<\/p>\n
A black and white illustration of White Linen Night in the Heights.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of \/AG Antiques<\/p>\n
Will Vaughn and Kristal Kirksey in Kirksey’s store, Jubilee, during White Linen Night in the Heights in 2018.<\/p>\n
Annie Mulligan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Emerson Rose owner Bonnie Reay shows off her look for White Linen Night in 2017.<\/p>\n
Michael Ciaglo\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Emerson Rose owner Bonnie Reay show off her look for White Linen Night Tuesday, July 25, 2017 in Houston. ( Michael Ciaglo \/ Houston Chronicle )<\/p>\n
Michael Ciaglo\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Manready Mercantile owner Travis Weaver during White Linen Night in the Heights in 2018.<\/p>\n
Annie Mulligan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Manready Mercantile owner Travis Weaver throws beads through a window in his store during White Linen Night in the Heights in 2018.<\/p>\n
Annie Mulligan\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Mitch Cohen dyed his hair blonde for the inaugural White Linen Night in the Heights.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of\/Mitch Cohen<\/p>\n
The crowd outside for Emerson Rose for Pipe Dream’s performance at White Linen Night in the Heights in 2025.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of\/Bonnie Reay<\/p>\n
Pipe Dreams performs outside of Emerson Rose at White Linen Night in the Heights in 2025.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of\/Bonnie Reay<\/p>\n
The Eclectic Home team poses on 19th Street during White Linen Night in the Heights.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of\/Dale Johnson<\/p>\n
On-theme attire hangs on 19th Street during White Linen Night in the Heights.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of\/Mitch Cohen<\/p>\n
Jubilee owner Kristal Kirksey hangs a flag outside her Heights boutique for White Linen Night.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of\/Jubilee<\/p>\n
After New Orleans transplants Kay and Chris Thayer relocated to the Heights following Hurricane Katrina, they pitched an idea from their hometown to local business owners with a presence on 19th Street. White Linen Night, originally conceived on Magazine Street in Louisiana, encouraged shopping and spending in late summer, when sales often lagged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Could such an event work in Houston, too?<\/p>\n
HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM:\u00a0Everything to know about White Linen Night’s 20th anniversary in the Heights<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In 2006, several dozen Heights small business owners gave it a go. For one Saturday in August, they extended their hours of operation, prepared to pour wine or serve cocktails behind cash registers, and hoped for the best.<\/p>\n Group consensus? The first year was solid. So were many of the years that followed, until too much of a good thing evolved into too much for the 19th Street Merchants Association to manage on their own.\u00a0Today the Feel Good Group<\/a> operates and oversees White Linen Night in the Heights, which became a ticketed event in 2024. Before that, admission was free.<\/p>\n In honor of White Linen Night\u2019s 20th anniversary, we asked longtime participants to share some of the event\u2019s lore. Here are their best memories from the last 20 years.<\/p>\n Kristal Kirksey, owner of Jubilee<\/p>\n \u201cI am one of the originators, which makes me feel really old,\u201d says Kristal Kirksey, who has owned Jubilee, a personality-filled boutique<\/a> on 19th Street for more than 30 years. \u201cIt was after Hurricane Katrina, and we had a lovely man on the street who moved here that told us, ‘We do this fun thing in New Orleans, where we go out, meet our neighbors, walk the streets and wear linen because it\u2019s so hot. It\u2019s a great way to go out in the neighborhood.’\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n That\u2019s partially why organizers haven\u2019t moved the event from August to a cooler month. Kirksey explains White Linen Night in the Heights was a considerable success from the start. And once it started, participants agreed not to change it.<\/p>\n Jubilee owner Kristal Kirksey celebrating White Linen Night in the Heights over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s become a thing in and of itself. It\u2019s like Christmas, you can\u2019t cancel it,\u201d she says. \u201cIt started very small, though we were very agreeably surprised with the reaction we had. We all stayed open late and served wine; I don\u2019t even remember if we had live music.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the years, that changed\u00a0\u2014 as did Jubilee\u2019s location. Kirksey previously operated out of a two-story building. She would survey the crowd from the top floor and see a sea of white.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of my very best friends met her life partner at White Linen Night, maybe 10 years ago,\u201d she adds. \u201cThey were on the street listening to a band, and they\u2019re still together to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n During the COVID pandemic, the 19th Street business owners decided against hosting and publicizing an official White Linen Night. Kirksey recalls seeing small groups of people wander the streets in clusters of white anyway, trying to show support.<\/p>\n Russell\u00a0Murrell, former\u00a0co-owner of Shade and Alice Blue<\/p>\n When Russell Murrell opened Shade, which later became Alice Blue, with his wife, chef and business partner, Claire Smith, on 19th Street back in 2003, it was a big deal. Their restaurant became the first establishment with a liquor license for miles; the original municipality of the Heights was a dry community\u00a0from 1912 to 2017.<\/p>\n Chris and Kay Thayer wandered in one day in 2006 and told the story of White Linen Night.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey asked, ‘Would y\u2019all be interested?’\u201d Murrell recalls. \u201cWhich led to eight or 10 of us sitting around the table at Shade one afternoon. There wasn\u2019t much going on on 19th Street; it was pretty new as a destination. And that\u2019s literally how it started.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The first year drew\u00a0enough of a crowd for them to do it again.\u00a0The event grew in 2007, and after that, Murrell says it just exploded.