The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas)
The Bubble Lounge Podcast is hosted by Martha Jackson and is the leading hyper-local podcast covering Highland Park and University Park, Texas. With more than 350 episodes and over 190,000 listens, the show has become a trusted voice connecting the Park Cities community.
Each week, Martha sits down with community leaders, business owners, athletes, and residents to spotlight the people, places, and conversations shaping life in the Park Cities. Episodes explore philanthropy, lifestyle, wellness, fashion, relationships, local business, and the moments that bring neighbors together.
What sets The Bubble Lounge apart is its focused reach. Designed for an influential, community-minded audience, especially women and families in Highland Park and University Park — the podcast delivers authentic storytelling paired with strong local impact.
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The Bubble Lounge (Highland Park & University Park Texas)
Preserving Heritage, Honoring Community: Inside La Fiesta with Suzanne Brown
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In our latest podcast episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing Suzanne Brown, Chair, of La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas, an organization deeply rooted in preserving heritage and serving the Park Cities community.
La Fiesta began in 1986 with a mission to save the oldest house in Highland Park, and it has since blossomed into a community-wide organization that coordinates extraordinary events, including the renowned La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas Gala. This formal dinner and presentation honor the Duchesses and Escorts, representing the rich history of the Six Flags of Texas and the Park Cities.
Throughout the episode, Suzanne passionately shares how La Fiesta has impacted our community by supporting educational, charitable, and civic needs. Over the years, La Fiesta has disbursed over $10.2 million to various Park Cities charities, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to making a difference.
Tune in to the Bubble Lounge podcast episode featuring Suzanne Brown, Chair of La Fiesta, and discover the remarkable journey of La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas, its historical significance, and its vision for the future.
To learn more about La Fiesta and to get involved visit www.lafiestaparkcities.com
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La Fiesta
Speaker 1Welcome to the BubLounge . I'm Martha Jackson and I have been thinking about what it was like when I was new to the park cities . Just how did I get involved ? How did I meet people , how did I make those connections ? And when I moved here , so many people said you have to join the preschool association , which of course I did , absolutely loved it .
Speaker 1There was the PTA . There were so many different ways to help raise money for the schools and different organizations , but one of the organizations that I've come across recently is La Fiesta , and they support so many different charities within the park cities . Everything goes back to entities in the park cities And that's what really makes it special And there are so many members of our community in it And it's a really great way to connect with people and get to reach out and get to know other people that you might not have met through the PTA or other organizations . I wanted to learn more about La Fiesta , so I invited Suzanne Brown , who is the Fiesta chair , and she's going to teach us more about the organization and just let us know how we can get involved . Suzanne , welcome to the show .
Speaker 2Thank you so much for having me over .
Speaker 1Of course . Well , i just noticed all the beautiful gowns were at the UP Public Library recently and they're just to die for , but I want to know the whole story behind the organization and how La Fiesta started ?
Speaker 2Okay , it started back in 1986 . And our founders , Linda Lee Adams and Pierce Almond and Jenny Reeves , were trying to save the oldest house in Holland Park from demolition And it all turned into one big fundraiser And then they ended up starting the Gala , which was in 1986 . They had six duchesses each representing one of the flags that had flown over the state of Texas , And they had it in the parking lot in a tent in Holland Park Village .
Speaker 1Oh , wow , yeah , And it has evolved to become what it is today , and tell us just kind of how it's evolved and what it's like now .
Speaker 2Okay , now we have 40 duchesses .
Speaker 1That's a big change .
Speaker 2Yes , And 40 escorts . So , yeah , it's just the size of it , the amount of money we've been allowed to able to raise . It's just been amazing , and the beneficiaries that benefit we give back to .
Speaker 1Well , so it started with the whole goal of preserving the oldest home in Highland Park . Is that home still here ?
Speaker 2It is . It's the Park City's Heritage House at the Old City Park And of course , we donate to that every year . It's obviously the number one beneficiary for La Fiesta And so , yes , you can go see it at Old City .
Speaker 1Park . So many years ago my daughter was dancing with Powerhouse and they performed out there And I don't remember that part of being out there that that was the oldest home from Highland Park . Yes , it's there , So cool Yeah that place is really neat to go to , especially during the holidays .
Speaker 1Yes , it's all decorated and they have dancers and all sorts of people out there performing . It's a really special place to go . Yeah Well , tell us about just what you've been able to do for the community , because I noticed you support a whole lot of different entities within our community And you've been able to really help them out . A lot .
