April's Musings

Saturday, June 11, 2005
“Jazzy Style!”

The last two years have seen the rise of a new gathering of artistes, professionals, and Bohemian Bourgeois in Paris, beyond the left bank. A new colony of influence and affluence has sprung up—the sophisticated Bobo Bohemian.

I wanted to say thanks (so everyone can hear it!) to Chris Powell, our Public Relations Director, for promoting and leading another great event for the community. The Jazz Parade, to the beat of the Sambatucada drums, swarmed down Burlington, Vermont's beautiful Church Street in a happy throng gathering children, families, and dancing women in its midst. We spent almost an hour on Church Street, waving, wiggling, passing out flowers, jellybeans wrapped in our pretty fabrics, balloons, and coupons. We added smiles and laughter to Church Street, saw plenty of our customers, and met new ones.

The Parade ended in City Hall Park, and Andrea Rogers, the renowned director of the Flynn Theatre, bedecked in one of our pink quilted jackets, introduced me on stage before beginning an afternoon of Jazz in the Park with Caribbean and Latin roots music. Those beautiful steel drums!

People picnicked all afternoon and our banners blazed proudly on the stage behind the musicians. I was happy to see that our purple cotton organdy girl’s dress held up beautifully as my god-daughter Leandra looking wet and pretty in it and two dozen other children played like baby birds in the fountain. The Burlington store did a roaring business in the afternoon with many coupon clutching customers cooling off and changing into our fresh cottons. Cool seersuckers and beautiful tees were popular and I saw our pretty fabrics reused as headbands against the hot sun.

Once again thanks to Chris Powell for making this successful and thanks to the stunningly gorgeous dancers from our office: Stephanie, Penelope, Jamie, and Ekaterina to name a few; the beautiful mother-daughters: Barbara Carpenter and Leandra, Deborah Kehoe and Livvie; and the handsome men Aaron and John—all of whom made spectacular fashion statements.

Thanks to all of the welcoming and helpful staff at our Church Street store and to everyone who participated.