NEWELL—A May Day Tea party reminiscent of a high society afternoon tea was held May 1 at the Newell Vale Nisland Senior Center, where spring colors and a fancy tea service set the scene.
A modest fundraising idea turned into a fabulous party. Ladies were dressed in spring outfits, and some wore fancy hats. “My big thank you goes to Patty (Karas) and Wendy (Stone), they took a simple little idea of how can we raise money for the senior center, and they came up with this ravishing May Day Tea,” said Marg Adams, president. She went on to give a history of May Day and the importance of celebrating it. “So we encourage you to just sit back, relax, enjoy and be yourself at our May Day Celebration,” she said.
The exclusive event was by invitation only and was not advertised. Tickets to the event were $20. “By word of mouth—we didn’t advertise, a lot of the ladies from the center invited friends, and then just word of mouth,” explained Patty Karas, NVN member. “It was our first try, so we didn’t want it to be so overwhelming. We didn’t know really how to plan it so we wanted to keep it to a minimum, and we figured if we made it invitation only, that we be able to plan it a little easier.”
The invitations were a hit, and all available tickets sold out, bringing a total of 34 ladies together for the tea party.
The NVN Senior Center was decorated with bright spring colors and transformed into a spring garden. “I think they were tickled with the way the hall looked—we didn’t want it to look like a senior center, we wanted it to look different,” shared Karas.
White table linens covered round tables, and each table was decorated with china tea cups and saucers. There was a host in charge of each table. “We had seven hosts that were going around and serving tea, making sure the plates were filled, and instructing them as to what we had for raffles,” said Karas.
Each table had beautiful centerpieces of real flowers donated by Joyful Blooms Flower Farm. At the end of the event, a lucky winner sitting at each table got to take home the fresh flowers. “One person at each table had a sticker underneath her saucer, and that person won the centerpiece, so they got to take that home,” said Karas. “And we also had antique hankies on the table that were folded together with a little band, and they got to take those home too.”
Pandy Pittman with the Quilt Bank donated fabric bundles to each attendee. All of the tea cups and saucers were available to purchase for $5. And it wouldn’t be a May Day event if the NVN Senior Center didn’t provide everyone with a May Day basket to take home.
A spring photo backdrop was created for each lady to have her picture taken to memorialize the event. “They all got to try on a different Kentucky Derby hat and take their picture there—everyone seemed to be having fun,” shared Karas.
There were several raffles, including one by Connie Snow, who donated a $60 portrait sitting fee.
There were two vendors on site that sent everyone home with samples. “So with our vendors, we had Mia with Onzell Herbs, from Rapid City—she brought her loose leaf tea, and each one of our guests were given a tea bag of their choice, explained Karas. “And then we had Tammy from DesJarlais Farms of Sturgis, and they got to have a honey straw from her. So that was kind of fun!”
The May Day Tea was a fundraiser to help fund projects at the NVN Senior Center. They came close to reaching their goal of raising $1,000. Karas said, “we’ve done quite a bit of work so far, but there’s always something else to do.”
They are now working on replacing gutters, installing clips on the roof for the snow, and building a seating area outside. “A lot of people walk in this town… and it’s nice to have a little bench for them to sit on and just visit and enjoy their day. So we are going to be putting that alongside of the hall, along with a little free library,” shared Karas.
Make sure to stop by the NVN Center on May 9 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. for a Mother’s Day Open House and see all of the renovations and changes to the building. “Anyone and everyone is welcome to come. We’ll be setting up similar to what we had for the May Day Tea party, but it’s going to be open to the public so they can come in and just see what we’ve accomplished,” explained Karas.
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