Parker: Haughty? Not a bit - but bright red hatty, they are

By Penny Parker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 27, 2006 at midnight

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You don't have to be a professional artist to paint the town red.

Promoters of Hats! The Red Hat Society Musical, which makes its world premiere at the Denver Civic Theatre in October, are looking for painters to cover the south wall of the theater at 721 Santa Fe Drive with pictures of ladies in outlandish red hats.

"We're looking for local artists that would like to be part of this mural development," said Carol Yovin, marketing director for the Red Hat Society "hat quarters" in Fullerton, Calif. "This will be our first one."

Artists are invited to submit a short bio, statement on why this project interests you, and a rough sketch of a red hat to Karen Meyer (at KarenAMeyer@aol.com) by Tuesday. The red-hat painting party will take place Aug. 15.

The Red Hat Society was informally founded by "Exalted Queen Mother" Sue Ellen Cooper in 1998. Since then, the society has ballooned to 40,000 chapters in all 50 states and 30 countries. In Colorado, there are roughly 5,000 members. Cooper, who was looking for a way to cheer up a friend who was turning 50, based the sisterhood society on the Jenny Joseph poem: "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple, with a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me."

"Red hatters," members age 50 and older, wear purple dresses with red hats; younger "pink hatters" wear lavender garb with pink hats.

"This was inspired by the poem, but it became a lot bigger," Yovin said. "It just became a huge sisterhood celebrating life. At 50, you're not done."

GETTING REAL: Real World Denver cast and crew members dropped in to Via, the Italian eatery in the Ice House, on Tuesday night to mangia, mangia chef Rollie Wesen's culinary creations.

After chowing down shrimp pizza, roast chicken, rigatoni bolognese, eggplant parm and a host of dessert dishes (blueberry pie, triple layer chocolate cake, Via sundae, tiramisu), one of the producers pledged to return with the entire gang for the show's wrap party.

"They went out of their way to say how much they loved the food," Wesen said. "I think they liked the whole scene. We played great new hip music, and the interior's very modern and slick looking. It seemed to fit with the whole style of the show."

Wesen reported that the cast members were "nice and well behaved." They paid their full tab and tipped 30 percent, he said.

"We basically treated them like any other guest and tried not to trip over the cameramen."

IDOLS NOT IDLE: The top 10 American Idol contestants - including our own Ace Young - will meet and greet with America's Top Dog, President Bush, on Friday at the White House, according to the Associated Press.

The Idols, who will be in Washington to perform during their concert tour (which hits the Pepsi Center Sept. 5), will tour the White House before meeting with the prez in the Oval Office.

ON GUARD: Troy Guard, the culinary brains behind nine75 and Ocean, has been asked by Gov. Bill Owens to "sea all that he can sea" as the state's representative Aug. 5-7 at the Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans.

Guard will go gill to gill against 20 other top chefs from across the country, who will each prepare a seafood dish that represents his or her state's best.

A panel of judges will crown the winner king or queen of American Seafood 2006.

Guard, who prepares fab fish dishes at his restaurants, will make grilled Colorado trout with goat cheese stuffed Anaheim chile, roasted corn puree and grilled peaches.

EAVESDROPPING on a man planning for the Evergreen Jazz Festival: "No dancing for me this year. My Lindy's hopped off and my jitter's bugged out."

Penny Parker's column appears Tuesday through Saturday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call her at 303-892-5224 or e-mail parkerp@ RockyMountainNews.com.

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