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The Red Hat Society Who are those ladies in the red hats and purple dresses? www.RedHatSociety.com |
Perhaps you've seen our ladies in red hats dining out or having tea together,
but wondered what we're all about. We are a social organization
where there is fun after fifty (and before) for women of all walks of life.
The Red Hat Society has evolved into the largest women's movement worldwide
changing the perception of aging women. This ever-growing organization unites
under the umbrella of a Red Hat to have fun and bond as sisters as they travel
through life together. Women over age 50 are known as “Red Hatters” while
those under 50 are called “Pink Hatters.”
The world-wide sisterhood has nearly 40,000 chapters across the
U.S. in all 50 states and in more than 25 foreign countries.
It has grown FUNominally fast and has been featured in such national magazines
as Newsweek, Good Housekeeping and Women's Day, in addition to such major
metropolitan newspapers as The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times and The
Boston Globe, plus hundreds of local dailies. It has even inspired a legendary
team of award-winning, creative talents to create our musical, HATS! This
marvelous play manages to nod to the poignant side of aging, inspire belly
laughs and deliver a wildly entertaining theatrical experience at the same
time.
In an effort to bring our members together, the society holds several events each year including conventions, cruises, and spontaneous gatherings called “hoots.” Red Hat Society Travel, by Carlson Leisure Travel Service, offers members access to researching, planning and booking vacation packages, hotels, cruises, car rentals, airline tickets and Red Hat Society sponsored cruises. Upcoming major events and Travel Excursions and other gatherings can be found on our website.
Our official website, www.redhatsociety.com, is the major form of communication between chapters and the Red Hat Society Hatquarters in Fullerton, California. Please take a moment to visit our web site and please be sure to include our site address in your publication. Official Red Hat Society jewelry, clothing, home accessories and other logo merchandise is sold through our online store, and a retail store in Fullerton, California.
Fast Facts Who We Are:
A leading worldwide organization offering fun, community and
empowerment for passionate, like-minded women who believe
in the joys of sisterhood at any age.- RHS members wear full regalia that includes distinctive red hats and purple outfits if you are 50 or older, pink hats and lavender if you are under 50.
- Our mission is to connect like-minded women around the world and to encourage them to have fun together. We are a vivacious society of women who celebrate life. Along the way, we develop strong bonds and caring friendships - at the same time raising the respect and visibility of women who are entering their next stage in life.
How It Started:
- It began with a simple gift. Sue Ellen Cooper gave a dear friend, Linda Murphy, a copy of the poem “Warning” by British author Jenny Joseph and a bright red vintage fedora to celebrate Murphy's 55th birthday in November 1997.
- The Red Hat Society officially formed on April 25, 1998 when Sue Ellen Cooper and a group of five friends, known as The Founding Chapter of Fullerton, California, dressed in purple clothing and red hats and met for afternoon tea.
- Word quickly spread of these outings after a story appeared in Romantic Homes in July 2000. Since then, thousands of articles have been published in regional newspapers and national magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Women's Day.
Stats:
- Nearly 40,000 chapters exist in the U.S. in all 50 states and in 25 foreign countries.
- It is estimated that each chapter averages about 20-25 members.
- Red Hat Society is made up of a diverse network of women including working women and retirees, grandmothers, golfers, attorneys, teachers, Olympians and entertainers.
- The Red Hat Society has licensing agreements with a dozen companies to produce quality merchandise available at the Red Hat Society Store and select retail stores throughout the United States. Product is identifiable by a tag bearing the official Red Hat Society logo.
Fun Facts:
- 2008 is Red Hat Society's 10th birthday that will be celebrated all year long with 4 conventions, 2 cruises, 2 outrageous birthday parties (on April 12th), parade in London and many more surprises.
- Exalted Queen Mother Sue Ellen Cooper reaches more than 125,000 Red Hatters each week through the Friday Broadcast, a personal e-mail updating members with news from Hatquarters and escapades of Red Hat Society members around the world.
- Sue Ellen Cooper also sends a personal monthly broadcast to all Queens entitled Queen To Queen. This is a communiqué for all queens to share ideas, plans and ask questions.
HATS! The Musical premiered October 11, 2006 at the New
Denver Civic Theatre and is now preparing to launch in its
fifth market in just over one year.
o The New Denver Civic Theatre, Denver, Colorado performances October 11 - December 31, 2006
o Harrahs Resort & Casino, New Orleans, Louisiana performances January 25 - April 22, 2007
o The Royal George Theater, Chicago, Illinois performances April 29 - July 29, 2007
o Harrahs Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada performances beginning January 12, 2008
o Tampa Bay Performing Arts, Tampa Bay, Florida February 2 - May 11, 2008- Red Hat Society Travel has also launched a “Cruise on Us” Program, designed to help our members cruise for free! To participate, a member gathers a group of 15 Red Hatters, family or friends for a cruise. As a reward, the self-made cruise director cruises for free!
- The official Red Hat Society Day is celebrated April 25th by official chapters worldwide.
Are there any rules?
The spirit of the Red Hat Society forbids rules, per se. There is, however, ONE inflexible guideline that we must insist upon:
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, (red hat, purple outfit for women 50 and over, or pink hat and lavender outfit for women under 50).
Ladies are strongly encouraged to follow these color guidelines, and to NOT wear purple/red until they have reached THE BIRTHDAY. This adds an element of fun to aging, which we think is invaluable to women in our society who have learned to dread aging and avoid it at all costs. We believe that aging should be something anticipated with excitement, not something to dread.
We are the women in the red & pink hats. We are the mothers, grandmothers, and daughters of society. Little girls grow up, but they're never too old to play dress-up and have tea parties.
The standard answer to the question, “What do you do?” is... Nothing.
Our main responsibility is to have fun! We see this group as an opportunity for those who have shouldered various responsibilities at home and in the community their whole lives, to say goodbye to burdensome responsibilities and obligations for a little while. This is the place to have fun and enjoy yourself. The refrain of the popular Red Hat Society theme song by Mike Harline puts it rather bluntly: “All my life, I've done for you. Now it's my turn to do for me.”
We feel like we have all been so dutiful and so “busy” for so long that we deserve a break. The Red Hat Society calls itself a “dis-organization,” and we are proud of our lack of rules and by-laws. We are all helping to develop an enormous nurturing network or women over 50 (and under), by joining red-gloved hands and spreading the joy and companionship we are finding within and among the chapters. We have also discovered a “mission” of sorts: to gain higher visibility for women in our age group and to reshape the way we are viewed by today's culture. We are all familiar with groups of the past, which stridently sought to achieve their agendas. Well, we are decidedly UN-strident, but we hope to advance our agenda with good humor and laughter. If we do not join together under the banner of The Red Hat Society, but rather remain isolated, in unconnected groups, that will not happen. Therefore, we are working to build a dis-organization within which we can all connect and eventually take over the world!
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