Today kicks off a big Vegas weekend for the Red Hatters. Tonight is the official opening of “Hats! The Musical!” at Harrah’s, the fourth franchise of a revue that will compete with the long-running “Menopause: The Musical” for this underserved but loyal demographic group of 50-plus females.Tomorrow, Hatters by the hundreds arrive in Las Vegas for a regional convention as part of a yearlong 10th birthday celebration, crowned by a Saturday morning attempt to break a Guinness world record for most people in a chorus line. (The record was set in 2004 by America Sings, with 1,628 participants. The Red Hat Society says it expects 1,700 high-kickers.)
The point of the Red Hat Society, says the group’s Web site, www.redhatsociety.com, is “to connect like-minded women around the world and to encourage them to have fun together ... at the same time raising the respect and visibility of women who are entering their next stage in life.” At this convention, there are no meetings, no business, no rules aside from one inflexible law: You must be a woman of 50 or over (or you may be a Pink Hatter under 50), and you must attend functions in full regalia (usually red hat, purple outfit for women 50 and over, or pink hat and lavender outfit for women under 50). At this convention, you must have fun.
When I was in my 40's I thought it would be nice to join this group once I turned 50. But when I finally hit that age I discovered that I don't have what it takes to run around in public wearing the red hat and purple clothes. Don't get me wrong, I love being in my 50's in fact I will be 53 this September. I just don't need to dress up in red and purple clothes to show the world that I am older or a little crazy.... But I might have considered joining this society if I was still in Rockford. I have a couple "bunko" buddies that might have made joining a lot of fun. Ha!
2 comments:
Women hit 50 and buy red hats, and purple coats. Men hit 50 and run a marathon. Mid-life crisis can make you do funny things.
Ha! First off, men hit their mid- life crisis much earlier than 50. When women hit 50 they hit a stage in their life when their kids are grown and now they can start thinking of themselves. They are also at the point where they no longer care of what people think about them. The women in the Red Hat Society are finally letting loose, dressing a little crazy, and they are going to laugh and have fun. What could be wrong with that?
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