By MOLLIE BROWN / Community Columnist

A woman’s work is never done, but Patty Miller, princess of the Senior Rita’s, said Red Hat Society women occasionally forget work and kick their heels up. Red Hatters from Alabama and surrounding states gathered Aug. 23 at Calera’s Hampton Inn for fun and fellowship.

“The Bama Bash is a time for us to get together and have fun,” Miller said. “It began Friday night with a meet and greet party. We just milled around the lobby and ate and drank a little too much. Red Hat is about fun and each chapter is different. We’re not a service group, though many chapters fund raise for charity.”

Partying continued Saturday afternoon with a treasure hunt, then the hotel pool filled with lovely divas wearing bejeweled floppy hats and baseball caps. Red Hatters under the age of 50 wear pink hats and lavender clothing. Ladies more than 50 years old wear red hats and purple clothing. Colors are worn vice versa for birthdays.

That evening a dinner and dance was held at the Calera Elks Lodge. Miller laughed, sharing a memory of a previous dance in Orange Beach.

“I was walking through the lobby wearing my red hat and finest and a couple stopped me with questions about the dance. I explained Red Hat Society and the woman asked in her Mississippi accent, “But dahlin, if thera no men whoever do you dayance with?’”

Cheryl Corrigal, Queen Glitterbell of the Glitz-N-Glamour Gals of Millbrook, is known for craft making. Jo Harris of the Chapeau Rouge Divas of Baton Rouge was accompanied by Blossom, her Maltese medical alert dog. Blossom stood guard in her blinged out carrier to alert Harris of an asthma attack. Clarksville, Tennessee Sisters of the Sword Linda Gill awarded sword pins to ladies who served in the military.

“The Red Hat is truly an amazing group of women,” Miller said. “I read on the Red Hat forum that between all of us, we know everything. You can put a question out there and one of us has the answer. Our unofficial theme song is We Are Family, we’re a sisterhood.”

Membership information is available at redhatsociety.com. Contact Miller at pmillr2000@aol.com or 643-2608.