When Stephanie Ellis found a centipede in her room Saturday, she knew exactly where it was going to end up. “It’s in the mouth of the chicken, and it even has its own red hat,” she said while checking in
When Stephanie Ellis found a centipede in her room Saturday, she knew exactly where it was going to end up.
“It’s in the mouth of the chicken, and it even has its own red hat,” she said while checking in at the Red Hat event Sunday at the Po‘ipu Bay Grill and Bar.
The event, a fund-raiser for the Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital Charitable Foundation, is now in its fifth year.
“This is the first time we’re doing a tea party,” said Jodi Ascuena, one of the organizers of the event. “We prepared for about 150 ladies, and it’s already sold out. We’ve sold out every year since we started.”
Ascuena said at tea parties, ladies drink a lot of tea, eat finger sandwiches and clotted cream on scones. These were neatly arranged on tables by the culinary crew of the PBGB and quietly waited attention.
“It’s funny to see all these hats that we’ve sold over the years,” Ascuena said. “When the event started, we used to make red hats and sell them. Some of these are here today.”
Ascuena’s creation for Sunday saw a red rubber ball transformed into a white polka-dotted tea kettle.
“It’s funny,” she said. “My husband had to put tape on it this morning since on the way down here, the handles fell off.”
A silent auction greeted guests to the sold-out event and Virginia Beck manned an assortment of special red hat, purple dress holiday ornaments created by Sue Thompson of Thimbleberry, which were sold to raise more funds for the foundation.
“We have plans for a new surgery center and expanded emergency room facilities,” Beck said. “Last month, KVMH had 24 babies in the birth center. Times have changed and we’re busting out.”
Irene Kennett, one of the original event organizers, greeted each guest decked out in a red queen’s crown and purple cape.
Kennett and her organizers created the event with a theme similar to the Jenny Joseph poem “Warning.” A framed copy of the poem awaited the holder of a number randomly drawn by the organizers.
As costumes are wont to do, some couldn’t help but get in the way.
Local photographer Carol Ann Davis discovered her red hat creation that took her five days to make interfered with her snapshots.
“But that’s all right,” she said. “I’ll just shoot everything vertical.”
In addition to a fund-raiser, the afternoon social served as an opportunity for the ladies to get together and enjoy a pleasant afternoon away from their normal routines.
The arrival of Beryl Moir was announced by pockets of laughter as her purple hairdo mimicked Marge Simpson of the animated television series “The Simpsons.”
The column of purple hair was interwoven with strings of holiday lights.
“I couldn’t find a red hat to fit this, so the lights will have to do,” Moir said. “Of course, they blink. What else do you expect it to do?”
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
