In 1981, Houston Ballet Foundation Board member Preston Frazier envisioned a fundraising opportunity that would replicate a European holiday street market. Frazier approached the board of Houston Ballet Guild with this concept as a means to raise much-needed revenue for Houston Ballet, its Academy, and scholarship programs. The first annual Nutcracker Market was met with great anticipation, and former First Lady Barbara Bush was among those in attendance. She would return both in 1986 and 2010 for the ribbon-cutting which opened the Market. Frazier's dream has grown steadily and spectacularly ─ from humble beginnings in a church bazaar setting to a four-day shopping extravaganza at NRG Center.