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Featured Victorian Lady

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Suzanne Parker

Durango Heritage Celebration

Durango, Colorado

When someone says that Suzanne Parker is making a big deal out of something, they mean it in the best possible way! Suzanne chairs the steering committee for the annual three-day Durango Heritage Celebration, which is held every October. During the three days of the event attendees are busy nearly every minute with all manner of Victorian-inspired activities. While the ladies are enjoying tea and a vintage fashion show, the gents may be attending a session on antique firearms, or touring the Durango & Silverton Railroad Museum. In the evening, ladies and gents may don formal attire to attend a Grand Victorian Ball, or to enjoy the last dinner served aboard the Titanic, where each of them assumes the role of an original first-class passenger.

 

Suzanne and Tom

Trained as a clinical psychologist, Suzanne taught emotionally disturbed children in the first half of her professional life, and then was the Compliance Officer for the Albuquerque Public Schools. When they retired and moved to Durango ten years ago, Suzanne and her husband Tom quickly became involved in efforts to support and preserve Durango’s history.

Suzanne is an avid seamstress and accomplished milliner, making her own Victorian clothing, reticules, capes and hats.  She confesses that she has made some outfits and accessories as gifts or to say “thank you” for non-sewing friends, but says she does not sew for money – yet! Her outfits are always creative and varied, and she is as likely to be dressed as a Madame as in a conservative walking dress. This year, she is sewing a variety of items for the Emporium – a sale that helps to raise funds for the Heritage Celebration – including “half” of a period-correct Titanic gown that will be auctioned off before the event, so that the lucky winner of the auction may have her new gown to wear on the weekend. (Note: Ricci Dawson, who also serves on the steering committee, makes the other half of the dress.)

               

Volunteers are the backbone of the Heritage Celebration, and Suzanne says she and her “worker bees” spend many hours each week all year long to plan and organize the many events that make up the Celebration. Some of the tasks include arranging for funding from local business owners, finding a venue for the Victorian Ball, getting speakers for the various “break-out sessions”, and arranging for a special run of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train.

 

For Suzanne, the rewards come as she gets to step back in time with attendees, and share the weekend experience with them. With three previous years under her belt, she counts many of the returning guests as friends, and looks forward to an opportunity to catch up with them. During the year, Suzanne corresponds with many of them as they have discussions about how the previous year’s Celebration went, and make plans for the next one.

 

For more information, please contact:

Suzanne M. Parker, Chairperson
P.O. Box 513
Durango, CO 81302-0513

or by telephone at 970.382.9298

or by webform

www.durangoheritagecelebration.org

 

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