Going Mad for Dallas Craziest Hat Party: This is no Ho-Hum Afternoon Tea

BY Caroline Hogan // 04.11.18

Mad Hatter 2018 Chair Venise Stuart at last year's event; photo courtesy of the Women's Council of Dallas

Mad Hatter's Tea 2017 with special guest, Rachel Zoe; photo courtesy of the Women's Council of Dallas

The 35th annual tea and luncheon at the Dallas Arboretum is coming up this Thursday, April 12 and women across the town are going MAD! The Mad Hatter’s Tea has become one of the most popular events in the city. Some women go nearly crazy picking out their best spring hats and garb to match the beautiful florals from the botanical garden, as well as, of course, to win the hat contest.

Hosted by the Women’s Council of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, the tea serves as one of the biggest fundraisers for “A Woman’s Garden,” one of the main gardens at the arboretum. Specifically, this garden celebrates the spirit, strength, ingenuity, creativity and determination of all women, as it is publicly maintained and tended to by women around Dallas.

This year’s event has been dubbed with the theme “A Garden by the Sea,” and is hosted by chair Venise Stuart and honorary chair Dr. Linda Burke. The day has a long agenda, beginning with champagne sipping as the hat judging takes place on the Ginsburg Family Plaza. Next, Rosine Hall will be filled to the brim with audience members eager to see a runway presentation by the famous Jan Strimple Productions.

An auction will present fabulous items and then guests are asked to sit back, eat, relax and enjoy the beautiful April blooms with a lunch outside.

What: Mad Hatter’s Tea & Luncheon for the Dallas Arboretum

When: This Thursday, April 12