We are a Red Hat Society Chapter based in Irving, Texas. Not only are we an adventurous group, but a fun and exciting group of ladies that live all around the metroplex.

Red Hatters are ladies ages 50 and older and must wear Red and Purple. Pink Hatters are ladies under the age of 50 and called "Ladies in Waiting.” They must wear Pink and Lavender.

We have three rules - the first rule is you must wear your hat or something to the color of your age on your head to all gatherings and events. We do encourage you to dress in full regalia to make it fun but not necessary. First timers do not have to wear anything on their head unless they desire to do so. The second rule is there is no whining, complaining, talking negative about your spouse, your kids, your pets or anything else that is not fun or joyful. Our motto is to always smile and just have fun. Our third rule is you must attend three gatherings to become a member of this chapter. Other than that - there are no other rules nor do we want to make any up.

  Our chapter started in February 2006 with lots of excitement and ideas. Our Queen Mother Glenda has taken us on some adventures and all of us are always looking forward to the next one.

Year 2006

In February, we met at a home for our very first gathering and had some wonderful red and purple food. There were red and purple sandwiches, chips, drinks, cookies and all sorts of other items - all which consist of red and purple. We got to know one another and spoke on what the Red Hat Society was all about in detail. We talked about what we wanted to see and do. All of us just wore our hats that first meeting. We did more laughing than anything else and all went home with such joy. We all came to the conclusion "You know you are old when you wear thongs on your feet.”

In March, we attended a musical at the Grapevine Opry and what respect we received upon arrival. We were all treated with royalty and had a blast taking pictures with the singers, statues and outside the building. Some of us were getting bold and wore a purple or red blouse to match our hats and scarves.

In April, we were off to Grand Prairie and met at three of our ladies clubhouse. They had it decorated in all kinds of Easter items and the food was outstanding. We played a couple of games, ate till we were stuffed, laughed till our stomachs hurt and made our Queen Mother very special. On this third gathering we were really getting bold and started to wear brighter colors of red and purple and some had fancy shoes to match.

In May, we carpooled to Granbury to see the 50's Live show called Glory and Grace. Oh my, the show was so well done. Not only were we recognized as a group, but were made to feel like queens for the day. We shopped till we dropped, we ate and talked ourselves silly and then sat back to watch the show. We met other Red Hat groups and one from Irving, which was exciting. On this day, several of us were really bold and decked out in our regalia. We had one lady who sewed her complete outfit the night before and was as cute as a red and purple button.

In June, we had to cancel the gathering due to so many out of town and other events going on. We sure missed seeing each other and looked forward to the July gathering.

In July, we gathered at the Antique Mall Tea Room in Arlington, Texas and went back in time. We each reminisced over antiques that reminded us of when we were young girls to young ladies. There were so many unique antiques with such good taste. We then ate lunch with such laughter and the food was superb. We were surprised with several gifts by a couple of the ladies who organized this month’s gathering. What a delightful day we had.

In August, we each brought a favorite dish and had a feast. Then we tried our hands at making red hat items to enhance our look. We made hatpins and not one looked alike. They each had character and charm of its own. We enjoyed each other's company and made plans for our next couple of gatherings.

September was a very exciting gathering for us in Glen Rose, Texas. We started out with dinner at Hammon's BBQ place and oh was it good. We were amazed at the respect and service we received and ate till our hearts were content. From there we went to see the outdoor Christian play called "the Promise.” Not only was the weather just right but the play was exception and very powerful. We had pictures made with the cast and all of us went home excited and very blessed.

October we headed off to Grapevine, Texas and shopped at the various stands in the middle of town at the gazebo. We then went through some unique shops up and down the strip. We laughed till our stomachs hurt over cards we read and things we saw. Lunchtime was eating at the well-known cafe named Tolbert’s. This place is known for their food and wouldn't you know, all of us ordered a sandwich of some sort. I guess for us it was location,location,location. The amazing part was running into folks from all over the world and being stopped to have our picture made with them. Even the Grapevine newspaper took our picture as a group.

In November we held a Red Hat Regalia Walk. The event was decorated with fall colors with a touch of Red Hat items. Each one came up with their Royal name and some were very original and unique. We were all winners but three went over the top and won a gift. We each brought a special dish and had a feast fit for a queen.

