On August 19, a refreshing burst of colour and sparkles shone throughout Moose Jaw, as Red Hat Society members gathered for one of the largest events of its kind since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vice Queen Twyla Wood was thrilled to finally be able to enjoy an action-packed day filled with fun, friendship and a whole lot of laughs with fellow Red Hat ladies from Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Nipawin and Regina. Wood was one of the organizers of the event, along with the Queen of her group, Yvette Gardner.
“It was a really great way to get people back into the groove of going out, meeting people and doing fun things again,” Wood said.
The gathering featured door prizes, a 50/50 draw, a barbeque, games and one attendee even won a brand new 'Ford convertible.'
“The Ford was actually a scooter, with a homemade sign that said ‘Ford’ on the back,” Wood explained. “So there were a lot of laughs over that.”
Next the ladies will embark on a progressive supper, where they’ll start at one member’s house for appetizers, move onto another house for the main course and a third house for dessert.
The Moose Jaw Red Hat ladies are currently gearing up to host a large-scale convention featuring members from all across the country.
“It’ll be just a sea of Red Hatters,” Wood laughed.
If all goes according to plan, the convention will take place at the Heritage Inn in May of 2022, with musical entertainment from the Milkman’s Sons and a theme of the Roaring Twenties. The event has been postponed twice due to the pandemic, but the ladies are hopeful that it will finally be able to go ahead this time around.
Red Hat Society members are generally over age 50, however younger ladies interested in joining are also more than welcome to become 'pink hatters.'
“Instead of wearing a red hat, you’d wear pink. Instead of wearing purple clothes, you would wear lavender clothes,” Wood explained. “Everybody is always welcome.”
The main purpose of the Red Hat Society is simply to have fun and make friends. After years of raising kids, working and doing everything for everybody else, Wood also encourages members to make it all about themselves for a change.
The Red Hat Society is always seeking new members, and anyone interested in joining can go to https://redhatsociety.montonton.com/site or simply flag down any Red Hat ladies they spot around town, give them a call or find them on Facebook to get the ball rolling.
“Usually it’s just word of mouth,” Wood explained. “People are always welcome, we’ll never say no to anybody.”
