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Thursday, June 19th ~ 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
*Universal City Walk Block Party
This is just the beginning of the Red Hat celebration and the fun is just getting started.
Universal CityWalk, Orlando’s hottest spot for entertainment – will be the kickoff of our 10th Birthday celebration weekend! You will experience the best of the best in live music giving you and your red hat sisters the opportunity to dance the night away! You will be whisked away on a motor coach from the Gaylord Palms Hotel to Universal’s 30 acre entertainment complex where we will roll out the Red Carpet to the Plaza Mainstage! Red Hat Society attendees will have exclusive use of five venues on the upper promenade of CityWalk for the RED HAT SOCIETY CITYWALK BLOCKPARTY. A dinner buffet will be served.
Friday, June 20th ~ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
In the early hours of the evening, a magnificent fountain gleams with trickling water. Red Hatters from around the world begin to gather, greeting all the sisters who have come to join the party. They gather at the fountain to celebrate the sisterhood that has brought them together.
Ponce de Leon has joined the ladies to celebrate the fountain of youth, he shouts with joy as the fountain begins to explode with amazing colors as if rejuvenated by our lovely ladies! Amid colorful lights and lively music, Ponce de Leon announces the Exalted Queen Mother and Esteemed Vice Mother. As they make their grand entrance, cheering will fill the atrium! Decades of Sparkle is under way! This evening’s welcome reception has begun!
Saturday, June 20th ~ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
The day starts off with a bang as the convention center rocks with the tunes blaring from the jukebox and the aroma of sweet treats of the 1950's fills the air.
The fifties were a time of great change in America: hula hoops, soda fountains and "being cool" were in. Sock hops were all the rage and all the gals were wearing poodle skirts and saddle shoes with their pony tails. This decade presided over the birth of rock-n-roll - and a lot of those rockers were female!
As the "gals" are rockin' away, the Master of Ceremonies will get the hula hoop contest started and a Homecoming Queen will be chosen. After the ceremonies are concluded, it will be time to chow down on hamburgers and hot dogs. And who could pass up the banana split bar?
As the afternoon wanes, it's time do the stroll down the center of the dance floor, wrapping up our sock hop with the final dance and sign everybody's yearbooks!
Saturday, June 20th ~ 8:00 pm – 11:00 pm
After rockin’ around the clock at the sock hop all afternoon, it’s time to switch to the groovy sounds of the 1960’s.
America was changing again. The sixties brought us Jackie O's style, hippies, the Beatles and sweet sounds of Motown. As Barbie began her journey to becoming a fashion icon, the women of the world were experimenting with bouffant and afro hairstyles.
Jackie Kennedy started a fashion furor with her pill box hats, and we adorned ourselves with bell bottomed pants and Poor Boy sweaters, Birkenstocks and white go-go boots.
The Temptations, the Four Tops, Mary Wells, and the Supremes sang their hearts out as Motown captivated the ears of audiences around the world. "American Bandstand" was huge and new dance crazes popped up every day! Tonight we will do the "pony," the "hully gully," and "the locomotion" to the Motown sounds of a terrific band!
Sunday, June 22nd ~ 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
The groovy tunes of the 1970's ushered in another new era. We found ourselves digging the falsetto sounds of the Bee Gee's on our 8-tracks tapes, wearing platform shoes and chilling with our lava lamps. The times were changing, and so were we!
Red Hat women will unite under one roof, wearing their crazy red hats, disco ball earrings and their bedazzled tie-dye t-shirts.
After sitting down for a wonderful brunch, we crazy, hip women will quiet down (temporarily) to be entertained by a hilarious guest speaker.
The seventies went out with a bang - and so will our brunch!
Sunday, June 22nd ~ 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
As we pull out all the stops for the Glitz and Glamour Ball we will see that each decade has added its unique zest to our lives.
Choose your favorite fashion moment from among the previous decades you have lived through. We will spend the evening dancing to music from all eras we have tipped our hats to during the last few days.
You may choose to swing through the evening, bop til' you drop, cruise through with a bit of Motown style or disco dance until all those gold chains get too heavy to go on!
Music from the past to the present will fill the air, glitz and glamour will light up the night and a parade of the decades will delight everyone.
The evening would not be complete without an amazing celebration of the Red Hat Society's 10th Birthday.
Monday, June 23rd ~ 8:00 am – 10:00 am
As do all of our conventions, Decades of Sparkle will close with a farewell breakfast. After dancing all night at the Glitz and Glamour Ball, we will all need hearty breakfasts to energize us for the trip home. While we breakfast, we will enjoy photos from our fabulous convention, as they pop up on the screens around the room, accompanied by more of the fabulous music we have enjoyed. Another tradition - the roll call of states - will be observed.
New friendships established and old ones reinforced, we will say "Farewell," but not "Goodbye." Yes, we will have found the Fountain of Youth - it's in our hearts!