Central Park and a Sea of Hats!
Last Wednesday was a chilly, rainy day here in the northeast, but that didn’t put a damper on the 30th Annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon. This is a really fun event that I try to attend every year and if you are a regular reader of this blog, you may remember my postings from previous years about this important gathering. Frederick Law Olmsted is, of course, the famous American landscape designer and the father of American landscape architecture. Olmsted designed many renowned urban parks, including the spectacular Central Park in Manhattan, which is where the luncheon is held. The Hat Luncheon is hosted by The Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy, which relies heavily on funds raised at this event to continue to protect and maintain the park. This year, more than 1,200 supporters gathered beneath the tent, sporting a sea of amazing hats and raised a record-breaking 3.5 million dollars!
1 I arrived just as Bill Cunningham, the photographer, was dashing into the luncheon to capture images for the New York Times.
2 Somers Farkas and Muffy Potter Aston wearing a fantastic blue hat
3 A sea of amazing hats!
4 This is always such a festive and colorful event.
5 Tiffany & Co. sponsored the luncheon and everyone went home with a Tiffany blue tote bag and umbrella.
6 Sharon Burdick, Gerri Koppelman, and Bryn Rose
7 Jane Heller wearing another great creation by Suzanne http://suzannemillinery.com/
8 The lovely tablecloths were provided by Scalamandré and Steven Stolman and were being sold afterwards for $150. The pretty floral arrangements were from Andrew Pascoe Flowers, Ltd.
9 This woman wore a simple, yet elegant derby.
10 Here I am with my friend, Jane. My hat was made by Barbara Feinman http://feinmanhats.com/ and I was wearing a Valentino gabardine sheath.
11 This is Pat Toogood and her daughter, Heather.
12 Elizabeth Lake and Julie Merck
13 A beautiful mother and daughter hailing from Rockport, MA
14 Carter Lee and Marsee Lee
15 Memrie Lewis and Fraser Edwards
16 A really great hat
17 Very funny!
18 The luncheon menu - provided by Abigail Hirsch Catering Relationships - Chilled Asparagus Vichyssoise with Parmesan Panna Cotta, Conservancy Cobb Salad with Truffled Deviled Egg, and a Duo of Miniature Sundaes - Lemon Raspberry and Cappuccino Crunch.
19 Anne Harrison, the current president of the Women's Committee, at the podium
20 Gillian Miniter, who has been working for the Park in several capacities, and J P Morgan (the bank) were honored for their ardent and longtime support of the Conservancy.
21 Mary Callahan Erdoes, CEO J.P. Morgan Asset Management
22 Susan Magrino and Sarah Wolfe
23 This hat caught my eye with all of its soft silk flowers.
24 Peggy Siegal acting up again!
25 Julia Koch
26 Blaine Trump and Karen Lefrak
27 This was my favorite hat at the luncheon, which matched the wearer's dress perfectly.
28 Everyone was having such a good time.
29 A very nice shot of Gillian Miniter
30 Designer Lela Rose wore a Carmen Miranda inspired fruit bowl complete with watermelon, banana, pear, cherries, and grapes.
31 She even had a banana clutch to match.
32 Such pretty sapphire feathers
33 Carmina Roth, who was also wearing amazing feathers
34 So pretty!
35 Lydia Carlston always has the greatest hats.
36 It was so much fun wandering around looking at all the hats.
37 The luncheon always draws a few men.
38 Here I am with Anne Harrison, the president of the Women's Committee.
39 And here I am with Anne's husband, Bill Harrison, the Chairman of J.P. Morgan Chase
40 Posing with Gillian Steel, who is a real live wire
41 A pink silk peony
42 A charming bonnet with real blossoms
43 How fun!
44 Bridget Koch looked amazing.
45 I love the twisted nature of this hat.
46 Christine Schwarzman (black hat) and her friend looked great!
47 Another shot of Mary Callahan Erdoes
48 As you can see, the Tiffany blue umbrellas were put to good use!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Greetings from London. Beautiful event and hats. You look amazing Martha.
It is a beautiful time of year here in London with all the beautiful flowers everywhere. Would love to share with you and Kevin some photos.