<\/p>\n Claire Smith and Russell Murrell\u00a0<\/p>\n Melissa Phillip\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n The premise was innocent; business owners wanted to market 19th Street. Murrell describes the early “micro” years as warm and fuzzy. Eventually, they may have become victims of their success.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was pretty cool back in the early days,\u201d he says. \u201cI think it shocked all of us how quickly it caught on and became successful. But you know what? Good for them.\u201d<\/p>\n He has vivid memories of needing to remove a customer from his establishment only twice during the 20-year run in the Heights<\/a>. Both occasions were on White Linen Night.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIn those days we were one of the only places you could get a drink. People would just flood into our bar,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Bonnie Reay, owner of Emerson Rose<\/p>\n Emerson Rose owner Bonnie Reay show off her look for White Linen Night Tuesday, July 25, 2017 in Houston. ( Michael Ciaglo \/ Houston Chronicle )<\/p>\n Michael Ciaglo\/Houston Chronicle Emerson Rose owner Bonnie Reay show off her look for White Linen Night Tuesday, July 25, 2017 in Houston. ( Michael Ciaglo \/ Houston Chronicle )<\/p>\n Michael Ciaglo\/Houston Chronicle Pipe Dreams performs outside of Emerson Rose at White Linen Night in the Heights in 2025.<\/p>\n Courtesy of\/Bonnie Reay The crowd outside for Emerson Rose for Pipe Dream’s performance at White Linen Night in the Heights in 2025.<\/p>\n Courtesy of\/Bonnie Reay<\/p>\n Bonnie Reay opened Emerson Rose, a women’s wear boutique on 19th Street, in 2014 at age 24. That year was her first and favorite White Linen Night.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI had no idea what to expect, and it blew me away. It was such a surprise to see what this event was and what it meant to the Heights,\u201d she says. \u201cI didn\u2019t know what I was supposed to prepare. Thankfully, Deep Eddy reached out; at that time they were really hot stuff. They were pouring amazing cocktails and (vodka) is such a good fit for the heat of the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2016, her friend Holly Knudsen, who owned a floral design business called Flower Vibes, sold flower crowns. By the end of the night,\u00a0Reay says the hair accessory was all over the street.<\/p>\n Holly Knudsen models one of her Flower Vibes floral crowns for White Linen Night.<\/p>\n Emerson Rose<\/p>\n \u201cMy second favorite year of White Linen Night was absolutely last year, because my husband\u2019s band Pipe Dream performed,\u201d she shared. \u201cThey\u2019re performing again this year in front of Emerson Rose. And we\u2019re going to serve Deep Eddy\u2019s espresso martini in the bottle on both sides of the street. We have a gift shop now \u2014 we\u2019ve grown. In this new era of my life, I enjoy the progress.\u201d<\/p>\n Travis Weaver, owner of Manready Mercantile<\/p>\n Ever since Travis Weaver opened Manready Mercantile<\/a> in 2013, his candle company turned hipster hot spot for all-American menswear has become White Linen Night\u2019s unofficial party central. A queue for access forms early and snakes across the street, dividing foot traffic. One year, he gave out special wristbands for a secret, VIP shindig next door, taking over an unused retail space for one night only.<\/p>\n Problem was, Weaver\u2019s parties became so popular, he never got to enjoy them. That changed in 2024 when White Linen Night became a ticketed event.<\/p>\n Manready Mercantile owner Travis Weaver during White Linen Night in the Heights over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cMy favorite thing was when we started charging for people to get in, because it made it safer,\u201d he says. \u201cI can\u2019t state how much more comforting that is. It\u2019s just a better experience for the customers, and it was one of the first years I\u2019d been able to step out of our store and check things out like a normal human. Full-blown, done right \u2014 that was the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Spotting Derek Cooper, better known as Legacy Man, proved a memorable year, too.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s that guy on Rollerblades who sings Japanese music. Lo and behold, he showed up out there, and he\u2019s like this really jacked dude. He plays karaoke with an electric guitar, and he has a mullet,\u201d Weaver recalls. \u201cThere was a mosh pit around him. That was a really cool year.\u201d<\/p>\n Erica del Gardo, owner of Erica\u00a0del Gardo Jewelry Designs<\/p>\n Bench jeweler and engagement ring specialist Erica del Gardo<\/a> remembers when White Linen Night used to be more of a locals’ event. This is her 19th year participating.<\/p>\n \u201cThe people who came in used to be our neighbors. Now other people who are not from the area get to come to 19th Street and see what we\u2019re about,\u201d she says. \u201cLocals started coming back again after COVID when things scaled back a bit. Being fenced in has also allowed locals to\u00a0come again.\u201d<\/p>\n She and her staff treat White Linen Night like an open house. Recently, they began wearing all black to identify each other quicker as the shop fills up.<\/p>\n Del Gardo used to keep more silver in stock; shoppers might buy a pair of earrings and carry them out of her store.\u00a0Now that her business has shifted more toward designing custom engagement rings, White Linen Night\u00a0has become a lucrative marketing opportunity.<\/p>\n Erica del Gardo assists new customers in her shop on White Linen Night.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a couple right now where the bride actually stopped in with her girlfriends. It was a girls’ night out for them,\u201d Del Gardo says. \u201cShe saw a prototype and told her now-fianc\u00e9, ‘When the time comes, we better not go anywhere else! ‘\u201d<\/p>\n That scenario is not uncommon. When\u00a0Del Gardo asks her team to ask customers how they discovered the shop, the response is often White Linen Night.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first many, many years were very good. Then it went down a bit,\u201d she admits. \u201cPeople have gotten the hang of how to do it. And they\u2019ve taken opportunities to make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n Dale Johnson, co-owner of Eclectic Home<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n