This story was originally published by My Sweet Charity on Nov 14, 2019.
Those Dallas Kappa Kappa Gamma alumnae have always been known for taste and timing and this year’s 25 anniversary of the organization’s fundraiser Tablescapes lived up to that reputation on Monday, October 14, and Tuesday, October 15. After a Monday night of viewing and grazing at Tablescapes by Candlelight sneak preview of the dozens and dozens of table settings throughout the Dallas Country Club, the main event started off bright and early Tuesday morning.
In the club’s entry on the right as guests arrived was a Hawaiian-theme table by Tablescapes Founder/2019 Honorary Chair Louise Griffeth‘s daughter-in-law Annie Griffeth. Across the way was fashion designer Patti Flowers‘ lush green-and-white tablesetting with a fashionably attired mannequin lounging in the greenery… In between Aloha and Flowers greenery was The Garden Gates presentation with a huge crane appearing to take flight. So real was the bird that guests couldn’t help but touch the wings to see if they were really feathers.
Despite the crowds of ladies, featured speaker Ray Booth was absolutely mercurial in working all the rooms and charming along the way. Passing Anne Nixon in the hallway with barely stopping, he told her that he loved her hair. When organizers were looking high and low for 2019 Kappa Tablescapes Key Honoree Lindalyn Adams, all he was told that her accessory du jour was a walker. Without missing a beat, he said that he had spotted her just minutes earlier. His description of the octogenarian: “She is a grand dame.” He was the man of the hour and lived up to every minute as guests oohed and awed the table settings that seemed to fill every room. Okay, so the restrooms were off-limits even for the day’s decorators.
Cara French reported that she had hosted a Cavalier Spaniel birthday party for nearly a dozen pooches over the weekend for her nine-year-old Maggie and Lora Farris‘ three-year-old Cali. Seems the despite being six years apart, Maggie and Cali share the same birth day — October 15. The birthday girls and their pals had a tail wagging time complete with party hats… Speaking of special occasions, Lisa Troutt‘s daughter Savannah Troutt was preparing fo the Tyler Rose Festival. Sponsored by Kappa Tablescapes Honorary Chair Louise Griffeth, longtime Rose Festival guru Winn Morton had designed an incredible gown with the theme of Empress of China… Event Co-Chair Stacey Walker was introducing her mom, Kay Sim, who had just moved up from Houston to become a Dallas resident and closer to her daughter… Celebrating its 25th anniversary were gals, who attended the very first one back in 1995 including Annette Simmons.
Highland Park Mayor Margo Goodwin reported that plans for the demise of the town’s legendary “Big Pecan Tree” had been a tough one but a necessary one. In recent years the 75-foot tree had suffered not from care but old age. After all the old gal was 150 years old and had seen the town grow from a suburb and Model T’s replaced by Teslas. Among the woody types, she was a debutante tree, so to speak. Planted just after the Civil Was, she was a young spry thing when the town of Highland Park was established and was in her 50s when Highland Park Village was conceived. Remarkably, years ago some smart arborist or DNA specialist had managed to take elements from the Big P and made it part of the “Little Sis” that is now just a few feet behind Big P.
The flow of guests moved north through the club to view the table designs that ranged from rarefied elegance to adorable whimsy. But that traffic did a 180-degree turn when word passed that the doors to the ballroom had opened. As the last guests entered the ballroom, workers began the dismantling of the “extra touches” from the table presentation for the luncheon that would follow the talk by Ray.
Following the welcome by Co-Chairs Anne McPherson, Kim Purnell and Stacey Walker and the presentation of the 2019 Kappa Tablescapes Key Honoree Lindalyn, Ray addressed the capacity crowd to a point when one august keyholder announced loud enough to be heard, “That’s enough.” As one well-heeled southern lady said, “He had a lot to say.”
It was with that the guests left the ballroom for their places at the tables for lunch.