Gorgeous tulips from Queen Mary's Park http://instagr.am/p/KV140rqp2X/
Beautiful sceneries at St James Park http://instagr.am/p/KUaDjXqp5n/
http://instagr.am/p/KPdUq4Kp3P/
http://instagr.am/p/KPiVWNqp4n/
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | May 8th, 2012 at 6:11 am
What a delightful, delightful celebration of femininity.
Posted by: Karen | May 8th, 2012 at 6:51 am
I remember your previous posts on this delightful luncheon Martha, it always looks like so much fun. The colorful, unique hats remind me of the Kentucky Derby! I love the hat in pic #23, it's so pretty and feminine. You of course Martha looked very elegant in Valentino and your hat complimented it perfectly!
Posted by: Cindy F | May 8th, 2012 at 8:26 am
Hi Martha, Thanks so much for giving us another beautiful blog posting about the annual Central Park Hat Luncheon! This one appears to be the most fabulous and successful one so far with 3.5 million dollars! These photos are stunning and all of these newest hats are gorgeous! Was so great to see so many of your friends in their beautiful hats-Jane Heller in #7&10 with you, Memre Lewis in #15, the luncheon in #18, Susan Magrino in #22, you & Anne&Bill Harrison in #38&39, and you and Gillian Steel in #40! Even with the rain, I think you all had a delightful time! Sure was fun to finally see you last night on 2 Broke Girls-you looked fantastic! So sorry to hear that Ghenghis Khan now has Lyme disease and now all 3 of your beautiful dogs have to take medicine to get better. Off to see The Daily Wag and am very sad and pray they get better real soon! Hope you have another great day! Also loved the Girl Scout show yesterday-it was terrific! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | May 8th, 2012 at 9:44 am
Dear Martha,
THANK YOU for your kind mention!
Being a part of this extraordinary event was truly a labor of love- for the wonderful ladies of the Central Park Conservancy and for our great city.
Fondly,
Steven Stolman
President
SCALAMANDRE
Posted by: Steven Stolman | May 8th, 2012 at 11:56 am
Hi, Martha,
Thank you so much for signing your American Cookbook for the upcoming WS Cookbook Club Class in Oregon. That was very thoughtful!
I watched your cameo on "Two Broke Girls" last night and you were absolutely wonderful. The bit about pulling your cookbook (one of seven) out of your tote was hilarious!
All the pictures of the hats in this blog are gorgeous. A "Hat Luncheon" is a great idea for a charity event, even on a much smaller, local level, because it really looks like a lot of fun! Everyone has an opportunity to be creative!
Thanks!
Posted by: Bobbie | May 8th, 2012 at 2:00 pm
Hey Martha....
I am completely enthralled with your visual photo collection of hats! Love, Love, LOVE them! I recently received your magazine and saw the page you showcased a millinery shop/blog. Needless-to-say, my daughter tore up my magazine before I had a chance to get the web address for the shop. Is it possible to get that web addy again? Thank you for all you do!
Posted by: Christina Carrion | May 8th, 2012 at 2:58 pm
You know, some ladies can wear hats and some just do. Martha you certainly can wear a hat.
Posted by: Gretchen Schuler | May 8th, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Hi Martha,
It must be so much fun to attend this event every year. Not only do you get to spend an exciting afternoon with your friends, but you get to wear nice hats. I used to love wearing hats to Mass on Sunday. I always liked the wide brim and my two favorites were a turquoise and a yellow one. That was back in the day when I was in my twenties. One day, they sort of fell out of favor and now I can’t stand hats. I won’t even wear them in cold weather if I happen to be in Michigan in the winter. Everyone looked nice and I especially liked the Carmen Miranda hat. I get the biggest kick out of people who have the guts to be really different. Johnny Depp’s characters come to mind at the moment! Thanks again for the colorful pictorial on hats. Trish
~
P.S. Loved you on 2 Broke Girls last night! I'm going to watch that show next season - the cast is really funny!
Posted by: Trish | May 8th, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Thank you again for sharing photos and comments from your adventures. I especially enjoyed looking at the exciting hats from the Frederick Olmsted luncheon. Such Fun!!
The images from the television set for "2 Broke Girls" were also very interested appreciated.
Posted by: Carolyn Boyce | May 8th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
What was in the goody bag?
Posted by: Nancy B | May 8th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Loved this event even though was trveling with Lois who wore a vintage hat bought at DAYTONS many years ago. You look lovely.
Posted by: ann | May 9th, 2012 at 9:58 am