Speaker 2Well , this year we had 19 beneficiaries and they're all affiliated with Park City's in some form , And some top ones that come to mind as the Highland Park Education Foundation . we partner with them a lot as well as Connecting Point of Park City's , both of the libraries , Highland Park and University Park . Rye School , which is founded over at the YMCA and a nonprofit called To Be Like Me , And then some from the high school , like the literary festival from the Highland Park High School , as well as the Science and Technology Festival , are just a few of the organizations within the high school , okay , well , so many of those we've had as guests on the show and we love supporting them as well .
Speaker 2So I love that you do that .
Speaker 1Well , tell us a little bit about the Gala . I mean , it's come a very long ways from being an intent in Highland Park Village to what it is now . Tell us about the dresses and how you become a duchess , and all that .
Speaker 2Okay , the original Gala they did have festive gowns , and so now we don't have I mean , we have 40 and there's only six flags that have flown over the state of Texas . So we pick a country , that's our theme , and this year we had France , and so we kind of the gowns kind of tend to look like they're a little bit from France . They're just these beautiful ornate costume gowns And it's just lovely having them with the big petticoat and they get to do the lovely bow and the whole thing during the presentation .
Speaker 2So , it's a really lovely thing . Well , so do they still do the dolls too .
Speaker 1Yes , yes .
Speaker 2Thanks for mentioning the dolls . The dolls we , our preview luncheon is called . Well , it's a preview luncheon where the duchess dolls are there and they replicate the girls' same hair color and eye color . But , more importantly , the gown is a replica of their actual gown they're going to wear at the Gala .
Speaker 1Oh , wow .
Speaker 2So it's really fun . And then we have the sketch of the duchess herself in her gown at the preview luncheon .
Speaker 1How nice . So I remember years ago , before you started putting them at UP Public Library , they would just be around different stores in Snyder Plaza , right ? Yes ? And I remember walking by and thinking , wow , those are so gorgeous . And what is this all ?
Speaker 2about . Yes , i know It brings a lot of awareness , for sure .
Speaker 1Well , something that we talked about earlier is that boys are involved in as well , and I always thought this was another mother-daughter organization . Tell us about the escorts and what role they play .
Speaker 2Well , they get . They are involved . They're not as involved as obviously the duchess are , but they do play an important role They have . We do have events just for the escort moms and the escorts themselves . We do an event with duchess mom and escort moms just different combinations of all the people that are participating , and but yes , they're very present , especially at the Gala . We need them there . They escort the duchess once the duchess' dad hands her over to the escort and then they get to . Then they are escorted from the stage with their escort . So they do get to play a fun role . Do they do a special bow as well ?
Speaker 1No , they don't .
Speaker 2They get to hand the duchess herows .
Speaker 1Girls could have all the fun , don't they ? Yes , they do . Well , tell me , how do you get to become a duchess ?
Speaker 2Well , you know it's invitation only , but there's just different ways to get involved And La Fiesta that's why I always encourage people to get involved . We've got two membership drives . We've got the moms or the women , and it's a guild and membership , and we have two different . You know there's annual fees that we use to give back to beneficiaries . If you want to be a voting member of the guild , you need to live within the HPISD school district area boundaries . And then also the male membership drive is order the flags , and that's where the men get involved And they have their own events too as well .
Speaker 1Oh , okay , wow , Yeah
Supporting La Fiesta
Speaker 1. Something that we talk a lot about on the show is how philanthropic Dallas is . It's like one of the most generous cities with just the most kindhearted people that just want to do good in the world , and I love that so much . But of all the charities out there , why should we support La Fiesta ?
Speaker 2I think the main thing is how much it gets back to the community , and it just brings the community together . One thing that our founders figured out was how much people want to get behind something , and that's what they realized . They were trying to raise money for the house , and what they learned from that is our community loves to get behind a cause , and so they decided that's how La Fiesta started is they wanted to get behind a cause that could benefit long-term , and that's when the Gala started with .
Speaker 1From took six months of the idea and the implemented six months later , and that's where the first one came in 1986 so anyway , yes , i just love that because I mean , i don't feel like the people of the Park Cities has changed a bit . Like you're right , we just need a cause and we are there , right we are there .
Speaker 2You're gonna fight for it .
Speaker 1We're gonna raise that money , we're gonna make it happen . Yes , yeah , that's so great . Well , so tell us how much money you've raised so far over all the years well , it's that we're in .
