Nassau, Bahamas - Sunday, October 26th was a great day! This sentiment was expressed by numerous persons
who attended the Carver Garden Club Annual Tea Party held at the St. Joseph’s
Parish Centre, Boyd Road, Nassau. Guests
arrived in the early afternoon with brimming anticipation for Afternoon Tea;
and left in the evening with a feeling of renewal and good fellowship.
The venue was beautifully
decorated. There was a slide show of scenes
on display of activities undertaken by Carver Garden Club Members over the
years. Locally grown palm trees were placed liberally throughout the space. This was designed to bring Carver Garden Club
members and their guests closer to nature.
In addition, Carver Garden Club Members delved into their treasure troves
and brought out an impressive display of old, unique tea pots for their guests
to view and enjoy – some as old as 1946 when the Carver Garden Club was
formed! This reinforced the theme chosen
by the Club for this year’s Tea Party: “Back to the Ole Days.”
Carver Garden Club called upon a
distinguished panel of judges - made up of Mrs. Mary Sweetnum, Mr. Craig
Delancy and Mrs. Beverly Nairn – to choose the winners of the Club’s tradition Tea
Tray Display & Competition. After
exhaustive deliberation, the prestigious first place “Blue Ribbon” was awarded
to Cynthia Gibbs, with second and third place going to Carmen Gomez and Donna Newton.
The main focus of the event, however,
was “Afternoon Tea,” Carver Garden Club style.
Club Members took time to personally serve their guests tea, sandwiches,
chicken salad and an assortment of cakes and pastries. Each table was dressed by a Carver Garden
Club member with settings from their own collection. These tables were a beauty to behold. They came alive with shining crystal glasses,
porcelain tea cups, silver flatware, with crisply folded tea napkins. This fine array was accentuated by freshly
arranged bouquets of flowers. And of
course, beautiful hats adorned the heads of the Ladies.
Cherrylee 'Ms. P' Pinder,
Mistress of Ceremonies, wasted no time reminding those present why she is
considered to be one of the most sought-after M.C.’s in The Bahamas. “Ms. P.” was vibrant. And she conducted the proceedings with skill
and flair. Attendees found themselves
laughing and barely hanging on their chairs as she regaled them with a nonstop
variety of jokes and stories. Lawrence 'Mr. Fox Hill' Smith provided soothing and upbeat tones from the ‘70’s, ‘80’s
and beyond.
Guests were feted to a
one-of-a-kind fashion show featuring hair fascinators designed by club president, Jacquelyn Sawyer. The
fascinators hit a special spot. Some
were made out of native sea shells.
Others were designed using conch horns and fish scales in colours
ranging from orange & fuscia, to purple, to yellow, to white, to
black.
The Ladies of Carver Garden Club modelled
their hats and outfits with style and flair, to the delight of their specially
chosen guests. They displayed outfits
and hats from as far back as the ‘70’s.
Carver Garden Club invited
Bahamian Poet, Tyrone Sawyer, to share a brief Reading of his poems. Sawyer came in like a flood and was
unrelenting from beginning to end. In
“Everything to Me”, he shared his insight through poetry into the fickle nature
of love. In the poem, “You Left Us Far
Too Soon”, he gave a wistful commentary on the feeling left by the sudden passing
of those who died so young. And through the
poem, “Matilda”, Sawyer brought attendees face-to-face with the cycle of
infatuation, pain, acceptance and forgiveness awaiting for those who ardently seek
to love.
Guests were pleasantly surprised
by lots and lots of door prizes provided by Carver Garden Club Members. Among them was a roundtrip ticket, courtesy
of Bahamasair. Cynthia Gibbs was the
winner of a featured sweepstakes prize of a 3-day car rental in Miami, Ft.
Lauderdale or Orlando courtesy of Mr. Scott Levy, Agent for Avis Rent a Car
& Budget Rent a Car. Utah Butler
went home surprised and fulfilled: she was the winner of the Grand Prize
Drawing of a 2-night stay at the deluxe Stella Maris Resort in Long Island,
courtesy of the Stella Maris Resort, with tickets for two from Nassau to Stella
Maris and return, courtesy of Southern Air Charter.
All in all, there were many
smiles to go around. The Carver Garden
Club’s Annual Tea Party was a success for its guests, in search of a relaxing
Sunday outing. It was a success for Club
Members who use the event as one of their major fund-raising activities during
the year. Four of the Club’s
Distinguished Lifetime Members, Dorothy Phillips, Ann Garroway, Eleanor Butler
and Sylvia Sealy-Godet graced the event with their presence. This was their way of keeping faith with
younger Club Members.
Stated club president, Jacquelyn Sawyer, “The Carver Garden
Club Annual Tea Party was dainty and just fabulous!”
