Hold on to your hats!

Featured image
The always colorful scene at the annual Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon benefiting the Central Park Conservancy. Photo: JH.

Monday, May 4, 2020. We just came off a beautiful Spring Weekend in New York with lots of sunshine and temps reaching up to 79 with no humidity on Sunday afternoon in New York.  The mayor closed off a number of streets for people to walk on including three blocks here on East End Avenue. Although never crowded the way some other areas of the city are, yesterday was very active with lots of families, young and old, children, infants, young parents, grandparents; little ones on the first two-wheelers, runners; couples, singles, doubles, friends of all ages, boys, girls, runners, scooters, bicycles. It was a good thing and a pleasure to observe; people out among each other as it should be per Mother Nature.

This coming Wednesday, May 6th, had the Covid-19 not come our way, would have been the Women’s Committee of the Central  Park Conservancy’s annual fundraising luncheon in the Conservatory Garden behind the Vanderbilt Gates on Fifth Avenue and 105th Street. Alas, alack and all that. The Women’s Committee raises millions every year to help keep the Park in shipshape. But the luncheon, better known after its quarter century celebration as the Hat Lunch, is a treat just to see.


A scene from last year’s (37th annual) Frederick Law Olmsted Awards Luncheon.

I’ve always loved covering it because it’s fun and funny. It’s good for a laugh, as they say, and the women look great and dress for the occasion. The end result is major fundraising but with a good lunch party; purposeful, and with a dash of milliners’ panache to lighten things up for at least the duration of the actual luncheon.

So, in view of the fact we will not be showering you on Thursday morning with dozens of color images of mainly girls got up in hats at the 2020 luncheon, JH had the bright idea of running a review our photos, feast, if you will, from seven luncheons starting with 2018.


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2016


























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