Speaker 1We just can finish our 38th year and I'm happy to say we've raised over 10.2 million that's far to get back just to the Park Cities area and nonprofits within there , so we're real excited and very proud of that well , i want to go back to this house , because I am just picturing how much work it must have been to raise this house and take it down to Old City Park okay , our founders , linda Lee Adams and Pierce Allman and Jenny Reeves wanted to save the oldest house in Holland Park that it was built in 1907 and it was big to get demolition and so they raised the money .
Speaker 2That's where they had all the community involved make really get involved and raise the money and they moved it to Old City Park .
Speaker 2But it was quite a process back in 1986 to 1985 to do that and they did it was near Abbott and Lexington and to get all the electric wiring moved so they can move the house down Knox Street . And then it ended up running , taking so long and running so late . The poor house had to spend the night on Central Expressway , so then move it all the way to Old City Park the next day .
Speaker 1So it's quite a story so they literally took the whole house , like they didn't take it in sections , like I'm picturing this whole house on a truck going down the highway yes , I mean , it was an old 1907 , i mean it wasn't just a huge home .
Speaker 2But right , yes , that's exactly what they did . Gosh , that is such a good story . Yes , it's so fun .
Speaker 1Obviously you're very passionate about La Fiesta . You're extremely involved .
Speaker 2Tell me how you got so involved with it you know , about ten years ago I had a friend wanting to say , hey , i'm doing this job in La Fiesta , do you want to do it with me ? and I said sure , and I just never looked back . I've done different jobs through the out the years and it's been really fun . I love meeting all the different people . You think you know a lot of people in the community and we do , but you meet even more through La Fiesta because everybody's involved in different , you know different ways and they all come together La Fiesta to give back and so , yeah , after wearing all the different hats through the years , it's been fun to get to know different people every year and I love it well , you just mentioned hats , but you sent me a picture of you wearing this really interesting necklace .
Speaker 1Can you tell us about ?
Speaker 2that . Okay , it's a neat tradition about the La Fiesta chairs get to wear the necklace that has six the six flags that have flown over the state of Texas , and we wear it to every La Fiesta event . Our year that were the chair and it's been really fun with our founder , ginny Reeves . She'll come to the events and she'll have on her necklace as well . So and we've had a picture of people all the La Fiesta chairs who are at an event with her necklace on , taking pictures at the luncheon and stuff like that . So it's a neat privilege , a neat great tradition and it's just a very friend , fun
Involvement and Impact of La Fiesta
Speaker 2tradition .
Speaker 1Well , I love how it took . Just one friend , you know , and that's really how it usually starts out with anything . It's just like one good friend that's passionate about something , that says , hey , you want to do this with me .
Speaker 2You're like , well , heck , yeah , and sometimes we don't have all the answers of what we're getting into , but if that friend is passionate , that's all it takes , right yes , for sure , and you know it can serve different purposes , like I have one friend whose kids go to private school but lives in the park cities and it was her way of getting connected to the community , not through the schools but through La Fiesta . And I'm a new empty nester and so it's been great because that wasn't activity I could do even when the kids were out of the high school . I couldn't keep doing La Fiesta because it wasn't connected to their involvement and so I . It can serve different roles and it's fun .
Speaker 1I like that . I didn't realize .
Speaker 2You know , i just keep kind of , like I said earlier , i keep thinking it's a mother-daughter organization , but it just absolutely isn't you can stand this for lifetime right yeah , because we want you know people who have all boys , we want them to be involved in La Fiesta too .
Speaker 1So it's yeah , it's fun well , it sounds like the perfect way to connect with the community . I've gone to a coffee before and there was , like you said , so many women that I I always think I know everyone in Park City , but there was a lot of people I had never met before And it was a really great opportunity . I've had the same experience for sure Of all the organizations that you've given money back to . do you have any good stories of what they were able to do and make happen with the funds that you gave to them ?
Speaker 2Yes , our allocation chair collects all the paperwork for people requesting money And then we also look back to see what all you know . They have specific asks and then we donate to that and then they let us know how it all turns out . So we kind of get to see where our dollars got to go and how we got to benefit the different organizations in the community .
Speaker 1And have you been able to go in person and take a look at it and just say you know what ? those are the fruits of our labor Like this is what we were able to do for these groups .
Speaker 2Yes , it's very fun . It's fun to go to the Rye School and see that such a neat , neat school And I had even had . I went to the literary festival just to and met the author from there And we we , lafiesta helped fund for that . So that's just really fun to see what all Lafiesta has done to everybody .
