Red hats add color to picture-perfect day at fest

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Fest Halle was awash in red hats, with a couple lavender ones thrown in, Friday afternoon as Heritagefest officials honored women wearing colorful hats and bonnets of nearly every style imaginable during the fest's first Red Hat Society Welcome program.

A total of 231 women from 31 chapters throughout Minnesota, neighboring South Dakota and Iowa and even Texas made the trip to New Ulm to be on hand for a picture-perfect day of festivities.

"With the hundreds of e-mails that I sent out, I never imagined this many Red Hatters would show up," said event organizer Carol Steinhaus of New Ulm's Hermann's Frauleins chapter.

Mayor Joel Albrecht, called upon to welcome the group, was impressed.

"This is a great turnout, but I want each and every one of you to pledge that you'll return next year and bring more members with you. We want to see red hats filling this entire Fest Halle."

After saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. flag, the assembled society members said the Red Hat pledge which was to the Pledge of Allegiance what a drinking song would be to the Star Spangled Banner.

As Steinhaus, who introduced herself as the "queen mom of Hermann's Frauleins," one of several New Ulm chapters, told the assembled Red Hatters, "Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional."

Later, she explained that the organization really is about disorganization.

"We are the Red Hats that play. It's a group of ladies with no rules, and there are not supposed to be any meetings. The whole idea is to have fun," she said.

However, she noted that her chapter, in an act that belies disorganization, has taken on several charitable projects in New Ulm as a interlude in partying.

Meanwhile, the Fest Halle floor took on the look of a political convention as many of the chapters assembled held up signs displaying their particular chapter's name. In one area, there were the "Red Hat Hens;" not too far away were the "Gracious Garnets" (of Hutchinson), the Red Hat Hens and the Wells Belles. From Bloomington, there were the "Bloomin' Buts."

About a half dozen women wore lavender hats, indicating they're in training to party in earning the right to wear brilliant red headgear.

As the program ended, Heritagefest Director Kathleen Backer invited all the Red Hat ladies to take part in the mini-parade that was to start at 6 p.m. Oddly enough, the mini-parade along the Fairgrounds' only paved road, Fest Strasse, as Backer called it, follows immediately on the heels of the traditional Fest Keg Opening with the Concord Singers.

Meanwhile, fest-goers could look forward to more of the same toe-tapping music from the three German and Austrian musical groups, and more music from LynnMarie and The Boxhounds, following their two Friday night performances.

And, of course, there's the second round of sauerkraut wrestling, starting at 5 p.m. and continuing on the hour until 8 p.m. if enough register to do physical battle in a bed of sauerkraut, Backer said.