Kentucky Derby Party & Fundraiser 2014
A little late in posting this, but we went to our first Kentucky Derby party this year and it was the best party I've been to in a very long time. Our good friends the Cochrans (parents to the much photographed Lenore) live next door to the hosts of the party, Jared and his partner Genevieve. We were invited to the party last year, but couldn't make it. I'm so thankful we made it this year!
We all came decked out in our finest hats. As a family, we went more classic with our hats, but a lot of folks went all out decorating their hats into quite the creative masterpieces!
They have a guest house/one-room structure in the backyard that they converted into a playhouse and let me tell you... A CHILDHOOD DREAM. Just WOW. They are definitely the folks that have the house that every kid in the neighborhood wants to play at. I think I was just as giddy about the playhouse as the kids. The backyard is fenced off, so we could let them play back there all night (with the help of some very kind teen babysitters) while we adults could relax in the front yard without worrying about the kiddos. Genius!
We thought this little vintage riding horse was so appropriate for the event, and we all waxed nostalgic on how we had one when we were kids, but then we laughed about how dangerous they actually are!
And who didn't have one of these at their school playground growing up? Always makes me think of Napolean Dynamite.
So HERE is the amazing playhouse. This is childhood encompassed. I so wish we had a place that our kids could just get messy and play without any inhibitions. You can splatter paint on the walls by accident, you can make lots of noise with instruments, you can make art projects and not have to worry about immediately cleaning up... I think every house should have one of these. Just a dream. And what a cool Dad these kiddos have for creating something like this for them. He could've made it into a man cave, you know? (Although I think he does use it for band practice himself ; )
I can tell Jared and his partner share my love of thrifting and treasure finding. There were all sorts of vintage gems everywhere.
Once I tore myself away from the playhouse, we went to hang out in the front yard. So much fun! I remember the pink foam hat below at Target a while back. I was so excited to see someone wearing it. And that's Jared's partner, Genevieve, on the far left.
They even had live music! The Shoal Creek Stranglers. They play old-timey folk songs. Just perfect. You can read more about them here. After looking them up, both bandmembers, Zeke Sayer (guitar) and Matthew Garrison (upright base) have such interesting stories! From their site:
Both Stranglers have strong roots in Southern folk music; Clem Sayer of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame / Shoal Creek Music Park and Mark Garrison of the Bluegrass sensation “Bluebilly Grit”.
I had never heard of the Shoal Creek Music Park, (which Zeke's Dad acquired) in Lavonia, Georgia, apparently a legendary venue that all the classic country and folk singers used to play at back in the day...
From their Facebook page:
Founded in 1961 by Alton Walters, the Shoal Creek Country Music Park played host to many wild times including Johnny Cash rolling out "Folsom Prison", Dolly Parton shaving her legs on the creek bank, Conway Twitty performing to a crowd of 6,000 - Jerry Lee Lewis pushing a piano off the Stage and Tammy Wynette leaving George Jones by the exit door at the Blue Auditorium.
Love it!!
Sadly, there aren't any shows scheduled there anytime soon, but luckily it's being used as a home base for Zeke Sayer's label Gypsy Farm.
(I so wanted to take these barrel chairs home with me...)
Then it was time for the race and betting! We're not gamblers, but this was for a good cause. Jared donated all the money to The Songs for Kids Foundation! I loved these cards that they handcolored (!!!)...
Then after the horse race was over, we had our own race! You bet on a crawfish and the first one to fall off the table won. It was hilarious. (please don't send me animal cruelty hate mail ; )
The night was perfect. A big thanks to the Cobbs for putting on such a great event, and to the Cochrans for inviting us. We will definitely be there again next year.
P.S. I won the Best Female Hat Award! I was shocked. I never win anything. Wish I had a better picture of the hat.