December we were off to Bedford and met at Cheddars for dinner. The weather was bad for a week but on Saturday it became beautiful where everyone was able to attend. We each brought a red hat gift for a white elephant gift and that ended up being the hit of the party. The food was excellent and all wore their Christmas attire along with their red hats. We received a lot of glances and some of us received hugs from other red hatter's that were there and wanted to acknowledge us. It is always fun to meet other Red Hatter's and to hear where they are from and something about their chapter.

Year 2007

We are now ready to welcome the year 2007 with new adventures for our chapter. We have not repeated an adventure so far and look forward in practicing that concept and still keep the cost where all can afford to attend. This year we changed up a bit with having two different ladies in the chapter each month plan the gathering. We are anxious to see what each group can come up with that will be fun and exciting.

In January, we toured Elliott's Hardware Store and what a treat it was. Elliott's is one of the oldest establishments in the metroplex - certainly one of the oldest hardware stores still operating today. We walked in with such excitement from one of our members who is employed at Elliott's. The management and many of the store employees not only made us feel special, but also treated us with royalty. We were greeted with coffee, cookies and all kinds of dips and dishes when we arrived. We were surprised with a bucket of goodies when we departed. Many of us had more fun touring, shopping and seeing things we never expected to see at a hardware store. We finished up our day at Ojeda's Mexican Food Restaurant. What a day we all had and a very exciting one at that.

February was our One Year Anniversary for the Scarlet O'Hatters Red Hat chapter. Our Keller sister's put together an exciting event that was above anything we could have expected. We met at the Golden Corral that is fairly new there in Keller and started off with games and lots of surprises. We had such good food with a huge variety to choose from. The Keller sisters had gifts for us to help celebrate this event along with other members who brought valentine and birthday gifts. We then had both ladies who started the chapter speak and both had gifts and surprises in store. We went over what Red Hats are and explained a little about what we did last year and then some upcoming events. We ended with lots of picture taking. Not to forget, one of the ladies worked hard on our one-year anniversary photo album that had many pictures.

March was an inspiring and encouraging gathering at the Scottish Rite Hospital. We took a tour of the hospital and learned and saw more than we ever expected. We were so amazed from start to finish that all we could do was clap. The hospital is totally funded by various donations, businesses and the Masons. Not one child pays a dime whether they have insurance or not. It is strictly geared towards muscular and skeleton for ages 18 and under. The hospital was to not look or smell like a hospital and believe me, we felt like we were in fairyland in various places. We took with us stuffed animals and books for the hospital to give out and they were so appreciative. Afterwards we had lunch at the Love Field Antique Mall Tearoom and toured the antique booths. We felt honored we were able to do this because as of March 15th they closed the place down. This was a historical building and a very sad event for the folks who spent many years there selling or buying.

For April we had to change plans due to the weather. We ended up at the Antiques and More and the Rose Tea Room in Arlington. We had such a blast at shopping and the prices were so reasonable with quality things. Most of us stayed in the jewelry area. We then ate in the tea room and that was magnificent in decor and the food was excellent. Two of our ladies had special gifts for everyone and all was made out of love for the group.

For May, we arrived at the Arboretum and immediately had our picture taken at the entrance in front of beautiful flowers, trees and bushes. The tram, driven by a very knowledgeable tour guide, was next on the agenda. We rode through what seemed like miles of all kinds of rows of the most beautiful flowers, unique and old trees and saw the home of the one who donated the property for the Arboretum and all the grounds. Our guide was so accommodating and patiently stopped a number of times to take pictures of us. One of our favorite pictures was taken in front of a Volkswagen Beetle and a Volkswagen Van that was covered with growing flowers. Another favorite was taken in front of a gigantic flowerpot and watering can. We saw several trees that were well over a hundred years old. One tree had been there since the late 1700s. Another tree had been sculptured to grow in a unique pattern for at least 60 years. Flowers' growing all over big four-sided butterfly display was fantastic. After the tram ride we walked to some really old wood houses, saw a sod house, a tee-pee and had our picture taken in a covered wagon. At another Butterfly display, all the ladies were able to become butterflies for a moment. Most of us brought a sack lunch and found a nice place with tables for us to eat.

