This weekend Houston hosted its first Célébrez en Rosé.  It’s Memorial Day weekend, in Houston, so no surprise it was HOT as all get out.  Still, we had a great time so I am sharing an event recap with tips for attending future iterations. Here is all you need to know in this Célébrez en Rosé Recap.

Tickets

Full disclosure, I received a pair of VIP tickets in exchange for promoting the event.  But honestly, I think I would have gone even without the partnership.   I encouraged several of my friends to buy tickets too and ended up with a nice crew for the event.  There were three different ticket categories, first the general admission which essentially gave you access to the venue.  Next, the wine ticket which came with a bottle of your choice of rose and a picnic blanket.  This is the best ticket to purchase since you will absolutely buy some wine upon arrival and will want a picnic blanket too.  The VIP tickets gave us access to a covered seating area, lunch from Wolfgang Puck and a blanket.

The Setup

Hand holding wine glass that says "La Fete en Rose"

Buffalo Bayou Park where the event was hosted is beautiful, but is mainly one big grassy area with no shady trees.  As such, most of us were camped out on the grass with the sun directly above us.  There were a few shadier areas that early arrivers grabbed quickly.  I would almost say arrive early to claim those, but in reality that just leaves you in the heat for longer!

Robin Thicke standing on piano

Robin Thicke was excellent!

For the rest of the setup, there are installations all around for you to get photos.  By the time I felt like taking pictures, there were long lines and I was drenched in sweat, so much for that.  There were also food trucks at the entrance and drink vendors throughout.  Everything centered around the stage where DJs kept the crowd moving between sets from performers like Mya, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Robin Thicke.  For the most part, I stayed in the general admission section, but when it was time for the performances I made my way to VIP section at the front!

Singer Mya

Mya was such a fun performer! Looked and sounded amazing.

Food and Drink

Bottle of La Fete Rose

What’s a picnic without good eats? From the beginning my plan was to grab food from the onsite vendors, but my friend decided it would be better to bring our own food so that we wouldn’t have to wait in lines.  We ordered from Tres Market which creates charcuterie boards and picnic style sandwiches.  I would highly recommend this route for this event.

For drinks, you cannot bring in outside liquor or wine.  Again, I would recommend at least one person in your group having the wine ticket, so you can get your bottle of wine to sip on throughout the day.  They also had some froses, but they ran out quickly so grab those early.   For the wines, they really only had three-four options and I quickly zoned in on the black owned brands, La Fete Rose and Black Girl Magic Wine.

What to Wear

Okay so here is the challenge, this is supposed to be luxury picnic where folks dress up in their best pink and white.  I had every intention on wearing a new dress probably bringing some wedges for photos then switching into my favorite Steve Madden sandals.  Then I stepped outside for a bit earlier in the day I knew that outfit was a no go.  I ended up going for a more casual short set from Shein, but I do not regret it.   Breathable, airy fabrics that don’t show sweat are your best bet.

What to Bring

Woman in Pink with fan and sunglasses

My fan and these sunglasses were all I had at the beginning of the event!

If you ever followed my Diner En Blanc series, you know I take prep for these types of events very seriously!  This is much easier than Diner En Blanc because you do not have to bring tables and chairs, but planning ahead makes sitting out in that Texas heat for hours more bearable.

  • Water: You are allowed to bring one 30 oz bottle of water.  I saw people with bigger bottles, do with that what you may.  We froze our bottles so they lasted through the first few hours.  There is water for sale at the event.  The map said there were “water stations” so there may have been some free water options.
  • Picnic Basket/Cooler: Especially if you bring food, you will want to bring a cooler to keep items cool and your wine.  That sun heats things up really quickly.  I grabbed this one from Target that morning for $16.
  • Picnic Blanket:  They do provide you a picnic blanket with certain tickets and you can purchase them, but they are not waterproof.  My sister had a picnic blanket with a tarp, that we placed underneath our branded pink ones.   We had a lot of spills, so that came in handy!  Here is a pink one from Amazon.
  • Neck Fan: A fan is a necessity and not the cute church ones, one that is battery powered.  For the neck fan be sure to bring, a charger for it because my friend’s went out midway through the event.  I picked up two pink misting fans the day of, linked here.
  • Portable Picnic Tables: the cute setups included varying portal picnic tables.  This provides some level to your picnic setup plus makes it easier to sip and eat.  There are a smaller picnic tables made for a smaller group or larger ones that would work for a group.  For these people grabbed cute pillows, and other tablescape decorations.
  • Umbrellas:  A lot of people brought regular ole umbrellas to the event and I felt like a fool because I had one in my car and several at home! Parasols or second line umbrellas are cute if you want it to match your look.  Another thing I wish I had invested in was a good beach umbrella.  Now, I don’t know who was going to carry it in, but it would’ve been worth it!
  • A Hat: My friend came through with an extra hat in the nick of time and savedddd me. I highly recommend bringing a cute sun visor/hat too.  Here is a cute pink from Emery Rose and a few others from Amazon.

The Takeaway

Downtown Houston Célébrez en Rosé

Beautiful views of Downtown Houston!

Did I mention it was hot?!  Despite melting like the beautiful chocolate we are, we still had a great time!  We arrived earlier than I would for future events, but we did not want to miss Mya’s set.  Ideal time would be about 4-5pm when the sun has started to go down.  Heat aside, the vibes were great everyone seemed to be having a great time dancing and communing.  I look forward to the next one!

Chicago and Washington DC you are up next for these years Célébrez en Rosé! Hope you all enjoy it!