It was a springtime soiree where millinery meets a bucolic mission, and a few raindrops couldn’t dampen the delight. On March 27, Hermann Park Conservancy’s beloved Hats in the Park fête unfolded in a garden fantasia that was both refined and playfully over-the-top — just like the hats it celebrates.
A crowd of 590 partygoers braved the forecast and turned McGovern Centennial Gardens into a runway of whimsy for the event’s 17th edition, raising a record-breaking $550,000 for the care and improvement of Houston’s treasured green space.
Brooke Bentley Gunst, Holly Radom, and Carolyn Sabat served as the stylishly savvy chairs behind this hallmark Houston happening. Roslyn Bazzelle Mitchell, Conservancy board chair, welcomed the elegantly attired crowd with words that grounded the glamour in purpose.
“Thanks to your generous support,” she said, “we are shaping Hermann Park’s future with projects like the amazing Commons and continued enhancements throughout the park.”
The afternoon also honored Katie Arnoldy and Brittany Sakowitz Kushner, two women whose love for Hermann Park runs deeper than a shade tree’s roots. The former Kite Festival chairs reflected on the park’s role as an urban sanctuary — quintessentially Houston, as Katie put it — and a unifier for people from every walk of life.
The crowd was bursting with color, charisma, and couture-level headpieces. From feathered fancies to architectural toppers that could cast their own shade, it was a “ladies who lunch” lookbook unlike anything else in Houston’s event calendar.
Because when it comes to Hermann Park, Houstonians know how to rally, and how to dress for the occasion.
Among the garden-glam crowd were Henrietta Alexander, Kenneth Allen, Fady Armanious, Carey Kirkpatrick, Kristy Bradshaw, Kathryn Boeker, Amanda Boffone, Whitney Bossin Burns, Martha Castex-Tatum, Julie Longoria Chen, Susie Criner, Isabel David, Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, Jennine Hovell-Cox, Cece and Mack Fowler, Sandy Godfrey, Stacy Johnson, Brigitte Kalai, Nicole Katz, Devorah Kreiger, Kelley Lubanko, Laura McWilliams, Joe Nelson, Amanda Pickering, Kaitlyn Scheurich, Shawn Stephens, Stephanie Tsuru, Phoebe Tudor, Kim Tutcher, and MaryFaye Way.
Photo by Jenny Antill
Jayne Johnston and Alison Stasney.