June we all trooped off to the Trades Day in Canton, Texas. We shopped and all of us of bought something that had to do with Red Hat's. We stayed most of the time in a climate control building, which is where we ate a very good lunch. We then took off in the trolley and went to several other areas and ended up at "the Mountain" and met the lady that owned the Red Hat Store. There we tried on many different hats and clothes and had such a blast taking pictures and laughing. We ended the day by going by a nursing home to see a friend to our Queen and made her an honorary member of the Red Hat Society and our chapter.

July we gathered together and made banners to be in the 4th of July parade but did not get to attend the parade due to the weather. We plan to be in other parades and ready to go with our banners and decorations.

August was a hot month so we came together in a cool place. We played a game our Queen made up for everything we did since our chapter got started. We had a lot of laughs and then enjoyed the different dishes everyone brought for lunch.

September we went to Artisan, small town playhouse in Hurst, to see the musical Beauty and the Beast. Many of us agreed it was as good if not better than the one they have in Dallas at Fair Park. Afterwards, we drove down the street to a snow cone stand called Bedford Snowball Express that serves gourmet snow cones. Many of us are not fans of snow cones but were so impressed we now have a different opinion of snow cones. They were excellent - one you have got to experience for yourself!

October we did not meet on our usual Saturday but chose Thursday to go to the State Fair. It was free to seniors and movie ticket holders. We had a blast! We saw new cars that many of us drooled over, to a human cannonball. We shared in trying all the new fried foods - one was a fried peach cobbler on a stick. Many of us bought the famous State Fair Corny Dog with a glass of old fashion Root Beer. We all enjoyed the Marine Band and felt so honored. During this month, we had a yard sale on a Saturday. This was to make money for our "pot" for charitable and needed items. We bought from one another and had fun selling as well as shopping. We made more money than we expected and was blessed by so many people who stopped by.

November was one of those months that we wished every member could have made it. This month we had our Red Hat Glamour Shots and oh what a little bit of lipstick and a feather can do to a person – smile. We had more fun dressing up as well as dressing one another up for Glamour Shots. The Photographer and team were exceptionally good and made it fun. They brought all kinds of red hat regalia and other misc. clothing to dress up in. We are all anxious to see the results but our camera shots were fantastic. Afterwards we had a fantastic potluck lunch. What an amazing day! Some of us ended the day by driving to Plano to a one day Red Hat Closet Sale given by the DFW Red Hat Council.

December was such fun. One of our Red Hatters went all out with decorations and door prizes. We played games that made us laugh till we cried; I believed my sides hurt for awhile after I got home. One game meant for youngsters had us in stitches and we should have had a video. We sang Red Hat Christmas carols and ate a Brunch fit for a Queen. To end the gathering we exchanged homemade Christmas Red Hat ornaments to a story that wore us out from swapping from the left to the right and laughing. We met at the City Chamberlain Center and what a beautiful place to have a party. We hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a safe one at that!

Year 2008

Wow, another year and we are now into 2008! We have grown in so many ways. One example is becoming more like a family or as sisters. We can't wait to see one another and then we talk like we were at a family reunion - all at once.. smile. We are sure proud of our chapter!

January was very different than most of our gatherings have been. We gathered at Cracker Barrel in Arlington off 360 and we first shopped since they always have so many unique things. We made a train and sang "She will be coming around the mountain when she comes" to our table for lunch. Some of the folks were singing right along with us. We had two to become official members of our chapter since it was their third gathering and we had two new ones to join us as well.

February was our second year anniversary for our chapter and we gathered at Golden Coral in Keller on February 9th. We had a full room and so many brought surprises and gifts to help celebrate this fun filled event. We had "build a bear," cute little plants, all kinds of little trinkets and a red purse for a door prize that looked like a corset. We had our yearly "so called" business meeting with all the little goodies that come it with it. What a day we had and the food was excellent. We created a little scene with our plastic lips that was a horn and circled the restaurant making noises and waving. What a surprise to many folks eating who enjoyed it the moment. We ended the day with shopping at the little unique shops down the street and saw so many unique antiques and such friendly people.

