Tea, Fashion Show benefits St. Winifride's Garden

Women in elegant attire and stylish hats mingled among family and friends on Saturday at St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church while listening to beautiful music provided by Chris Patrick and Seylah Broderick. The church hosted its 14th annual Tea and Fashion Show in the parish hall.

Each sizeable round table was uniquely decorated with colorful china sets donated for the event from the home of the many individual table-dressers. Mary Richards, longtime parishioner, provided floral bouquets for every table. Each year Richards quilts a runner for the raffle table and a new banner for the Tea and Fashion Show.

This year's chairperson and coordinator of the show was Shirley Gilles, advised by Nancy Haase, the chairperson for many years.

"We are glad this annual tea is still happening and hope that it will continue. This year we have a really good turnout of over 100 guests," she said.

The proceeds go to projects for the youth of the parish and the upkeep of St. Winifride's Garden, located in the outdoor space of the church. The garden is named for a little-known Welsh saint whose shrine in Holywell, Wales, encompasses a spring said to have healing powers. The original shrine of St. Winifride in Holywell, Wales, inspired the design of the garden. The garden itself includes plants from Sisters-area ecosystems. Waters from the shrine in Wales were mingled with those of the garden with its meandering stream and waterfall when the courtyard garden was completed in 2001.

Mary Ann Ricketts, in charge of the kitchen, assisted with the preparation of the tasty gourmet tea sandwiches along with the help of over 15 parishioners. The nine male servers were dressed in banquet style with Ron Ricketts as head server.

The highlight of the tea was the style show, presented by Drawstrings of Malibu, a Sisters business owned by Nick and Melodie Morrone.

Drawstrings of Malibu store manager Glenda Smith was the emcee for the fashion show as six parishioners became fashion models for the day and strolled around the many tables, adorned in an array of colorful, all-cotton clothing as folks watched in delight.

The tea concluded with a raffle of varied items donated by area merchants and individuals.