Women with Hattitude at the DCPA
You know that saying about big hair? The one that went something like, “The bigger the hair, the closer to God?”
In Denver this month, the same could have been said about super-sized hats — specifically, the gigantic ones worn by a good number of the 600 who attended Women with Hattitude, a May 2 luncheon that raised $66,000 for the Women’s Voices Fund at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
But leave it to mistress of ceremonies Gloria Neal to give the 600 guests a good chuckle by pointing out that getting into a car while wearing one of these towering creations would involve as many gyrations as the tugging and wiggling involved with putting on a pair of Spanx.
Pam Sletten and Paul Jerez chaired the 14th annual Women with Hattitude, a luncheon and parade of hats held in Seawell Ballroom. Sletten is the immediate past president of the Denver Center Alliance and serves on the board of directors for Kids in Need of Dentistry with Jerez, the director of business development for Omni Premier Marketing.
“What I love about this event is that it is fun for women of all ages,” said Jennifer Dechtman, president of the Denver Center Alliance. “They come from all over to be a part of it.” “It gets better every year,” Sletten added.
The Macy’s Parade of Hats was the grand finale to a day that got off to a 10:30 a.m. start with Top Hat ticketholders and other VIPS gathering for champagne and nibbles before joining others for a pre-lunch social hour complete with networking opportunities, photo booth fun, and stations where makeup artists from Macy’s offered cosmetic touch-ups.
Once the pasta salad luncheon by Epicurean Catering was done, guests at each of the 60-plus tables picked one representative to walk the runway that snaked through the ballroom and past judges Kevin Copenhaver, costume crafts director for the DCPA; Sally Acuna, a stylist at Macy’s; DCPA trustee Judi Wolf; Denise Snyder, the owner of Mariel Boutique; and Terri Fisher, a co-chair of Hattitude 2018.
After careful deliberation, the judges picked winners in eight categories.
The prize for Vintage Beauty went to Betty Kuhl; Jeff and Cindy Kelly tied with Stephinity Salazar for I Made It Myself; and Victoria Long won for Fabulous Fascinator. Long also won for Best Derby Hat.
The High Society award went to Michelle Colvis; Dariya Bryant took Wildly Whimsical honors; Melissa Oster’s pink feathered confection was judged Exquisitely Elegant and Fiona Baldwin won Best in Show.
Hattitude wasn’t just about the women, though.
Chris Coleman, artistic director for the DCPA Theatre Company, wore a Turner Construction hard hat to direct attention to the $36 million in renovations that have begun in the theater
complex. BJ Dyer, whose Bouquets floral shop did the luncheon centerpieces, stacked eight baseball caps on his head to illustrate how he’s “a guy who wears many hats.” And, the aforementioned Kevin Copenhaver borrowed a stunning feather headdress from his husband, a professional samba dancer, to accessorize a crimson blazer with feather accents.
Since its start, Women with Hattitude has helped raise $1.5 million for the Women’s Voices Fund. The money has enabled the DCPA Theatre Company to produce 35 plays by women, commission 23 female playwrights and hire 34 female directors.
Coleman pointed out that when it was conceived, the Women’s Voices Fund was the first of its kind in the nation. It is now the largest, and is a model for theater companies across the country. Neyla Pekarek, formerly of The Lumineers, is a Women’s Voices Fund grantee. She performed songs from her debut album, Rattlesnake, at the luncheon and shared that the DCPA Theatre Company has commissioned her and writer Karen Hartman to develop the real-life tale of Kate Slaughterback of Greeley, who saved her son and homestead from a migration of rattlesnakes, into a full-scale musical.
Guests at Women with Hattitude included Denver first lady Mary Louise Lee; Ms. Senior America Gayle Novak; Janice Sinden, president/ceo of the DCPA; Joann Semple, whose husband is the DCPA’S chairman; Rose Community Foundation chief Lindy Eichenbaum Lent; BOK Financial vice president Tara Tongco Rojas, Elizabeth Digiorgio; Lyn Drake; Roselyn Saunders; Lois Paul; Pat Cortez; Priya Burkett; Cleo Parker Robinson; Denise Bellucci;
Mariette Moore; Pam Piro; Lynnette Morrison; and Donnetta Lavinia Grays, an actor-playwright whose play, Last Night and the Night Before, had its world premiere in January at the DCPA.