people!

One of the things I love about the crowd at this event is that everyone really went all out. There were all manner of witches. Last year, I wasn't sure, so I wore a black dress and brought a little hat. This year, I spent a couple hours hand stitching tulle and black feathers on to a hat but it still paled in comparison to some of the great outfits people put together.

A couple of my favorite details:

I searched and searched for striped tights. On Thursday. Next year I'll know to order them on line ahead of time!

There were several Halloween themed door prizes, plus awards for Best Costume and Best Hat. Also, next year's Good Witch and Bad Witch (also known as Co-Chairs of the event) were named.

This year's Co-Chairs: Good Witch Shea Hill and Bad Witch Amydell Beardshall.

Again, I had such a great time at this event. It's open to non-members, but once you go, you'll want to join. The organization has so much history in the Heights. Founded in 1900, it is one of the oldest social clubs in Houston. The history of the Club is very much entwined with the history of Houston and the Heights. If you're interested in finding out more, you can check out the Club's webpage or their Facebook page. If you would like to attend an event, there is no need to wait until the next meeting of the Coven. There is a wonderful Holiday Tea coming up, as well as a hayride and more throughout the year. Calendar and contact information are listed on the website.

Now off to pay my own membership dues...