March we went to Arlington to see a place called the Top O'Hill Terrace. This place would have been the Vegas here in Texas had it not been stopped. It stared in the 1930's and shut down in 1950's. The folks titled this “from Poker to Preaching” and now known as Arlington Baptist University. The history and the artifacts are so interesting and most of all the famous people who were known to party there, examples Clark Gable and Bonnie and Clyde. We concluded with a lunch at Poncho's and what a surprise we had with decorated tables the colors for Red Hat and the many gifts we received. What a fun filled and exciting day.

For April we went to Arlington to the Spaghetti Warehouse for just some fun. We had fun just having fun if that makes any sense. Afterwards we shopped at all the stores around and some of us found a store that sold Red Hat items.

For May, a group of us took suitcases that we all donated to CPS (Child Protection Services) and was rewarded with a wonderful employee that told us all that they do and how they encourage these children that are abandoned, abused or just taken from a parent/guardian. We were given a small tour of what was kept in stock for the children and for a parent. We are now looking at a project for our group to do at Christmas. We completed the day with lunch at Katy's Cafe that had wonderful plated meals at a reasonable price and then to Sam Moons and Rebekah's to shop for Red Hat items. To add to the excitement of May, many of us attended the Mesquite Rodeo on Friday, May 23rd along with hundreds of other Red and Pink Hatters and their friends and family. We felt so honored at all the excitement they had in store for all of us and the food was excellent before the rodeo began.

June we celebrated at Spring Creek BBQ the Red Hat anniversary with an old fashion birthday party. There were so many surprises in store by the two who put this gathering together. There was pin the red hat on the lady and create your own red hat magnet. We had red and purple cupcakes along with party favors and a special surprise gift which was a red hat arm band. What a fun time we all had.

In July we were in the Irving 4th of July parade and was excited to see how many folks came out to watch it. We made the Dallas Morning Newspaper, Neighborsgo newspaper and were on the local television as well for two different events. For the parade we had a flatbed trailer donated to us for the day and decorated it with such fun. We were so appreciative of the 4 men that came out to support us in driving and doing what was needed - what a blessing. Afterwards we had lunch at the Olive Garden and were given some noise makers. We were the hit of the restaurant but could have been a little quieter. Oh well.. we were there to have fun and fun we had.

August we had a Luau in Grand Prairie at a clubhouse and were challenged to bring some sort of Hawaiian dish. There were 38 of us there, which meant a huge variety of Hawaiian food choices. We were asked to dress according to theme along with still presenting our red hat regalia. The clubhouse was decorated to the theme and we had a dance contest along with several games. The game called "Pass the coconut" was the hit of the day. For an extra event other than our regular gathering, some of us attended the musical "Menopause". We laughed so hard that tears ran down our faces. We saw ourselves in many of the settings. This musical was well worth the effort and expense. We encourage others to go see it when the opportunity is available.

September we went to Fuddruckers in Grapevine for the big kid meals. We played games and had a clothespin game that kept us laughing. Some of us went to the Grapevine Outlet Mall afterwards while others went to the town's garage sale which was huge.

For October we were off to the Ft Worth Stockyards and did we have a blast. We saw Zimmerman from the Travel Channel and took all kinds of pictures with him. He is the one that eats all the exotic food as he travels all around the world. We were face to face with Longhorn cattle that had horns of various sizes and shapes. We really enjoyed eating at Risky's BBQ with a few surprises from the ladies that hosted this month's gathering. We ended the day with shopping in all the unique little western shops and enjoyed two live western bands on the strip. What a day to remember.

November was a busy month for our chapter. The first Saturday we attended the Denim and Diamond Metroplex Red Hat Gathering for us that were ticket holders. We had a lot of fun and afterwards enjoyed the tour of where the movie Dallas was filmed at or some of it anyway. The second Saturday was our regular chapter gathering and we met at a clubhouse here in Irving. We tried our hand at scrapbooking for our pictures and then blanket making for charity. Everyone brought in food for our luncheon which topped off the time we had together to just visit. The third Saturday a few of us went to Tyler, TX to shop at the Swap and Buy Red Hat Sale and to get pointers on how we can get involved in something like that in the future. Shopped we did and had a very good time all the way there and back.

