For the first time since the start in 1932, the Flower Girl presentation will not be part of the opening- night festivities.
Instead, the 2015 Flower Girls will be introduced two weeks before the start of the opera company’s 83rd season, at a slightly reformatted Yellow Rose Ball to be held in Central City on June 27. The opera season begins July 11.
Pelham G. “Pat” Pearce, the general and artistic director of the nation’s fifth-oldest opera company, made this news public at the traditional Flower Girl Announcement Tea held at the Governor’s Mansion.
The Yellow Rose Ball, said chairwoman Karin Woolley, will contain all of its historical elements: the dynamite blast that signals the presentation’s start; having the Flower Girls carry baskets of yellow rose nosegays as they descend the wooden steps to the garden; and the traditional father-daughter waltz on Eureka Street, in front of Central City’s historic opera house.
After the waltz, the Flower Girls, their escorts, parents and friends will adjourn to the Teller House for dinner.
Afterward, the guests are to proceed to the Opera House, where in years past they were part of the audience for the opening night opera. This year, it will be for a brief taste of the operas that are part of the Central City Opera’s Summer Festival.
The evening will conclude with dancing to music by in the Teller House foyer.
The 16 young ladies who will have just completed their junior year in high school also will carry on the tradition of presenting the yellow rose nosegays that will be tossed onto the stage as a gesture of appreciation for a good performance. But instead of distributing the nosegays at the opening night opera’s intermission, on June 27 they will be given to guests as they enter the opera house.
The 2015 Flower Girls are: Martha Baker, Louisa Benson, Madeline Bragg, Taylor Coors, Maryanna DeLine, Jennifer Groene, Nicole Honnen, Alexis Hutchison, Ariana Kemp, Elise Korneffel, Katherine LaMair, Phoebe MacKenzie, Molly Wulf and triplets Abigail, Lacey and Madison Rifkin.
To read more about them, please visit the Mile High Style blog: blogs.denverpost.com/style
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, davidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
Online: More pictures from this event denverpost.com/seengallery
100 men who cook
One thousand people are expected to be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Denver International Airport Convention Center on Nov. 29 for 100 Men Who Cook, proceeds from which go to three local charities. Mayor Michael Hancock is one of the cooks; his wife, Mary Louise Lee, will sing during the VIP reception. Joanne Davidson has more about the event, including how to buy tickets and some of the dishes that will be served, in the Mile High Style blog blogs.denverpost.com/style
