Saks Designer Louise Green Unveils Collection For Fundraiser

It was a hat affair to remember.

More than 150 women and some men gathered on Wednesday for the McCallum Theatre's Muses & Patroness Circle's season kick-off luncheon at the Esmeralda Renaissance in Indian Wells to raise funds for the Institute.

Louise Green, founder of Louise Green Millinery, put her spring and summer collection on display, including a show-stopping black top hat with silk flowers, at the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells.

“This is not for the faint hearted. It’s for the woman who wants to stand out in the crowd,” Green said of the hat.

Other highlights included Green’s signature 1920s inspired hats.

Models walked around the room with the hats and wore designer dresses from Dolce Gabanna, Valentino, ST. John, and Piazza Sempione.

“It’s wonderful to see the hats on models … with such beautiful clothing,” Green said.

The centerpieces on each table featured hatboxes with flowers spilling out, adding to the fun ambiance. The menu featured three courses, topped off with a hat-inspired dessert made of hazelnut chocolate mouse and a chocolate ganache crust.

Green said that she was thrilled to see a room full of hats.

“I have never seen a room of such joyful looking women in my life. It (wearing a hat) makes a regular occasion into something really wonderful,” she said.

The Muses hoped the event would raise $10,000 the McCallum Theatre Institute, which provides educational opportunities to children in the Coachella Valley.

"We're very proud to provide 40 percent of the McCallum Theatre Institute's budget," said Eileen Hall, president of the McCallum Muses, adding that local students are taken to the theater on field trips.

"From Twentynine Palms to the Salton Sea, students are taken into the theater to see one of 30 performances that will be showcased this year," Hall said.

The funding provides opportunities for students to experience theater that many school districts have had to sacrifice due to budget cuts.

McCallum Muses board members Patricia Andrews, Mary Kay Arbuthnot, Cynthia Cottrell, Nancy Crandall, Donna Jean Darby, Sharon DiHaworth, Eileen Hall, Sandra Hill, Monte Marts, Barbara Marx, Laura McCoy, Olga Morales, Fran Muir, Barbara Platt, Abby Schroeder, Nancy Shuma, Sally St. John, Sandra Woodson, Nancy Stone and Kajsa Thuresson-Frary and Madeline Zuckerman attended the luncheon.

The next Muses & Patroness Circle of McCallum Theatre event, “Singing And Swinging at the Cocoanut Grove,” is set for March 3 at the Westin Mission Hills Resort in Rancho Mirage.

At the March event, Ted Giatas, CEO and President of the McCallum Theatre, will present a special tribute to former First Lady Betty Ford, who was a founding member of the Muses & Patroness Circle.

A 15-piece orchestra will play during the entire evening, accompanied by Cassie Miller, Paula Kelly, Jr. and the Modernaires. Comedian and musician Pete Barbutti will host post-dinner entertainment, with special performances by the McCallum Theatre’s Open Call winner Rob Watkins and contestant Ariss Dura