When Johnson Publishing Co. announced that it was canceling the fall 2009 season of its long-running Ebony Fashion Fair, it sent shudders through both the fundraising and fashion communities.
For more than five decades, the traveling fashion show first organized by Eunice W. Johnson visited 200-plus cities annually, raising millions of dollars and providing fashion entertainment for its patrons.
Denver organizers were among those saddened by the announcement, as well as by the recent death of Johnson. But there’s still a chance that the show will have a partial tour this year, says Rhetta Shead, president of the Denver chapter of Links Inc., which sponsors the event. She says she’s waiting to hear from Ebony’s Chicago office as to whether they’ll be touring. The group’s website has a message from Linda Johnson Rice, Eunice Johnson’s daughter and chairman of Johnson Publishing Co. Inc. saying they were working to “develop a new business model” for the endeavor.
“We love this event and want to continue hosting it,” says Shead, noting that the local chapter typically raises from $10,000 to $25,000 each year from the show and spends it on community projects and programs that focus on youths and the arts. The luncheon and fashion show attracts up to 800 people and is a major social gathering.
“I’ve been going for 22 years in Denver, and went with my mother when I was growing up in Buffalo, N.Y.,” says Shead. “It’s a fun event where you get together and bond with friends over what you like or don’t like. You see all kinds of models and nice-looking men. And people come dressed up, so it’s fun just to see what everybody else is wearing.
“The legacy that (Eunice Johnson) is leaving with the show is huge, as it has been such a part of so many lives. We want to see it continue as there is nothing else like it in the black community. We take pride in it.”
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
