Break out your best chapeaux, the Ocean Beach Woman’s Club’s Hat Contest is coming.

The fifth annual OBWC fundraiser, now a mainstay on the community’s social calendar, will be Thursday, April 3 kicking off at 6:30 p.m. at Dirty Birds, 1929 Cable St.

Hat contestants will compete and will be judged this year in several “sash” categories including 101 Celebration Hat, Most OBecian, Most Outrageous, and Ode to Mae Clarke, one of the community’s early historical hat contestants.

In fact, Mae’s hat from 1960, which appears on page 115 of Kathy Blavatt’s book, “Ocean Beach: Where Land and Water Meet,” inspired the modern reincarnation of the hat contest.

It was Susan Winkie of OBWC, who emcees the hat contest every year, who ran across Clarke’s winning hat contest photo in Blavatt’s historical book, which prompted her to say, “Let’s do that.’”

The hot contest rebooted from there. “It was easy to put together,” noted Winkie of reviving the contest. She added, “We change the theme every year. One year it was Close Encounters of the OB Kind, and one woman had a spaceship on her head.”

Winkie noted contest winners are presented with a sash for the category they won competing in. She added some contestants, like Mary Ann Haskell, have won in more than one category, with Haskell having been victorious in three different categories.

Haskell is competing again this year. “It’s a free fun event in Ocean Beach and it benefits the OB charities that the Woman’s Club has chosen,” Haskell said adding, “All the proceeds stay in OB.”

Of competing Haskell noted: “Most of the time I know immediately what I’ll create from the list of categories available. I’ve won for Most OBecian, Most Luminous, and Best Party Hat. It’s a very fun way to express your creativity and showcase what you’re capable of. I always enjoy the camaraderie of the Women’s Club and this contest is truly inspiring and a boatload of fun.”

Mother-and-daughter team Xan and KT Robinson, who now live in Mission Beach, are returning to compete in this year’s hat contest. “We’ve enjoyed coming back for the annual hat contest to see old friends and be creative,” Xan said. “We usually look at the categories for the hats to get an idea. The first year, we went with Out of This World. We thrifted a giant lampshade, turned it upside down, and made it the solar system. I like to make the whole outfit part of the hat. So that year I wore a shirt with the world map on it.”

Xan said of the Robinson’s 2024 contest entry: “This past year I had become a florist and my mom and I knew we wanted to do something with real flowers. It was the Woman’s Club’s 100th anniversary. Naturally, we thought of a beautiful flower arrangement topped with a ‘Congratulations on 100 years’ card. We created a chicken wire base for that hat and fixed the arrangement in the parking lot before entering the event. We now feel the pressure to top ourselves. We hope to do that this year. However, what category we’re entering is a secret.”

The annual OBWC Hat Contest is even fun for the event host, Shawnn Silverman owner of Dirty Birds. “I like to partner up with local community groups like the OB Woman’s Club,” he said adding, “Not only do they have a great turnout, but they put emphasis into having fun, as they also say, celebrating 100 years of philanthropy and sisterhood. The cool thing about this event is that it is just so colorful and creative to see them celebrating their garden tradition, and it’s free. It just keeps getting bigger and better every year.”

OCEAN BEACH WOMAN’S CLUB

Established in 1924, Ocean Beach Woman’s Club has served the beach community for 101 years, having celebrated its centennial in 2024. Today, OBWC continues to support the community through philanthropy. In the past, OBWC has supported numerous organizations including OB Library, OB Historical Society, OB Scholarship Fund, Fostering Opportunities Scholarships, Dana Instrumental Music Association, Pioneer School, OB Elementary, First Friday Music Club, OB Recreation Center, Spay-Neuter Action Program, and Urban Surf 4 Kids. The OBWC provides financial grants to organizations in the community, provides educational awareness to its membership and the people of Ocean Beach, volunteers with other nonprofits in OB, offers a place for women to come together in a like-minded space, and serves as a constant positive presence in Ocean Beach and San Diego.