Red Hat Society Festival of Tables

Story

and photos by

Eryn Reddell Wingert

It was a sea of royal red and purple at the Red Hat Festival of Tables at the Llano Grande Event Center in Mercedes February 15. Approximately 200 women were in attendance, wearing varying shades of purple and a variety of red hats.

The Festival of Tables is a social gathering of the Red Hat Society. Tables were elaborately decorated based on an individual theme, from movies like The Wizard of Oz to the patriotic and springtime.

The presentation included lunch, door prizes; an introduction of officers, including Queen of Queen’s Sandra (Finny) Funk, Vice Queen Margie Peart, Scribe Sharon Newcomer, and Treasurer Marge Hamburg; followed by guest speaker Marcy La Salle from the Red Hat Society and a performance by entertainer Justin Terry.

Past Exalted Queen of the Rio Grande Valley Queens Counsel Jan Bergman shared this about the event and the group in general: “The Red Hatters is mainly to have fun. It’s like ‘I’ve done for others all my life; I’m just going to do something for me.’ That’s who we are.” •