A proud Sondrea Lowe showcases her hat, 'A Bevy of Bows, Birds and Bunnies'. She walked away with the first prize in the children's elegant segment of the Annual Hat Show.

The Promenade Gardens came to life last Saturday afternoon when the Inner Wheel Club of Georgetown held its 22nd Annual Easter Hat Show and Garden Party.

Hundreds of persons flocked the breezy, shady and breathtaking gardens on Middle Street to be part of the fete, which brought the curtains down on Easter celebrations here in Guyana. It was deemed a success at its conclusion and many patrons commented that they enjoyed themselves and will make sure they attend and even take part in the Hat Show next year.

A lot of little girls look forward to the show and on Saturday they were out in their numbers.

Even though majority of the patrons were not a part of the competition, there was an endless array of hats, in all colours, sizes and décor; the most popular colour being pink and the favourite item being flowers.

Many of the ladies and little girls took care and time to make sure their outfits complimented their headpieces.

Pierre quartet: These four sisters proudly smile at the camera while at the Hat Show on Saturday. Tamara left placed third in the elegant category with her hat `Evening Rose' and six-year-old Marcelle (front) brought second in the children's original cate

Besides the Hat Show, patrons were also welcomed to be a part of a garden party and if that wasn't their thing then there were numerous stalls with little tit bits to choose from.

The children especially had a grand time. Not only were they seen running from stall to stall but also they wasted no time in poising for photographs.

There was even a little baby girl about ten months old all decked out in her creative hat.

The mood was set by the Guyana Police Forces' band that entertained the patrons with instrumental music.

Around 4 pm, the competition, which had hampers and gifts as prizes, began and in no time all the seats around the bandstand were filled. Munching on snacks, the patrons were entertained.

First up was the children's elegant category. Of the eight contestants, the youngest was three years old. In this group, flowers were the most common decorations.

The original category followed next and six children took part. Among the pieces displayed were `Pretty in Pink', `Candy Girl' and `Bunny Playtime in a Daffodil Garden'.

Then it was time for older folks to strut their stuff in the same two categories as the children.

In the elegant segment there were seven

About one hour later, everyone held their breaths as the three judges announced the top five, in each category.

For the children Jamella Da Silva came out on top in the children's original category with her creation `Nature's Kind' and Sondra Low was the winner in the elegant category. Her hat was titled `A Bevy of Bows, Birds and Bunnies, and was made by her mom Sondra.

Among the adults, Gloria Muffat's, `Tropical Springtime' came out victorious while the original segment was won by Pamela Arthur whose hat represented 'A Wedding in the Promenade Gardens.

Hat Show veteran, 85-year-old Cicely Harding took part this year and made sure she had a grand time.

She had two entries in the original segment, `Vat', which came in fifth and `Cricket and Rain', which tied with another entry for second place.

This hat showed what the weather was like at Guyana's leg of the World Cup Cricket. While showcasing her hat, Cicely danced around the bandstand squeezing water from a bottle, which represented rain. She also added a cricket bat to her shoulder to enforce her theme.