Local retail store Pazzaz held its 8th Annual Un-Birthday party on Saturday where the celebration was focused on a taste of the Maritimes. This event is for Red Hatter`s and about 160 attendees came from as far as Sudbury, Manitoulin Island, Paris and Welland to name a few places. The Red Hat Society (RHS) was founded by Sue Ellen Cooper from California. In 1997 she gave a friend a 55th birthday gift consisting of a red bowler purchased at an antique store along with a copy of Jenny Joseph`s poem `Warning`. The opening lines of the poem read: When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat that doesn't go and doesn't suit me. Copper repeated the gift on request several times and eventually several of the woman bought purple outfits and held a tea party on April 25, 1998. With much accolade via word of mouth, the Society first received national publicity in 2000. Cooper then established a `Hatquarters` to field the hundreds of e-mail requests for helping start chapters. Now she serves a `Exalted Queen Mother`, and has written two best-selling books about the Society, `The Red Hat Society: Friendship and Fun After Fifty` as well as The Red Hat Society's Laugh Lines: Stories of Inspiration and Hattitude`. The location of the members only East Coast Kitchen Party was the Warriors Hall at the Shelburne legion, which was decorated with a down home flare. There they were entertained by the sounds of Strange Potato, a band from Collingwood as they feasted on a meal of Atlantic Wild Salmon and homemade Lobster Rolls. The Red Hatter's danced and sang the afternoon away and all left with a `Loot Bag` chocked full of goodies! The next events that Pazzaz has planned for RHS members is a Boxed Lunch Summer Social on July 22 a the Agricultural Building in Shelburne, then on October 31 they will be holding a Broomstick Brunch at the Centre Dufferin Recreation Complex (CDRC). Next years Un-Birthday Party is themed Wild Wild West and will be held May 7, 2016. To join in on all the fun you can become a member of the RHS by going to Pazzaz located at 122 Owen Sound Street, telephone number 1-800-925-3232 or go to www.redhatsociety.com By Michelle Austen
