*Menu
Search
Submit
Mountain Home News

Red Hats to host convention in Mountain Home

Thursday, May 15, 2014
Air Force escorts helped out at the dance during the 2009 convention in Mountain Home.

Batten down the hatches. The women of the Red Hat Society are coming to Mountain Home.

The organization of women over 50, whose goal is basically "just to have fun," will hold a regional convention in Mountain Home May 16-18.

Just under 200 members from chapters representing seven western states have signed up to attend already, said Pat Eagley, one of the organizers of the event, which will be based on the theme "Hollywood in Mountain Home."

There are five chapters in Mountain Home alone: The Purple Gems (which is hosting the event), the Vivacious Violets, the Call of the Red, the Hellow Dollies and the Little Red Hens. This area also has chapters of the society in Glenns Ferry and Grand View.

More than 80 rooms have been booked in three hotels in the community to handle the visitors.

Registration begins on Friday, May 16, at the Hampton Inn from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., then the action moves to the Legion Hall for a "casino night" party with "funny money."

Saturday morning events begin at 8 a.m. at the Elks Lodge in town with welcoming remarks by the base leadership and the mayor.

The day there will be filled with Bunco tournaments, bracelet making, line dancing, scrap booking and, for those who wish to do so, a trip to The Crossing (formerly Carmela) Winery in Glenns Ferry for a wine tasting.

Saturday night is the main banquet for the group, but it will double as a costume party for the post-banquet events, which include a dance to live music playing sounds of the '70s, and an impersonator.

Cocktails for that event begin at 5 p.m. with dinner at 6 p.m. and the "show" starting at 7 p.m.

The event concludes Sunday morning at the lodge with final round-up activities.

Young men from the base will serve as escorts and chaperones for the women during the weekend, delivering them from the hotels to the Legion Hall, Elk's Lodge and the winery. "It's going to be a wild party," Eagley said.

"You have to be at least 50 to be a Red Hat, and most of these women don't get away from the families very often. But, nobody got thrown in jail the last time" the organization held a convention in Mountain Home. "It ought to be a blast," she said.

Each participant will receive a gift bag with goodies from local merchants and a coupon page for the ladies , which can be found on page A-8 of today's edition.

Comments
View 1 comment
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

  • I was in another country on business, sitting in a restaurant/lounge when a group of people showed up in red hats and dressed in purple. Some were younger than 50. A person that I was traveling with, who was originally from England and then later New Zealand, told me about the Red Hat Society and the poem. This is the poem about the Red Hat Society which I believe was founded in England. We should share this with our daughters.

    When I Am An Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple

    by Debra Eve | @DebraEve

    When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

    With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

    And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

    And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

    I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

    And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

    And run my stick along the public railings

    And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

    I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

    And pick flowers in other people's gardens

    And learn to spit.

    You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

    And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

    Or only bread and pickle for a week

    And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

    But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

    And pay our rent and not swear in the street

    And set a good example for the children.

    We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

    But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

    So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

    When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

    -- Posted by Sam_1776 on Thu, May 15, 2014, at 11:47 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: