Story by Pooja Krishna and Tom Hodges
More than 600 people showed up in British garb for the annual Lakewood auction party Friday night at the Omni Dallas Hotel. The night’s theme, “Keep Calm and Lakewood on,” inspired looks ranging from Harry Potter’s Bellatrix Lestrange to the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
Hosted by the Lakewood Early Childhood PTA, the auction raises funds for three neighborhood public schools: Lakewood Elementary, J.L. Long Middle School and Woodrow Wilson High School.
The Advocate was there to capture some of the attendees’ costumes and thoughts about the event.
Jamaica Raith and Liz Bruni donned fascinators inspired by Britain and the Lakewood Theater. “We were just trying to bring together a little bit of the British flair, as well as our little Lakewood landmark,” Raith said. Bruni, who has a daughter in the fourth grade dual-language program, said, “The LECPTA always puts on a fun party, great auction, good music and great sign-up parties.”
Elizabeth and Edward Hill dressed up as Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoyfrom Harry Potter. They attended the event last year as flappers. “We upped our game this year for sure,” Elizabeth Hill said. “He came up with Harry Potter, and I thought, why not do the villains? Everyone else is gonna do Hermione and Harry, so let’s do something a little different.” They have a 7-year-old, Sam, who’s in second grade, and a 3-year-old who will be at Lakewood in a few years.
Pam Hockart and Will Nessle dressed as the Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben, and the Union Jack flag. Hockart painted the dress and made the headband for the event.
G.P. and Megan Theriot are modeled after Freddie Mercury and the Union Jack flag. “We like a lot of the art,” G.P. said. “Lakewood is very special and dear to my heart because that’s my alma mater. That’s where I went to school. My kids are second generation, so it’s special to me.”
