Ladies Hat Day returns for 11th year at the Humboldt County Fair

Abraxas in Ferndale is one of the hat shops that’s helping us gear up for Ladies Hat Day at the Races on August 31st. 

Wearing hats at horse races was originally a British tradition that found it’s way to the Kentucky Derby in 1875. With the invention of mass media, hat days at the Derby exploded in popularity because it was “see and be seen”. Now, you can see hats at horse races all over the country.

“People just really like to dress up. And it’s a competition and you get to go out on the racetrack and and it’s gotten fancier and fancier with not just wearing a hat, but making a whole costume, you know, and trying to win the, you know, number 1 or 2, you know, and it’s fun. But even if you’re not going to be in the competition, you can just wear a hat and get in the mood for the ladies hat day,” says Christine Boynton, owner of Abraxas in Ferndale. 

The winner of the peoples choice award will win two thousand dollars cash, champagne, flowers, and a trophy. Runners up win a thousand dollars cash. So the pressure is on to find unique styles for everyone.

“Well, I go to shows and then, I have catalogs and I have vendors that come to me, you know, so it’s, you know, I’ve been doing it for so long that you just gradually built up a, a different ways of getting the hats, you know, but the fancy ones are a little harder to find,” says Boynton. 

Boynton has owned Abraxa’s for 50 years and is seeing her 11th ladies hat day at the races. But they have brisk business year round.

“They have parties, you know, Kentucky derby parties, you know, and Mardi Gras parties. So I have facemasks and stuff like that. They like those too. And, you know, they just create costumes with all the different things. It’s fun. People enjoy it. Those are, you know, for anything really dress up, and ball caps are popular. All of them are popular people just like, you know, top hats. Top hats are good too. So I’ll probably sell some top hats for the ladies hat day. Men like to wear hats too,” she says. 

You can find the Abraxa’s hat stand on the midway for race day if you’re interested in competing, or find them on Ferndales Main street. 

Story by Tucker Caraway