The DJ on the platform takes a selfie with two young women.

This past weekend, we attended White Linen Night in the Heights. It has been a popular event in Houston for the past 11 years, but this was our first time. The lively affair started when a couple of transplants from New Orleans suggested it to generate more interest in businesses along 19th street in the Heights area.

Vanity Salon on 19th St. provided hair braiding for a donation to their designated charity.

The couple, Chris & Kay Thayer, had a business on Magazine Street in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit and flooded 80% of the city. Their shop was not damaged, but they knew life would be very different if they stayed. They became part of the exodus of over 250,000 people resulting from the devastating levee failures against Hurricane Katrina’s powerful winds and water surges during that fateful summer of 2005.

The woman, below, looks up at a gorgeous chandelier rescued from an estate sale in River Oaks!

Because of that evacuation, many New Orleanians decided not to go back to a place they loved dearly but knew they had to start afresh elsewhere. Plenty settled in Houston and brought their wonderful Creole culture with them. You can drive around the Heights and realize there is a definite influence.

I always wanted to meet famous women! This art car gave me the opportunity to hang out with bigger-than-life portraits of Mary Tyler Moore, Yoko Ono and Frida Kahlo!

The organizers of the annual free event only asks that you come dressed in white (preferably all white) and browse the local businesses.

Well, it wasn’t quite a luau, but it felt like it in one of the shops that offered hair braiding along with clothes shopping, with a Hawaiian twist!

There are lots of freebies like water, teas, photo booth pictures, ice cream samples, appetizers, etc.

Large pitchers of complimentary iced tea in an antique shop greeted thirsty customers coming in from the Houston heat.

If you come before 6:30 pm, you can easily find a parking space at the Chase bank parking lot. It gets harder to find a parking space as the night gets longer. There’s a younger vibe later in the evening.

An Old English Sheepdog, or Bobtail, sits watching the crowds go by.

People packed the upper terrace at Harold’s restaurant and dined on authentic creole cuisine as they viewed the activity down below. We skipped the crowded restaurants and festival food trucks and left around 9 pm to stop at a local Mexican restaurant on the way home.

As the day wore on, no one seemed to notice as it drifted seamlessly into night.

If you don’t mind the heat that will ease a little as the sun goes down and you enjoy shopping, this should be a night to put on your calendar for next year!

Sources: Creole vs.Cajun ; theheightswhitelinennight.com; datacenterresearch.org