For December we had such a good time with all the games we played. One was in teams and dressing up one team member as a snow women with one roll of toilet paper. They turned out so funny but very cute. We had a contest on all the Christmas socks everyone wore in different categories and a Christmas song contest for the gift you received. We also enjoyed a fantastic lunch from all the food everyone brought. Also in December, we had a couple of our ladies take the blankets our chapter made in the past months to the Child Protective Services. What an honor to give to such a needy cause and what a way to end the year!

Year 2009

Well as you can see - we are still on a roll at not duplicating a gathering twice except for our anniversary. However, this year we are changing the location for our anniversary and we may.. just may... repeat one event but will have to wait and see. There are still so many places to explore and ideas to come up with.

January was our talent show and we had plenty of talent and then some. We were amazed at the dancing, singing, a webpage from one that is a photographer and music to go with the slides, poems, stories and the quilter's explanation. We had from serious to stomach hurting laughter and to top it off, we had one to totally act out the poem of "When I grow old", wow, what a treat. We ended the gathering with good ole pizza and dessert.

February was our 3rd year celebration and what a treat for everyone. We met at the Golden Corral in the Colony and had a feast along with surprises to the galore. We entertained the others in the place by wearing silly glasses and shaking some clappers right before we sat down to eat. We saw a lot of smiles and were asked a lot of questions - which made it all the more fun. We were excited to see all the pictures from the past 3 years and it reminded all of us on how much fun we had at every gathering.

March was another very interesting and fun event. We were privileged to tour the Heritage House in Irving and it took us back in time. We then toured old downtown Irving along with a special speaker from Al's Rental. For lunch we met at the Big State Drugstore and ate some of the best old fashion hamburgers and milkshakes - now that really took us back in time. After touring some of the little shops, we ended our day by visiting the motorcycle shop and there we had refreshments and met some of the nicest people. We received some beautiful flowers from the flower shop which made it special for all of us. By the way, one of our ladies had the honor of meeting President George Bush at her job and had her picture taken with him.

April was a very easy going social gathering at one of our member's beautiful home in Irving. We had a high tea with a variety of flavors to pick from. Our lunch consist of all kinds of fingerfoods and there were plenty of sweets as well. Several ladies brought their Red Hat items they could no longer wear or want and sold them within the group.

May was an overnight at the Marriott Courtyard in Las Colinas. What a fun fill day and night filled with all kinds of surprises. One was a scavenger hunt within the hotel. You could tell many have not played that game in years and the hotel staff had the biggest kick watching us look for clues. Late in the evening we had a PJ Fashion show and that was just as much fun. Along with games and swimming and the hot tub, we had lots of food, as always, and the dinner and breakfast was a feast.

June we went to Ft Worth to see the Cowgirl Museum and was impressed with all the history of women. Some of us rode a mechanical bull and was videoed into looking as though we were in a rodeo, such fun. We ate lunch at the Dos Gringos Mexican Food Restaurant and there we drew the tickets for winners of our raffle. We had a homemade quilt, a weekend for two at the Marriott Courtyard with breakfast in Las Colinas and then several other small gifts. We made enough donations to last us 2 years to cover our cost in stamps and etc needed for our chapter and to give to charity.

July we headed to Grand Prairie to eat at another Mexican food restaurant called Monterrey Little Mexico and I believe we woke the place up. Afterwards we watched a play at the Uptown Theater and watched the Music Man. We all agreed it was worth missing the fireworks to see this delightful play and was very impressed at the acting ability.

August was a fun time with taking old time pictures. We had a homemade ice cream contest along with a potluck meal. What a relaxing and fun day.

September was a 50's celebration at a clubhouse in Grand Priarie. For $3.00 we had an old fashion homemade hamburger with the works - what a treat. There were all kinds of contest and the fun part was seeing all the different poodle skirts and outfits. We each brought a pair of new socks for charity.

October we were off to Richardson to the Heritage House Museum. They were having a fall festival with crafts and other events. We learned to make rope, spent time in a late 1800's one room school and was a part of their reenactment. We watched a blacksmith make tools and some of us had a hand in milking a cow. The music was by a group of elderly gentlemen and their music were songs in the early 1900's.

If you would like to know more about us please highlight Glenda's name on the left hand side and that will place you in an e-mail note for contact.

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