Speaker 1Well , the HP Lit Fest sounded amazing . I was out of town or there was some some reason I couldn't go , and Nelly , my co-host , was there speaking And I just really felt like I missed out because they did such an amazing job of selling it and just looking through that list of speakers , it just went on and on And I just can't imagine being a kid at that school and getting to participate in that .
Speaker 2Yes , for sure , for sure , you know , and we have our libraries , we give , go and make back to our both of our the libraries , holland Park and University Park . So there's just , and they , they do all kinds of storytelling activities this summer with some of the money and just different things . That impacts everybody , all different age groups .
Speaker 1Okay , so you've all just wrapped up the season and now you're gearing up for the next season . I just I like there's no downtime in between . It sounds like Not really . No , tell me how that works Like . Walk me through , starting now up until a year from now .
Speaker 2Right now we're just in the process of getting the 40 Dutchesses and Escorts acceptances and then we start our season in the fall , or we do some meetings in the fall to for the Dutchess moms and Escort moms and different things like that . Our official season starts at the announcement party , which is in December , and we officially announce everyone , all the girl , all the Dutchess and Escorts , and the real season is then the next spring . So , starting in February , we had an event , we have a couple in March , i have one in April , and then May and then the week of the gala . There are eight events , the week of the gala , including the gala being the grand finale , the eighth event So and one of the events is the Guild Tea , which all of our Guild membership can come , and we enjoy having something for everyone in the in the you know the women's membership . So , yes , it's really fun , it's exciting and it's a fun week and everybody , all the kids , have a great time and the parents do .
Speaker 1Now , when you actually become a Dutchess , it's when the girls have already gone to college , right ?
Speaker 2Yes , good , good , yes , good question . It's there after their freshman year . Okay , got it . So that's fun too , because they haven't seen each other for a whole year out of being out of the high school and then it's been a while and then get to come back together and get to see each other . We also do have people from private school as well . It's not like just all public school kids , but so , yeah , it's fun , it's a really great time . Everybody just has a ball . Yeah , like literally , yeah , literally .
Speaker 1So I know you want everyone in the neighborhood to get involved , but what about underwriting and corporate sponsors ?
Speaker 2OK , we have two corporate underwriting chairs and two individual underwriting chairs . And the corporate underwriting they did a fabulous job this year And we had lots of sponsorships And we'd have title sponsors for all of our events and different sponsorships for different things from the event . Like in the gala , you could be a sponsor of the Dutchess dressing room , our different components to it . It's a big machine to run on the day of the gala . So we had lots of opportunities to get back for that day . So that's one way And various dollar amounts it just varies .
Speaker 2And then the individual underwriting is a letter campaign And to me I would encourage someone if they want to get involved . We need a lot of people on that campaign for that committee . I mean , because we well it's and you don't have to solicit your friends , it's a letter campaign from a database that we already have And so you just get together and you write the letters . We handwrite our letters and still do all that . We haven't lost sight of that way of communicating And it's just we need a lot of people to do that . So that's how I got started . I got started individual underwriting and did that for several years And then I started doing other things . So I encourage people to get involved that way , because we definitely have more volunteers and volunteer jobs . Is that right ?
Speaker 2Yes , so it's a good problem , but we want people to be involved if they want to be involved , And so I always encourage them to start that route , Because it's we need to . That's a big committee Sure .
Speaker 1I mean a lot of people . I actually don't think I've ever heard of that problem . Everyone usually has an assignment . Yeah , And all the organizations I've been a part of I know It's just a big ship to ride . But like you said , it's a good problem to have . So where can we find you and how can we get involved ?
Speaker 2OK , the best thing is , we go , look on our website And you can . The women or the men can join through the website and the members , the guild or the order of the flags , and then I always encourage people to do try to get involved in a volunteer
Fundraising for La Fiesta Park Cities
Speaker 2job . And , like I've already said , the individual underwriting is a good entry point if you're not already involved . And then , last but not least , it's just donating . If you want to give back , if you want to do it through an individual underwriting way or corporate sponsorship way , there's just different opportunities of that as well . And what is your website ? Visit our website at lafiestaparkcitiescom .
Speaker 1Perfect . Well , that's how I joined , so it's easy enough , guys . Yes , well , suzanne , this has been such a pleasure . It's so nice to hear the background and the story of the house being moved and just how we got to this point .
Speaker 2Yes , it's quite a story , but it's got a great ending , absolutely .
Speaker 1Well , that's been another episode of the Bubble Lounge . I'm Martha Jackson , and we'll catch you next time .
